Batsogile Lovederia "Rebecca" Malope (born June 30, 1968[1]) is a South African gospel singer. She is known as "The Queen of Gospel."[2] Her music career spans more than three decades. She has sold at least 10 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time. Most of the 36 albums she has released have reached multi-platinum status.
Sizwe Zako convinced the executives at MFM to include one gospel song on Malope's debut album Sthembile Kuwe. The song was more well received than the pop songs on the album. In 1989, Malope released two albums, Thank You Very Much and Woza Lovey. Both albums reached platinum status. In 1990, Malope released Buyani. The title track "Buyani" was dedicated to individuals she viewed as struggle heroes, particularly Nelson Mandela who was released from Robben Island prison the same year. The album achieved double platinum status and Malope won Best Female Vocalist at the OKTV Awards, beating Brenda Fassie. In 1991, she released her final pop album Saturday Nite. Like previous albums, she included three gospel songs.
In 1992, Malope released a full gospel album Rebecca Sings Gospel. The album was well received by music critics, media, and fans, and widened her fame. She was the first gospel artist whose songs were played along with mainstream music like pop and Afrikaans music. To this date the album has sold over one million copies and is regarded as one of the best gospel albums of all tie in South Africa.[by whom?]
Following the success of Rebecca Sings Gospel, in 1993 Ngiyekeleni was released, and followed the same success as her previous album. In 1994, she released Umoya Wam whose title track is known as Malope's signature song. The album surpassed her previous records in terms of sales. Malope won the Coca-Cola Full Blast Music Show Best Established Local Artist award with a record of 10 million votes by listeners. She won Best Contemporary Gospel Album at the first South African Music Awards in 1995. The album was dedicated to peace in South Africa as it transitioned to democracy in 1994. In 1996, she released Shwele Baba; it broke records at the time becoming the fastest-selling album in South Africa, selling 100 000 units within three weeks of release.
Malope has released 36 albums in a musical career spanning more than 30 years to date. In 2009, she released her 30th album, entitled My Hero, containing double CDs. In April 2010 she released her 31st album Uzohamba Nami. On 14 March 2011, Malope released her 32nd album, Ukuthula (which means "Peace"). She was quoted in a local newspaper saying: "In Ukuthula people must expect rejuvenating sounds and I love the whole album. I decided on that name after thinking about the state the world is in today. People have no peace. There is war everywhere, even in churches. I want people to come together and more importantly have peace in their lives, so that we can have peace in the world."[7]
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