Biography

Mbongeni Ngema born 1955, is a COMPOSER, a DIRECTOR, a CHOREOGRAPHER, a WRITER and PRODUCER. Mbongeni’s first love was theatre and the bug bit him while he was working in the factories where his colleagues created plays for their entertainment. He later joined the acting company of the country’s major theatre innovator and entrepreneur, Gibson Kente, where he learned theatre and went on to create his own plays. Ngema wrote and performed Woza Albert, an anti-apartheid comedy/drama that got rave reviews when it toured the US in 1984. Along with Hugh Masakela, Ngema wrote Sarafina, a musical drama that told the story of a day in the life of a South African township as seen through the eyes of a group of high school children. ~ J. Poet, Rovi Ngema is also famously known for being one of the vocal arrangers for the “The Lion King”. Ngema received the multi-platinum award for Lion King for sales in excess of 6 million copies at the time. He subsequently won a Grammy award for the music arrangement. As a composer, Ngema's biggest album in South Africa was 'Stimela Sase-Zola'. He has written numerous songs, arranged for artists like Michael Bolton on the soundtrack album for the movie 'Sing' and co-wrote backing vocals with Kenneth Gamble for one of 'Third World's albums. "Siyi-Nkatha, Siyi-ANC" - A song about reconciliation and unity was one of his biggest songs which was released during the Apartheid era.