Amaqhawe Omgqashiyo

Amaqhawe Omgqashiyo was the first release by Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens after their comeback in 1983. The group (known here as Mahlathini Nezintombi Zomgqashiyo - Mahlathini and the Girls of Mgqashiyo) was reunited by producers Rupert Bopape and West Nkosi - the main difference in the group was that of the Mahotella Queens. In 1971, the original group of five Queens (Hilda Tloubatla, Juliet Mazamisa, Ethel Mngomezulu, Nobesuthu Mbadu and Mildred Mangxola) all left to care for their families, with Mahlathini recording for EMI. An entirely new group of Queens was formed. This incarnation recorded some successful releases, one of them Izibani Zomgqashiyo (1977), but disbanded around 1982. This was when work for Amaqhawe Omgqashiyo, the reunion of Mahlathini with the original Queens, was started.

The album was reissued in North America and Europe under The Title Isomiso in 1984. Several songs on this album (and the following release, Pheletsong Ya Lerato) were selected for the Mahlathini and the Queens compilation The Lion Roars (1991).

Track listing

1. "Amaqhawe Omgqashiyo" ("The Heroes of Mgqashiyo Music")
2. "Simenyiwe" ("We've Been Invited")
3. "Satane Ngiyeke"
4. "Isomiso" ("Drought")
5. "Maye Maye"
6. "Somandla Siyabonga" ("Lord, We Thank You")
7. "Kwa Volondiya" ("At Volondiya")
8. "Ngicabange Ngaqeda" ("I Have Made Up My Mind")
9. "Emthonjeni Womculo" ("The Stream of Music")
10. "Ngasebenza Ngedwa" ("I'm Working Alone")