'I'm sorry for Lebo gaffe'

Canadian-born local star Zaki Ibrahim yesterday apologised for her below-par performance at the Hansa Festival of Legends, where she was roped in to pay tribute to Lebo Mathosa.

The event was held at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Johannesburg.

The Go Widdit singer, nominated for the upcoming SA Music Awards, was booed during her performance as she tried to pay homage to the former Boom Shaka star who died in a road accident in October 2006.

In an e-mailed response to The Times yesterday, Mathosa's former bandmates Thembi Seete and Theo Nhlengethwa said they had "no say" in musical director Bradley Wiliams' decision to go with Ibrahim.

"We knew her personality on and offstage," read the response, "so naturally we should have been the people to recommend and suggest an artist who we believed could closely portray Lebo's role. We argued our case to have someone else for the tribute."

Seemingly letting bygones be bygones, the response read further: "We still had a good time on stage and it was amazing to see how the audience reacted when we walked on. We thank the people for showing us love and cheering us on."

Ibrahim, who has performed alongside superstars such as Erykah Badu, Saul Williams, Mos Def and The Roots, went as far as having her black hair braided and dyed blonde, similar to Mathosa's famous look.

But it left festival-goers disappointed. Many criticised her dancing, others her vocals and some blamed the poor sound.

Yesterday, she refused to blame the sound, calling it a "cop-out", in a statement.

"I would like to say how sorry I am to the fans of Lebo Mathosa for their unfortunate experience on Saturday night of what should have been a crystal clear communication of my respect for her," she said.

"Lebo is the only one of her kind and can never be replaced."

Ibrahim added: "I worked hard developing the set for hours, above what would have been the required preparation to pull off an amazing show."

Legend Brenda Fassie's son Bongani says he is looking into taking the hologram of his late mother on tour with him, after performing alongside the digital "resurrection" this past weekend.

The optical illusion, which featured an actress with professionally applied make-up and in a replica of the Too Late For Mama singer's sequinned blue jumpsuit, cost around R16-million to put together, but drew divided opinions about its effectiveness.

But Bongani said yesterday that he was satisfied with how the performance went.

"It was never going to be the real Brenda, even the Tupac hologram wasn't the real Tupac," he said. "I'm happy and grateful. It may not have been perfect, but it's only going to get better."