Remembering Pops Mohamed

When Bolepu Mathabatha met with Pops Mohamed to repair his damaged kora, the moment felt like renewal rather than loss. In a short video posted on social media, Mohamed can be seen thanking Mathabatha, whom he affectionately calls the ‘Kora Doctor’.

Seated by the veranda at Mathabatha’s home in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, Mohamed’s heartfelt appreciation to Mathabatha lingers on the screen.

Little did Mathabatha and the music world know we would lose the maestro a few days later.

The globally renowned South African musician died on 4 December 2025 just days before his 76th birthday. 

“Bra Pops heard from a friend that I build and fix koras so he paid me a visit three days before his passing to do repairs on his first traditional kora,” said Mathabatha during an interview with Mail & Guardian.

“He also told me the instrument is from Gambia and that it was about or over 100 years old. We spoke about music, different artists who play the kora, different tunings and prospects of collaborating on a project in the near future. Overall, I felt blessed by his visit.”

In the said video, shot by veteran journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika, Mohamed is convivial and full of life, even mentioning an upcoming online concept over the next weekend. Mathabatha and Wa Afrika are probably some of the last people to capture the last days of this genius on camera.

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news of his passing because hours earlier, I was chatting with him on the phone. We have lost a library in Bra Pops but his legacy will live on. He has passed on the baton to us to continue to work on cultural preservation through music and art,” added Mathabatha.

In a post on X a day after his passing Wa Afrika said: “Bra Pops Mohamed when you called me yesterday at 13h47, I didn’t know you were trying to say goodbye and I am sad, heartbroken and feeling blessed at the same [time].”

He continued: “We spent the whole day on Monday fixing your Kora, Fatima which is named after your mother, and talking about music and now you are gone. Rest in Power, my dear brother.”

Many others in the arts sector have shared their shock and condolences, including Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie. 

In a statement he said: “Pops Mohamed was not merely a musician but a guardian of our cultural heritage, a teacher, a visionary. His music carried the voices of our ancestors and opened doors for new generations to embrace and celebrate our roots.”

It is however people like Mathabatha, who had a unique and personal account with the maestro days before his passing.

A life well lived

Born Ismail Mohamed-Jan on 10 December 1949 in Benoni, Gauteng, Mohamed’s musical legacy spans over five decades. He was amply referred to as the ‘Minister of Music’, due to his prolific fusion of traditional African music with jazz, kwela, soul, world music and contemporary influences.

Mohamed was a brilliant composer, producer and a masterful multi-instrumentalist with exceptional command of an array of instruments including the kora, mbira, African mouth bow, didgeridoo, berimbau, guitar and keyboard.

He was a true cultural custodian who drew from the richness of his father’s Indian and Portuguese ancestry along with his mother’s Xhosa and Khoisan heritage. This blend of backgrounds shaped his open-minded approach to music.

During apartheid, his family was forced to relocate to Reiger Park, a township situated in Boksburg, Gauteng. This hostile experience influenced both his worldview and the stories behind his music.

His childhood was a carnival of different sounds — from traditional African instruments to jazz and popular music. His musical identity was also shaped by hearing migrant mine workers playing mbiras and mouth-bows alongside jazz musicians.

In high school, he frequented cultural hubs such as Dorkay House and the Bantu Men’s Social Centre in central Johannesburg, where he heard prominent jazz artists rehearse. At age 14, he founded his first band, known as The Valiants. Later he played in groups such as Children’s Society, with whom he scored a township hit called I’m a Married Man. 

As he matured, he began exploring and mastering a wide variety of 

traditional and indigenous instruments often blending these with contemporary jazz, soul and world-music.

In the 1990s for instance, he worked with San communities of the Kalahari thus shaping some of his most influential recordings, including How Far Have We Come.

He collaborated with fellow musicians such as Sipho Gumede and Basil Coetzee and also worked with international artists. As a producer, he worked on the critically acclaimed album Finding One’s Self by the late jazz pianist Moses Taiwa Molelekwa.

His 1995 album Ancestral Healing won the FNB-SAMA award for Best Traditional Performance. In 2010 he received the Arts & Culture Trust Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2023 he was awarded the South African Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.

A remastered version of his 2006 album Kalamazoo, Vol. 5 (A Dedication to Sipho Gumede) had also been released on digital platforms a few days before his death.

Influence to the younger generation.

Mohamed’s illustrious career has influenced many musicians to think differently about the role of indigenous African instruments. As a crafter and player of traditional instruments, Mathabata said Mohamed’s passion for blending traditional and modern sounds was ground-breaking.

“He was a pioneer who broke boundaries and we were blessed to busk in his light. As one of a few kora players in South Africa he was the first person to introduce the instrument to us. His music played a significant role to me as a blueprint of how a kora sounds.”  

I shared in Mathabata’s reflection when Mohamed graced our screens in our younger days. Southern Rhythms: Sacred Music of South Africa which aired on SABC 2, was a masterclass on the depth of our indigenous music and culture.

“As a young man I used to follow his television programme where he travelled around visiting different ethnic people exploring their music. It was amazing and eye opening,” Mathabata added.

The series, which celebrated our diverse cultures through performances by indigenous musicians, was confirmation of Mohamed’s mission to learn, promote and preserve indigenous heritage in a contemporary world.

Mohamed’s commitment to playing indigenous instruments blended with modern sounds wasn’t a journey travelled alone.

Sello Galane, Tlale Makhene, Dizu Plaatjies, Derek Gripper, Latozi “Madosini” Mpahleni, and Tlokwe Sehume amongst others are a handful of South African musicians who championed playing of traditional instruments.

Mathabatha on the other hand, is among a new generation of musicians also finding inspiration. This includes the likes of Thandeka Mfinyongo, Azah, and the late percussionist Thabang Tabane — the son of the legendary Philip Tabane.

“It is imperative as younger musicians to use indigenous African instruments in our music. It’s our heritage and it’s up to us to preserve, modernise them and carry them to the future for the next generations,” Mathabatha added.

He conceded that a lot of work still has to be done but was happy to see people starting to use African indigenous instruments in their music.

Besides the kora, Mathabatha said there were plenty indigenous instruments in the continent that need to be explored further.

To name a few, he mentioned the krar – a five-or-six stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Ethiopia; Madagascar’s valiha and the Adungu, of the Acholi people of Northern Uganda.

“There are a lot of amazing African musical instruments which the world doesn’t know and it’s all upon us to bring them to the frontier,” Mathabatha concluded.

With a career spanning five decades and more than 20 albums Pops Mohamed leaves behind a powerful legacy as a musical pioneer and cultural custodian.