Bongi Makeba
Bongi Makeba (20 December 1950 – 17 March 1985) was a South African singer/songwriter.
She was the only child of singer Miriam Makeba with her first husband, James Kubay.
Richard T. Jones
Richard Timothy Jones( born January 16, 1972) is an American actor.
Jones is best known for his portrayals of Laveinio in the dramatic film" The Wood"( 1999) and Mike of the dramatic films" Why Did I Get Married?"( 2007) and" Why Did I Get Married Too?"( 2010).
He is also well known for his role as Bruce Van Exel, court services officer on the CBS television series" Judging Amy" that aired from 1999 to 2005.
Michael Jai White
Michael Richard Jai White( born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, director, and martial artist.
He is the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, having starred as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 film" Spawn".
White appeared as Marcus Williams in the Tyler Perry films" Why Did I Get Married?" and" Why Did I Get Married Too?", and starred as the character on the TBS/ OWN comedy- drama television series" Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse".
White portrayed Jax Briggs in and the Cyborg Seth in, the return.
He portrayed boxer Mike Tyson in the 1995 HBO television movie" Tyson".
He also played the title role in the blaxploitation parody film" Black Dynamite", as well as the animated series of the same name.
Miriam Makeba
Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, United Nations goodwill ambassador, and civil rights activist.
Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa.
Born in Johannesburg to Swazi and Xhosa parents, Makeba was forced to find employment as a child after the death of her father.
She had a brief and allegedly abusive first marriage at the age of 17, gave birth to her only child in 1950, and survived breast cancer.
Her vocal talent had been recognized when she was a child, and she began singing professionally in the 1950s, with the Cuban Brothers, the Manhattan Brothers, and an all-woman group, the Skylarks, performing a mixture of jazz, traditional African melodies, and Western popular music.
In 1959, Makeba had a brief role in the anti-apartheid film "Come Back, Africa", which brought her international attention, and led to her performing in Venice, London, and New York City.
In London, she met the American singer Harry Belafonte, who became a mentor and colleague.
She moved to New York City, where she became immediately popular, and recorded her first solo album in 1960.
Her attempt to return to South Africa that year for her mother's funeral was prevented by the country's government.
Makeba's career flourished in the United States, and she released several albums and songs, her most popular being "Pata Pata" (1967).
Along with Belafonte she received a Grammy Award for her 1965 album "An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba".
She testified against the South African government at the United Nations and became involved in the civil rights movement.
She married Stokely Carmichael, a leader of the Black Panther Party, in 1968.
As a result, she lost support among white Americans and faced hostility from the US government, leading her and Carmichael to move to Guinea.
She continued to perform, mostly in African countries, including at several independence celebrations.
She began to write and perform music more explicitly critical of apartheid; the 1977 song "Soweto Blues", written by her former husband Hugh Masekela, was about the Soweto uprising.
After apartheid was dismantled in 1990, Makeba returned to South Africa.
She continued recording and performing, including a 1991 album with Nina Simone and Dizzy Gillespie, and appeared in the 1992 film "Sarafina!".
She was named a UN goodwill ambassador in 1999, and campaigned for humanitarian causes.
She died of a heart attack during a 2008 concert in Italy.
Makeba was among the first African musicians to receive worldwide recognition.
She brought African music to a Western audience, and popularized the world music and Afropop genres.
She also made popular several songs critical of apartheid, and became a symbol of opposition to the system, particularly after her right to return was revoked.
Upon her death, former South African President Nelson Mandela said that "her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us."
Denise Boutte
Denise Boutte is an American actress and model, who has appeared in the films" Why Did I Get Married?" as Trina,, as Mandy," Sister's Keeper" and" Noah's Arc".
She starred in the sitcom" Meet the Browns" as Sasha Brown.
Tasha Smith
Tasha Smith( born February 28, 1971) is an American actress, director and producer.
She began her career in a starring role on the NBC comedy series" Boston Common"( 1996 – 97), and she later appeared in numerous movies and television series.
Smith has appeared in films include" The Whole Ten Yards"( 2004)," Daddy's Little Girls"( 2007)," The Longshots"( 2008)," Couples Retreat"( 2009), and" Jumping the Broom"( 2011).
She starred as Angela Williams in the Tyler Perry films" Why Did I Get Married?"( 2007), its sequel" Why Did I Get Married Too?"( 2010), and on the television series based on the movies," For Better or Worse"( 2011–2017).
In 2015, she began a recurring role as Carol Holloway on the Fox musical drama series" Empire".
Later in the same year, Smith made her directorial debut.
Sharon Leal
Sharon Ann Leal( born October 17, 1972) is an American actress and singer.
She is known for her roles in movies such as" Dreamgirls This Christmas Why Did I Get Married?
Why Did I Get Married Too?" and her roles on the television shows" LegacyGuiding Light", and" Boston Public".
Katherine Rosman
Katherine Barnett Rosman( born March 2, 1972) is an American writer and reporter for the New York Times, previously at the Wall Street Journal.
She wrote the article about Natasha Gregson Wagner," Mother ’s Death, a Daughter ’s Life: Remembering Natalie Wood Story".
Shelly West
Shelly West( born May 23, 1958) is an American country music singer.
Her mother was the country music star Dottie West, whose career spanned three decades.
The younger West reached her peak in popularity during the 1980s before mostly retiring in the wake of her mother's death.
Lamman Rucker
Lamman Rucker( born October 6, 1971) is an American actor.
Rucker began his career on the daytime soap operas" As the World Turns" and" All My Children", before roles in Tyler Perry's films
" Why Did I Get Married?
Why Did I Get Married Too?", and" Meet the Browns", and its television adaptation.
In 2016, he began starring as Jacob Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series," Greenleaf".

Question: Why did Bongi Makeba's mother die?