Lebo Mathosa

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Lebo Mathosa
Background information
Born	1977
Origin	South Africa
Died	23 October 2006
Genre(s)	Kwaito, Hip hop
Years active	1994–1999 (group) 1999–2006 (solo)
Label(s)	EMI Africa
Website	http://www.bassline.co.za/lebo.htm

Lebo Mathosa (1977 - 23 October 2006) was a popular South African kwaito singer.

Mathosa started her career with the popular South African band Boom Shaka in 1994, before turning solo in 1999. Her debut solo album Dream went gold within 4 weeks of its launch in 2000. At the 2001 South African Music Awards, Mathosa won Best Dance Album for Dream, Best Dance Single for her debut single Intro from the same album, and Best Female Vocalist. Her next album, Drama Queen released in 2004, again earned the SA Music Award for Best Dance Album.^[1]

She topped the South African pop charts in 2004, and in 2006 she was nominated for a British MOBO award. She performed all over the world, from Southern Africa to Malaysia to Trafalgar Square in London, one of her most significant performances being at Nelson Mandela's 85th birthday party. She also toured the US with the show The Vagina Monologues.

She was well known for her dyed blond hair, her live shows and outrageous stage outfits, and was openly bisexual.^[2] She was frequently compared to the South African singer Brenda Fassie, who died in 2004. She won the Syle Best Dressed Woman of the Year Award in 2001, and was nominated by FHM magazine as one of Africa's sexiest women.^[3]

Mathosa died in a car crash, aged 29, after her driver lost control of her vehicle in Johannesburg.^[4]