Jabu realised very clearly that Africa's traditions and cultures are similar to ours in the Southern tip. Umkhaya-Lo' is a combination of songs written mostly by Jbau and Thapelo that weave a tapestry of West African and South African rhythms that lyrically find root in the South. On the title track Jabu sings of his searching for the perfect woman, a woman with a love stronger than the distinctly African Baobab tree, for the stronger we are the longer we last. And 'Amadlozi' is a tribute to the ancestors that guide out paths. Amambawu' continues where 'Mbube', one of Bayete's most famous songs, left off.
Traditional beer goes hand in hand with partying.
In all the album is 10 new sublimely African tracks that embrace the skills of Victor Masondo, Jabu Sibumbe, Kenny Mathaba and Don Gumbo amongst others. Live Jabu Kanyile has taken to sporting an African Flystick, usually the domain of African Royalty. It was on tour in Kenya that someone in the audience got on stage and presented him with the gift - it was in recognition of Jabu's pan Africanism in his dress, his music, his philosophy. And it is a crown he wears regally never gracing the stage without it. It is a role he has grown into gracefully over many years of frustration and success.