Joseph Shabalala

Bhekizizwe Joseph Siphatimandla Mxhoveni Mshengu Bigboy Shabalala, otherwise known as Joseph Shabalala (born 28 August 1941) is the lead singer and founder of the South African choral group

Bhekizizwe Joseph Siphatimandla Mxhoveni Mshengu Bigboy Shabalala, otherwise known as Joseph Shabalala (born 28 August 1941) is the lead singer and founder of the South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Joseph was born in the town of Ladysmith (eMnambithi district) in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa. His parents, Jonathan Mluwane Shabalala and Nomandla Elina Shabalala, raised Joseph and his six siblings on a white-owned farm called Tugela. His father died in the late 1940s; Joseph, being the eldest, had to take care of the family. He left the farm, however, in 1958 to search for work in the nearby town of Durban.