Singing makes me feel satisfied, and I am so fortunate to be part of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I was there when the group was formed and we were not expecting to achieve as much as we have. To succeed in a large choir like ours you have to be passionate about music. You have to sacrifice your time, be dedicated and work hard. People ask us: "Do you ever argue?" But when our group is together we are always laughing and joking. We never argue, we just debate sometimes.
I find that it's more enjoyable when I sing to an audience than when we are recording, especially the smaller audiences because you are so close to the people. You can see them and feel them in front of you. When we did the Graceland tour with Paul Simon, I remember the first show that we staged, in Rotterdam. After we finished, the whole arena stood up and stomped so loud. We'd never heard that sort of sound before, it was amazing. The following morning the papers said that Ladysmith Black Mambazo stole the show! It was the most enjoyable tour I've had in my life.
The worst thing that happens on stage is when the power goes off. It has happened to us more than five times. We are on stage singing and then we realise that there is no sound. You can see the audience and their eyes are so wide. It's so embarrassing!
One performance that always stands out is when we sang for Nelson Mandela when he received his Nobel peace prize. There we witnessed that our home, South Africa, would be a peaceful country. It was wonderful and we were very emotional.
Our people tell us that our music gives them hope. The first time we performed for Mandela at his birthday party he said: "Keep up the good work, your music is an inspiration for me." Some people sang our music when they were in exile and in training camps; they say that singing our music gives them comfort in their difficulties.
After apartheid our music has been enhanced because we have more people appreciating what we do. When we perform in South Africa now, we can see a rainbow nation in the audience sitting side by side, enjoying the music.