Steve Kekana: A Legacy

With over 40 albums to his credit, singer songwriter Steve Kekana has been a consistent force in the South African music scene since the early 1980’s.

Born in 1958 in Zebediela in South Africa’s Limpopo Province, he lost his sight at age five, and attended a school for the blind in Pietersburg. During his school years, he nurtured his love for singing, and was a member of amateur groups whilst a teenager.

In 1979 and 1980, Kekana won what was then known as the “SABC Black Music Award" for Best Male Vocalist. Further awards followed, with the singer taking the “Top Male Vocalist" award on Radio Zulu, and being the runner-up on the Tswana and Sotho Radio Stations.

Kekana and his music have been featured in movies. He has collaborated with several artists over the years.

He has alsoy collaborated frequently with fellow vocalist and now late Nana Coyote, and his links with a younger generation have been solidified through his association with the singer / producer Joe Nina, who produced his most recent album “African Lady" Kekana, Coyote and Nina regularly appear on stage together, and have recorded under the name “The Trio"

Kekana holds B Juris and LLB degrees from UNISA, and has written on Intellectual Property from the perspective of a songwriter.

During his school years at Siloe School for the Blind, he learnt how to play guitar and nurtured his love for singing. He was then recruited to join the school band and also became a member of amateur music groups. After completing high school he could not secure a scholarship to study law. So he was forced to sing in order to fend for himself.

In 1978, he recorded his first album, Mumsy, which achieved gold status within two weeks. With 43 albums to his name, the singer and songwriter has since then been a consistent force in the South African music scene. Having achieved international acclaim with his music, he is now a Unisa lecturer in Mercantile Law while simultaneously working on his 44th album.

Kekana's Raising My Family was a big hit in Europe in 1980.

His songs "The Bushman" and "Feel So Strong" (featuring Hotline) were hits on the Springbok Radio Chart (the semi-official South African chart of the time) reaching number 13 and number 6 in 1982 and 1983 respectively.

Quoted in the UNISA website, “I always had a desire to become a lawyer. I got my inspiration from Advocate Bokankatla Malatji, who is also blind and attended the same school as me. In 1972, he registered as the first black blind law student at Turfloop University, but because my family was poor, I could not register to study at university immediately after matriculating.”

His dream was achieved in 1994. “I could only register in 1994, where I paid for my tuition in the first year with the money I saved. For the subsequent four years, I was sponsored by the Department of Labour.”

ACHIEVEMENTS:

• 1978-date: Produced 44 albums and received more than 70 Golden Disc Awards.

• 1980: The Best Male Vocalist Award (Radio Zulu).

• 1984: The Four Outstanding Young South African (FOYSA) Award.

• 1985: The Ten Outstanding Young People of the World (TOYP) Award

• 1986: The OKTV award

• 2010: Mama Bheka Community Awards.

For more information you can visit: www.stevekekana.co.za