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Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse (born 2 November 1951) is a South African singer-songwriter. He has a long career of over fifty-three years in music. He has performed in many African countries and Europe.
Mabuse is a recipient of many awards. He received the South African Music Award Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He earned the Silver Order of Ikhamanga for his contribution to the field of music. The singer is one of the country’s celebrated musicians. He has performed locally and internationally.
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| Short Profile | |
| Full Name: | Sipho Cecil Peter Mabuse |
| Other names: | Hotstix |
| Born: | 2 November 1951 (age 71 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Soweto, Johannesburg |
| Education: | Peter Lengene Community Learning Centre |
| Occupation: | Singer-songwriter |
| Years Active: | 1970-date |
| Spouse: | Mary Edwards (div.), Chichi Maponya |
| Children: | Mpho Skeef, Biko Mabuse |
| Relative: | Hugh Masekela (brother) |
| Website: | hotstixmabuse.com |
Early Life
Sipho Mabuse was born on 2 November 1951 in Soweto, a township in Johannesburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa. He comes from a family of mixed ethnicity – a Zulu mother and a Tswana father. He had an unsettled childhood after his parents divorced.
As a young child of eight, he started playing drums. He gradually learned to play other instruments – the flute, piano, saxophone, kalimba, timbales, and African drums.
At fifteen, he started his career as a drummer with the soul group The Beaters. It was one of the successful acts that dominated the local music scene of the 1970s.
Education
Sipho Mabuse dropped out of school at sixteen. He returned to school at the age of 60. He enrolled in adult classes close to his home in Soweto, Johannesburg, and was the oldest of about twenty.
The legendary singer sat for his matric exams in grade 12 at Peter Lengene Community Learning Centre. President Jacob Zuma congratulated for achieving this amazing milestone at his age.
Career
Sipho Mabuse formed the music group The Beaters with his friends Selby Ntuli and “Om” Alec Khaoli. They change the name of the group to Harari.
Harari performed in the United States with fellow musician Hugh Masekela in 1978. After the band leader Selby Ntuli died, Mabuse took on the mantle of leadership.
The group supported and backed renowned musicians – Percy Sledge, Timmy Thomas, Letta Mbula, Brook Benton, and Wilson Pickett – on their South African tours.
The group split in 1982, and Mabuse continued his music career as a solo artist. He dropped his crossover hit Burn Out the next year. It performed well and sold over half a million copies.
Mabuse dropped the anti-apartheid anthem Chant Of The Marching in 1989. After a long music break, he returned with an album titled Township Child in 1996. He has continued to release albums ever since.
Among his known songs are Jive Soweto (1986) and the anti-apartheid anthem Chant of the Marching (1989). He has performed in many African countries, Europe, and the United States.
Mabuse has worked with legendary artists such as Miriam Makeba, Sibongile Khumalo, Hugh Masekela, and Ray Phiri. He owned the legendary Kippies nightclub. He was also a board member of The National Arts Council and the South African Musicians Rights Organization.
Sipho received a South African Music Award Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. His contribution to the music industry earned him the Silver Order of Ikhamanga. Gallo dropped a hits collection on CD and DVD in 2013.
Highlights
- 2005: SAMA Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
- 2008: 46664 Ambassador for performing in London’s Hyde Park.
- 2009: 46664 Ambassador for performing at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
- 2018: Silver Order of Ikhamanga for his contribution to the field of music.
- 2018: Lifetime Achievement Award winner at the 13th Annual South African Traditional Music Achievements Awards (SATMA).
- 2021: Lifetime Achievement Award from GQ magazine.
Personal Life
Mabuse is has six children. His daughter Mpho Skeef is a singer who grew up in London. His big brother Hugh Masekela is a South African trumpeter. Sipho married Chichi Maponya, the eldest daughter of Richard Maponya. Their daughter Naledi got married on Saturday, 11 November 2017.
Mabuse was married to Mary Edwards. After their divorce, Mpho went to stay in London with her mother and her stepfather.
Sipho named one of his sons Biko after Steve Biko, an anti-apartheid activist. Biko is a rapper and performed on stage with Sipho at Ricoffy’s 50th birthday event.
Scandal
In 2015, Legendary singer Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse was arrested for allegedly being involved in assault and kidnapping. The authorities arrested him and two others after they allegedly kept and beat up Anthony Mamoepa and Thando Mbonambi at Mabuse’s Pimville, Soweto home.
Mabuse allegedly had caught them trying to sell a battery they had stolen from him. He walked out of the Lenasia Magistrate’s Court a free man in August 2015 after the case against him were withdrawn.
Profiles
Discography
Songs
- Burn Out
- Jive Soweto
- Thaba Bosiu
- Shikisha
- Refugee
- Rise
- Rumba Mama
- Let’s Get it On
- Breakdance
- Jive
- Nelson Mandela
- Give
- Zanzibar
- Mama
- Afrodizzia
- Thiba Kamoo
- Township Child
- Jika Jive
- Set Me Free
- Kalahari Rock
- I’m Waiting
- Khululani Umandela
- Jive Kwaito
- Party
- Taxi Driver
- The Creator Has a Master Plan
- Chant of the Marching
- Welcome
- Room of Horror
- Celebration
- Vukani
- What About Tomorrow?
Albums
- Township Child (1996)
- Chant of the Marching (2006)
- What About Tomorrow? (1991)
- Chant of the Marching – Live in Johannesburg (2005)
- Fishage (2012)
- The Ultimate ‘Hotstix’ (2013)
- Let’s Get It On (1985), EP
- Burn Out: 30th Anniversary Edition (2014)
- Grand Masters (2015)