Shaka Zulu

Beautiful. I don't understand a word of it and I don't have to. The acapella harmonies wash over you and just leave you floating in a sea of sound. It alternates between lively and hauntingly beautiful. Sure, it gets pretty repetitive, almost hypnotic at times, and I felt my attention wandering which is why it doesn't get a 5-star review. But, despite that, it's a great album and I'm glad it's on this list.

What if you took the BEST part of the BEST Paul Simon album, and you made THAT into its own album?

This album is just the boring parts of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” on loop for 36 minutes. It sounds like one long continuous song, couldn’t tell you the beginning or end of anything, it all blends together and it isn’t even in an interesting way.

There are only so many albums that I get three tracks into and think \"Wow, I need this album in my life.\" It's so peaceful and beautiful. The fact that I went through the whole album and never missed instruments is a tribute to the incredible brilliance of the arrangements. The whole album has the same feeling, but it never feels boring or like it's dragging. 5/5

Shaka Zulu was pretty good, not sure if it was because of the mood i was in or what but it was decent background stuff. tammy thought it sounded a bit like african gospel. wither way the gods must be crazy I give it three empty coke bottles

Absolutely beautiful singing. Felt like Red in Shawshank Redemption listening to opera in the prison yard: "To this day I have no idea what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are better left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it.” We read about Shaka Zulu, and talked about apartheid and Paul Simon, who produced this. Bought a copy on vinyl!

Uneventful chanting. I have no desire to listen to this album again.

This is the type of album that makes me thankful for this project. I might not have been exposed to it otherwise and that would have been a shame. This album is equal parts energizing and relaxing. I will have to check out the rest of their albums.

Beautiful vocal music, a treat for ears. This album not only improved my mood immensely, but also gave a feeling of such pure joy. Happy, full melodies, in combination with a great mix of vocals.

This has been one of the absolute finds of this project for me. I was aware of LBM through the Paul Simon album Graceland, and seeing them on British TV in the 90s. I was pretty ambivalent towards them in my youth, and enjoy their embellishments on Graceland. This was an absolute delight though. The vocal arrangements are so delicate and perfectly put together, and it is simply a joy to listen to. Otherworldly; holy. Five stars - I will keep coming back to this.

Slick. Did some background reading (like everyone else I think) and discovered these guys were the backup on Simon's Graceland. Cool. You could easily put this music on in the background and have it run all day - not disturbing, occasionally noticing something really special. And I think that's both good and bad in that it kind of all blends together. But if you had to have something that does that, it would be this sound. Beautiful, positive energy.

Smooth record, and thought I recognized them from Paul Simon's Graceland album! Africa refreshes me :)

I loved listening to the melodies and sounds that made up the songs. This was absolutely beautiful, and I can see myself turning this music on again in the future.

Not for me. I remember folks getting very excited about this in the 90s and even then finding it a bit meh

Love it. The companion piece to Graceland. The real heart and soul of that album on full display here. So pure and recorded with just the right amount of "space" and reverb. Feels very present but also very comfortable. Love the balance and stereo play between the ears on headphones. The unaccompanied human voice is the purest and sometimes most powerful way to experience music. Would love to hear this performed in person so I could really feel the vibrations of those voices.

The original version has all but disappeared from streaming, there is a 30th anniversary rerecorded version called Shaka Zulu Revisited, which, alas, is an inferior version. This opens up a debate about the sanctity of physical media as a vital cultural safeguard and a commitment to permanence, integrity, and the unassailable right of the artist's original creation to exist unaltered.

These guys are so tight, their voices blend magnificently. It gets a little samey, but damn if it isn't beautiful.

"Shaka Zulu" is a studio album (I believe it is their 24th) from the South African male choral band Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The South African musical style is called isicathamiya which is best described by the European style a cappella. This album followed their collaboration with Paul Simon on his album "Graceland" and was actually produced by Paul Simon with assistance from Ladysmith Black Mambazo founding member Joseph Shabalala. This album is quite good. An album that lifts up your spirits. Great harmonies. The band recorded some older Mambazo songs as well as some actually in English. The album was the bands' first international hit and won the 1988 Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Recording. "Unomathemba" begins things and the first thing you notice is the beautiful harmonies. It is happy sounding. They're laughing. They're keeping the rhythm with their feet stomping. The second song "Hello My Baby" is sung in English. There's kissing sounds. There is chanting. "Lomhlaba Kawawunoni (The Earth Never Gets Fat)" is one of my favorite songs on the album. Just beautiful harmonies. Sung in their native Zulu language. The album ends with "Wawusho Kubani? (Who Were You Talking To?)." More chanting. Hands clapping adds to the rhythm. Another song highlight. One of my favorite things about doing this challenge is coming across albums that you haven't heard before and you like. This album definitely is one of those. And if anyone likes the Paul Simon "Graceland" songs "Homeless"and "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" you'll probably like this since Joseph Shabalala was featured prominently in those songs.

You love ladysmith black mabazo. And for good reason. Wonderful choruses building momentum with turns and cannons. Authentic unsacrificing sound with beautiful lyrics. When the sun says goodnight to the mountain.

Nope

This album is such a treat and I wish this list had more things like this that are beyond the concept of Western European music.

Beautiful album, a showcase for the beauty of human voices.

Really good, smooth and transporting. I bought the vinyl it was so good. Hard to find the original digital now

This is why I go through what feels like endless Bowie and Morrissey.

This was an absolutely lovely listen. Such passion, heart, and love. Easy 5 stars.

Y'know, as much as I'd wanna write a 400+ word review like I normally do, I don't think I'd be able to with an album like this. There's really not much to comment on: it's just South African acapella music and it is damn incredible. Like, I figure some people would hear "acapella music" and figure it's some dumb Pentatonix or PITCH PERFECT nonsense, but no, no, don't worry about that at all. This is a spiritual choir thing, and while it **can** get a little repetitive in some parts, that's hardly an issue. This is music to envelop yourself in, where you just float along and let the vocals and harmonies fill your brain. Get it all in your mind fuzz, y'know? And to someone with an attention span like mine, it **can** cause my mind to wander — and I won't lie, there's some mouth sounds in there that I'm not a huge fan of, even as much as I understand that they're just a part of isicathamiya (the style of singing being done here) — but I'm not gonna dock the album points for that. I already knew this group did good stuff 'coz of their cameo in the credits of Michael Jackson's MOONWALKER singing "The Moon Is Walking", but I never woulda guessed how amazing a full album of their style would be. Jus', mm, dang; it's a huge rec from me, even if I know not everyone's gonna like it. I mean, it's already the best thing I've gotten out of Paul Simon's GRACELAND album, so, y'know.

YESSSSS

All I knew about Ladysmith Black Mambazo was from Mean Girls - and I'm so happy I finally listened! It's a gorgeous album but could do with a bit more variety to get to that 5.

They say "Te na na" a lot. I wonder what that means? Bloody lovely though.

Really not sure how to rate this one. Generally not a fan of any acapella styles and I think there's a limit for how long I could keep listening to this leader/harmony response style over and over again. But the album doesn't overstay its welcome, and those harmonies are breathtaking. I'll take the over.

I greatly enjoyed listening to this - all the layers of voices, meshing together to create a warm, auditory tapestry. That said, my untrained ear didn't discern much difference between the tracks. They all sort of melded together into one unified super-song.

I don't expect many other entries on the list to sound like this. That's a shame, as the recording captures something unique and captures it well. There's a definite devotional aspect to the songs, though they neither present themselves as a logical series nor explode into true long-form. There's something wrong-way-rubbing about "world" music. Not sure if it's contextual or actually in the aura of the music, but as the body percussion comes in at the end of the LP that feeling sharpens.

I remember Ladysmith Black Mambazo from Paul Simon’s music and read that he produced this album. The harmonies are amazing and so chill, which is the point of this style of music. Wawusho Kubani sounds like the call and response of gospel mixed in with Stomp. How Long reminded me of Barbershop Quartet and Rain, Rain was like 50’s Early rock. Overall, I wish I understood more of the lyrics, but I really appreciated the talent of the singers.

First thought: weren't these guys "world music for people who don't like world music"? I sort of avoided them after hearing a couple of commercial crossover tracks, although they were good on Paul Simon's Graceland, which propelled them to stardom. I'm happily surprised by the quality of this. Great acapella harmonising with a small number of male voices. Recording seems fantastically done (and I think I read Paul Simon produced it?). There's a deep echo-ey resonance to the voices, which sail through the tracks, making it all sound easy. Personally, I find the English-language tracks aren't quite as enjoyable. Maybe it's because I can't understand the lyrics on the other tracks, so I'm just getting a pure enjoyment of the voices without literal meaning. Or maybe it's because these guys are more comfortable and practised in their native tongue. But in any case, it's still a solid album which makes me want to check them out more. 4/5. Edit: this also feels like a tokenistic inclusion on the list, given how little traditional/folk/ritual music is given coverage. But it would be stupid to hold this against the album itself.

It’s just so peaceful and blissful. Relaxing, weirdly enough. I love the harmonies and the rhythms of the vocals. Some mouth sounds, like clicking and hissing. Idk, I feel like I’m having a really nice spiritual experience. I really like it, but let’s be honest, they run together a lot. By the end of the record, I felt like I could really use some other instrumentation or something to break it up. The stomps and claps on the last track were so welcome.

I’m never mad about some LBM, but I also never feel like I need to hear 45 straight minutes of it, either. Boy, I sure hope no washed-up singer songwriters exploit this group and somehow also end up on this list! (Foreshadowing!)

FYI they have an excellent version of baa baa black sheep. Used to listen to them a bit when the kids were little.

Daylight come and me wan' watch the Lion King!

3.5/5. I don't know what to think of this. I have never listened to anything like this before. It did not sound bad. I didn't necessarily enjoy listening to it, but I also did not dislike listening to it. Interesting stuff for sure.

This was unique, mostly a capella. I enjoyed listening to it but it isn't something I'd really relisten to.

The only thing I knew about this artist going in was the line to Lindsay Lohan from her mom in the movie Mean Girls when she tells her parents she's not going out with them: "But you love Ladysmith Black Mambazo!" I haven't seen that movie in maybe 20 years or so and never looked into the music but it ended up being exactly what I thought it would be. I didn't hate it. It's just not my thing I guess....

I'm too culturally separated from this stuff for me to fully appreciate it. They used to be featured on many an occasion in the music press back in the day, but I used to skip over it. So is is any good? I have no idea, as i have nothing to compare it with. But I liked the man who made the funny noises, because I am a child at heart. All I could think about was Paul Simon's Graceland, then I discovered why for obvious reasons. Good to see its not just Bob Geldorf who thinks it doesn't rain in Africa, even the locals sing it, so it must be true. I can't give it a 1, just because I don't understand it, as this could be the pinnacle of Adrican singing, so a 2 star seems fair.

I can understand why this seemed interesting, relevant and a message of hope in 1987 during the apartheid era. In 2014 it leaves me cold. I struggled to get through it. I'll give it a 2, simply on the basis of the fine performances, there's no doubt they are very good at what they do, and the technical quality of the recording.

No coneixia aquest grup i el meu desconeixement de la música africana és absolut. Música sense instruments, només amb veus, i amb un punt espiritual. He començat a escoltar-lo amb interés, però m'ha acabat cansant.

I had no idea what I was getting into with this one. After one song, okay, that's fine. Second track gets going, and oh, I guess this is just a whole album of African barbershop quartet. This is a lot like listening to gregorian chants for me: both are fascinating, take some talent, and have deep meaning. But unless it's in very small doses or combined with something else, I have no desire to listen to a whole album of it.

Can't do this either - bloody lion king graceland nonsense. Yes it is beautiful music, so is throat singing and polka, but I cannot listen to any of it

Super enjoyable African singing.

Mad talent with the harmonies. This was a very soothing album to listen to and relax. Would I sit and listen to this on a regular basis? No. Was is a very nice listen? Definitely.

Beautiful album. I can’t believe the haters. Do you just want to listen to the same-sounding crap all the time? 5

Hasa Diga Eebowai.

Great album. Now I have the bassline to Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes running thru my head. Listened to the original version on YouTube and the 30th anniversary version on Spotify and then listened to some stuff from the 70's. You really can't go wrong with any of it. Top notch a capella music.

No music but oddly calming. I liked it.

Great!

Oh yeah, that was some good stuff. I am not sure why I liked it so much, but I really did. I wish it was on spotify so I could listen to it more frequently.

I could listen to LBM all day. It’s like birds singing with human voices. A 5.

Ana Gasteyer GIF: “But you love Ladysmith Black Mambazo!” ^it me

i don’t think that one has any right to ‘rate’ ethnic music as it is the cultural heritage and its impossible to properly comprehend it without knowing the cultural context, so i’ll give all of the similar albums a 5, even if it wasn’t much of my liking, though i’ll still write my opinion on the musical part

My fiance was really hungry but the food wasn’t ready for pickup so I played Hello My Baby for her and she calmed down and felt better. This album is really truly beautiful. I’m gonna preemptively give it a 5 because I think that there’s nothing that fulfills this need for me and I will be returning to this. It really does awaken something in me.

Beautiful stuff - perfect for a Sunday morning, which is when I got this one.

Great South African traditional chorus tracks here. Good meditative music.

World Music revolves around this magnificent album.

love those harmonies! Really glad they got attention after Graceland and put out this album. Just so different from most of what you hear but manages to captivate you.

A great album that is so unique. Love their work with Paul Simon on Graceland and it was really dope to hear them do their own thing. It does get a little samey BUT it’s just so different from everything else we’ve had and I’m grateful to find out it exists

Wow, oh wow. What a beautiful gift to the world. Beautiful voices, beautiful melodies, and beautiful words. I had an extremely difficult day before I listened to this album and it brought me to tears more than once. All of the bad energy in me just dissipated and washed away with the harmonies and reverb. It invokes so many deep feelings in me that I so rarely get to feel. Each voice is so rich and buttery smooth. Despite the lack of instruments, I did not miss them at all. A lot of the songs sounded very similar, but it did not get boring at all. In fact, I was sad when I saw it was almost over. Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain was my favorite track. I see myself coming back to this album when I need to be silent but I don't want to be in silence. Just out in the headphones and let the voices carry me into another world. Easy 5/5. My favorite album so far in this journey.

This is incredibly powerful. Playful at times but also painful and pleading. Sacred and beautiful. With the backdrop of South Africa in 1987. Magnificent.

bueni simio

Loved it

Wow, this was an awesome album! I loved this and immediately started the album over once it was finished.

Really really liked this, never heard anything like it.

classic SA again.

Sweet, perfect harmonies. I don't feel that I'm best placed to "judge" it or that that would be a good idea, but it is sweet. Some themes are love themes. This wraps around and is friendly music to flow into the ears. Slightly ASMR before that name came about! The voice compositions are so skillful and perfect.

Wooow, this was really beautiful. The lyrics felt really wholesome (the ones i did uneratand). I didn't even notice that it was acapella until my boyfriend pointed that out after i had finished the whole album and that was a good excuse to play it again 😏😏😏

Loved this. It's the sort of album you just put on and fall into. When the last track ended I was disappointed there was no more.

Loved this

An extension of Graceland I didn't know about? Yes, please.

Soothing tunes

Shaka Zulu I listened to this A LOT last week. I had an unusually busy week at work and it was a perfect soundtrack, I was happy to let it go round and round with its lovely sense of warm, floating ambience, but it also rewarded the times I could listen more closely. Obviously for the most part I don’t know what they are singing about, but I prefer not knowing, I just loved letting its peaceful serenity and moments of apparent melancholy slide gracefully by. Maybe there’s an element of Heinz and Paul Simon based nostalgia, but without this list I likely wouldn’t have listened to this, and I would really have missed out. Peaceful, joyful, otherworldly, soothing, I loved this and its an easy 5. 🧘🧘🧘🧘🧘 Playlist submission: Golgotha

Brilliant, peaceful album. I listened to it in work but I will make a point of giving it another listen in a more relaxed environment.

Pure joy. Wonderful album.

8/8/25. Loved this. It's nice to be exposed to acapella music from a different part of the world. Very soulful and meaningful, loved the rhythm aspects as well. Definitely going to check out the rest of the catalog.

4.5 - Quite moving tbh

Bought and played this to death at Uni, it brought back some lovely memories and sounds as good now as it did then.

To listen to with good pro headphones was really amazing. The sound spacing and mixing is truly incredible. And with NO instruments ! Nothing to say other than bravo. 10/10 fav songs : How Long ? & Yibo Labo

What a gorgeous album, crisply produced and the most accessible of their albums. It’s probably why it launched them more internationally than being Paul Simon’s background singers. I believe I’ve even seen them live, and I don’t get to many concerts.

I’m at a 5. Not too much to say, given that I mostly zoned out to this in the most positive way: that is 100% 42 minutes of South African acapella, and I enjoyed all 42 minutes. Easy as that, really. A lot of the harmonizations gave the album a more spiritual tone, obviously enhanced by some of the actual spirituals present here. The thing that struck me as the most interesting part of the album is how well my brain was able to use the gaps where percussion would obviously sit, taking those empty spots & just sort of using them as percussion in its own way. The group is very keenly aware of this too – there’s never ever a drum track, nor even a click track made with their mouths, but with the way they come into each rhythm, their voices go deep enough that the brain automatically fills it all in, whilst sounding totally natural. If the sense of repetition here is not your thing, this album will bounce off of you. It’s not an album made for deeper critical analysis, it’s an album to just enjoy from an auditory standpoint. I certainly enjoyed it – there’s not a bad moment here, and when they find a hypnotic groove to settle into, it’s very easy to get caught in that groove with them. It’s not the most impressive album on the planet or anything, but it’s a super fun listen, and I enjoyed it enough that giving it a 5 feels fair to me.

I was too immature to appreciate this album when it came out. Listening to it now, it has a very calming effect. A great collection of songs which, after listening through, I'd happily hear again.

I rejoice every time I get a non-anglo album. This is lovely acapella, feels like a warm blanket. 5* Highlights: how long

Just some incredibly smooth and delicate acapella world music.

Its a solid four⭐️ but just because of the peace and ease I feel listening to it Im goin for a five. Its just so pleasant to listen to.

Amazing!

What a surprise, beautiful album.

Very interesting a capella album.

- voices as instruments .... beautiful -

It's a joyous, uplifting listening experience, superbly sung and full of beauty. It's a bit repetitive for a whole album but fabulous nonetheless.

Soothing and calming and joyously uplifting, so glad this is on the list and just what I needed today

Note: only 3 of 10 tracks currently available on Spotify. When I got around to locating this, it was a gorgeous listen. So much vocal talent and songsmithing. Highly recommend tracking down the whole thing.

The human voice is truly one of the most wonderful instruments, and the talent of the a capella singers here is a wonderful example of how much power the voice can have. Favorite track: "Golgotha"

reminds me of something exotic my grandparents would listen to

My high school English teacher told us “the best essay is a short, good essay. The worst is a long, bad essay.” This album (if you can call it an album?) is definitely a short, good one. My only complaint is that it’s Too $hort. 5 seconds in I had the same realization many of us probably did – ahhhhhh THIS is who was all over Graceland. Such beautiful harmonies. Of course I never bothered to look up who was backing Paul Simon and just gave him all the credit for discovering/arranging everything. Glad we had this album to highlight these guys. Going to dig around and see what other music of theirs I can find.

Graceland is one of my favorite albums of all time but I’d never heard these tunes, produced by Paul as a follow up. I went back and listened to Diamonds and Homeless today as well, so good. Thinking of this as a B side to Graceland, and 11 bonus minutes of these guys is pretty high ROI.