Mzwakhe Mbuli Brings His `Trans-African Rock 'N' Roll'

Mzwakhe Mbuli & The Equals, tonight, 8 p.m., The Pacific Northwest Black Community Festival, Judkins Park. Tommorrow, Volunteer Park, with Obo Addy & Kukrudo, Musango, L'Orchestra Afrisound and Afree Rhythm. Rakumi Arts' Second Birthday Party, noon to 6 p.m. Both free. Sunday, 9 p.m., Backstage, $6. --------------------------------------------------------------- Mzwakhe Mbuli, South African poet, musician and political activist, is riding a well-deserved wave of popularity, both internationally and at home. This wasn't always so.

While Mbuli's (his name is pronounced Miz-WAH-kee m-BUL-lee) first album, "Change Is Pain," was breaking worldwide in 1987, it was banned in South Africa. Mbuli was languishing in detention for his anti-apartheid beliefs and the fervor and artistry with which he expressed them. His countrymen in the townships and cities and villages loved him. The government did not. The result was considered a typical South African contradiction: The poet is silenced, the poet reaches a larger audience.

The music Mbuli reached other shores with is a curious melange of rock, reggae, disco, metal and native rhythms of the Zulu and Sotho. Mbuli calls it "trans-African rock 'n' roll." His lyrics are written mostly in English, actually poetry rhythmically recited, usually against a musical background.

During the recording of "Change Is Pain," the music tracks were recorded first and Mblui came in when he could to lay down the

lyrics. It's called "workshopping" in South Africa. In Europe and America it's considered standard operating procedure. In Mbuli's case, he "workshopped" because if he stayed in one place too long, he risked getting discovered and imprisoned. He eventually was.

The towering Mbuli, 6 foot 4 and now 33, was introduced to performing by his father, a Zulu, who took him to cultural events. When he became an adult he joined the performing group "Khuvhangano." It was then he began writing and performing his own poetry. He eventually began performing at union meetings. In his mid 20s, he became a prominent member of the "cultural committee" of the United Democratic Front, the now-banned umbrella of many anti-apartheid organizations.

His detention, in solitary confinement, lasted six months. During that time he began writing the poetry that would become his second album, "Unbroken Spirit." One of the songs, "Alone," describes his imprisonment. Another, "Crocodile," states his position as artist and activist clearly: "I represent a nation, I recite for a nation."

In the same song, he expresses his frustration:

"How hard and tormenting it is,

to write about slavery and not freedom.

When shall I write about daffodils?"

Mbuli continued even after his release from detention to be hampered by the South African officials. After all, it was the authorities who banned "Change is Pain" because they felt that "with its stirring music and dramatic presentation (would) have a great influence among revolutionary groups in the RSA and at mass meetings as well." It was 18 months before he was allowed any kind of visa. Eventually the restrictions fell. He began playing stadiums across Africa in 1989 and eventually toured Europe. This year he has played in Japan, Canada and now the United States. His performances this weekend are his first on the West Coast.

Mzwakhe Mbuli's work is a cross-weave of despair and hope, loss and triumph. "Change Is Pain" is filled with titles like "Behind The Bars," "The Time Is Now," "The Spear Has Fallen," and "The Day Shall Dawn." The album title "Unbroken Spirit" transcendently sums up Mbuli's convictions. But the lyric from "The Beat" best captures his sense of self, survival and nation:

"Admire me, I am the beats,

From the conga drums of Thabazimbi,

I convey the royal messages to the people.

Listen to the rhythm, Listen to the beats,

From the Congo River to the great ocean,

I am like a telex of culture . . .

Admire me . . . I am the beats of change in Africa."