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Hugh Masekela

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Peter Jebsen

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Apr 25, 1994, 6:19:18 PM4/25/94

In article <00017...@nyo.com>, Lu J. Blain <Lu_J....@nyo.com> wrote:
>HE'S IN NY. He's coming to SOB'S on May 4&5. Usually gives great concerts...
>Catch it!
>
>Also, his CD, Hope, is quite good as well
>
>New York Online +1 (718) 596 5881

Hugh Masekela also gives great interviews... - When I did a story on the
London rehearsals for the Graceland tour in 1987, Paul Simon introduced me
to Hugh and Miriam Makeba. Here are a couple of excerpts (it's old news,
but I still consider it interesting) - I first asked them about their views
on the criticism Paul Simon had to face for recording parts of "Graceland"
in South Africa (and supposedly breaking the cultural boycott):

Miriam Makeba: The South African people have decided to define their own
struggle, and as South African artists here sometimes we find that we are not
consulted when people talk about this cultural boycott. I have never been in
any meetings of the cultural boycott when artists outside here get together
and they talk about it. I have never been invited or consulted. And yet I am
the first South African artist who came out here and talked about the
problems of my country and I have never stopped. And I have suffered for it,
because: I've been boycotted here, banned there and all that. All those
things have happened to me over the years. And yet today there are so many
other people who claim to know more than me. They have meetings here and
meetings there, and some of us are not told. So we are also saying: "No! We
are going to define our own struggle. People who want to help us should be
behind us, they should not lead us."

Hugh Masekela: Some of the people today who initiated this cultural boycott
were not born when Miriam was giving a speech at the U.N. and putting her
career on the line. You know, another thing: This energy should be directed
to the right places, the sources of our misery really are the Western
governments 'cuz they support the South African government. If all these
people in the West are so keen to help us, let them go to 10 Downing Street,
let them go to the Bundestag, let them go to the Champs Elysees palace - let
them give their leaders hell, not us!

You'd think that because of a recording the South African revolution has been
set back. I can imagine someone saying in the future: South Africa could be
free but Paul Simon went there and then the holy revolution fell down. You
know, I mean, what a bunch of bullsh*t, pardon the phrase.

Miriam Makeba: We are people first before we are artists. - It's like telling
me I can't say hello to my brother because he's still at home and I'm
outside. When I came outside I did not plan to live here. I was told by the
Boers that I cannot come back home, and now they want the same Boers to say
to my brother he cannot come here and be with me. Thank God for Paul Simon!
That's all I can say.

Of course, working with Hugh is always the most beautiful thing for me 'cuz
he knows me, he knows my range, even without me he can write, he knows how
far I can go because we've always worked together long before we left South
Africa, and we managed to keep working on and off together whenever we can.
So this [the Graceland tour] has been one of the most beautiful things that
has happened to me in my career.

Hugh Masekela: When I'd heard that [Paul Simon] had gone to South Africa and
had done this album and when I listened to it, you know, I think that he did
a fantastic job for somebody who has just moved out of nowhere - it wasn't
like he planned to say: "One day I'll go to South Africa and record this!"
There was just somebody who played him something [the "Township Jive" album],
and he said: "Wow, I really love that!" He got so involved that he went - and
I don't think culturally you can make a bigger statement than that.

It is a bigger statement than somebody sitting in a penthouse in New York on
Fifth Avenue and says, "you shouldn't have done it", because he's not here at
the rehearsals. He doesn't know how the South Africans in South Africa, in
the townships feel about this album; he doesn't know how the South African
artists feel about this album and what a great welcome the people had given
it and also what a great farewell and good wishes they gave this kids when
they came overseas to come and work here with us.

Masekela about the critics: A dollar a word, it'd be great. If everybody who
talks about South Africa just gave a dollar every time they open their mouth,
this revolution. would be doing great. People shouldn't be sending guns to
the [Nicaraguan] Contras, they should be giving it to us so we can defend
ourselves at least.

I think there's a whole lot of energy being channelled in the wrong
direction. There's a whole lot of people overseas who seem to be so
overconcerned with the freedom of South Africa and South Africans. 28 years
ago Miriam left and she's been a victim of talking against the South African
government and teaching the world. But even 1976, when the children of Soweto
were killed, people still didn't notice it much.

It's just now that the people really put their lives on the line that all of
a sudden the world is so concerned about South Africa's freedom, and all of
them all of a sudden want to like help. As a result you have so many
solidarity movements overseas, but they're not giving us the things that we
need. We don't need their lip-service, just as we don't need to be told by
Boers in South Africa what to do.

There are too many overseas communities who pretend to be on our side, who
try to direct our steps, and who at the same time prevent us from working
with our own artists. Paul Simon did *not* go [to South Africa] in order to
take money from our people like Ray Charles did, or David Essex or Rod
Stewart and all those other artists (Staple Singers, Millie Jackson). All
those people didn't leave one penny! [In the case of Paul Simon], there's a
man who went there because he was moved by the music, paid the musicians
triple scale and put 'em on the world stage. For us as artists, we need that!

If it weren't for Miriam Makeba I wouldn't be here; and a lot of other
artists wouldn't be here, either. So we help each other and want to work with
each other because our culture is stifled like Miriam said at home, and
overseas we're all exiles. So it's our first opportunity actually this year.
[(C) 1987 Peter Jebsen]

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