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Lala
was born Nhiimbi Malala Mutinta Ng'andu on August 30 in
Lusaka, Zambia sometime in the 1970s. She was the last of 4
children, and the only girl-child of Malambo and Bathsheba
Ng'andu. She was raised in a deeply religious but politically
active Christian family.
Her
mother's side of the family is very active in the musical
circles of her home Church. The Advent Chords, The Paradise
Sisters and The Crusaders are all groups her mother, uncles
and aunts belonged to and helped found. She grew up listening
to their music and watching their performances so it wasn't
long before she too caught the music bug. By age 5, she was
singing in church with her family. Daddy sang bass (really),
Mother sang alto, her three brothers sang baritone, lead and
tenor, and she alternated between soprano and alto, depending
on the song. When Lala was 9 years old, her mother attended
Columbia University in New York City.
Lala
joined her mother for a year and, while there, she joined her
first musical group, a Children's Choir at Ephesus Church in
Manhattan. Her musical experience which had been primarily
African now expanded to include the spiritual and contemporary
gospel genres.
After
moving back to Zambia, Lala continued to participate in many
different musical groups. In 1990, her family moved to
Zimbabwe and, at age 14 while in High School at Anderson
Academy in Gweru, Zimbabwe, her cousin Mwampande Malekano, two
other friends (Nomvuselelo Ngwenya and Cynthia Kona) and Lala
formed a group they called the 'Jubilant Sisters Quartet',
named in part to reflect her brothers' equivalent quartet, the
Jubilant Brothers
Quartet, more popularly known as 'JBQ'.
After
returning to Zambia, Lala joined the Lusaka Central Church
youth choir, Voices of Praise. She was also a member of a
singing trio called 'Gilead' with her best friend Mbonyiwe
Tembo and Franklin Mukakanga of Choice FM fame. Lala moved to
Ficksburg, South Africa to
attend nursing school at Maluti. While there, she experienced
the soul of South African music. Another dimension was added
to her already growing musical
experience. In 2001, Lala moved to the United States where her
musical talent came full circle.
She
joined a Gospel Quintet called 'Gods Favor' and reinforced her
black gospel music experience. With her brother,
composer/producer Mabuti Ng'andu, they conceived the dream
that would become this, her debut album, 'Redeemed'. Lala now
lives in Southern California. In
addition to her solo music, she also sings with a southern
African coral group 'Thokoza', also a Malabath Music family
group.
Courtesy
of Malabath Music
visit
Malabath.com
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