Singer, songwriter, arts activist and Yeoville community enthusiast Aura Grace Msimang, who has died at the age of 68, was an unsung musical hero and a passionate proponent of pan-Africanism and the potential of young people to effect societal change. Msimang, also known as Aura Lewis, died in Johannesburg on December 28 after suffering a stroke.London's Daily Telegraph, in its obituary, praised her as "a South African singer who made an important contribution to Jamaican reggae, performing on some of the greatest roots records of the late 1970s; her work with Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Lee 'Scratch' Perry helped reggae to forge a visceral connection with the African motherland".Msimang's early exposure to the thriving Sophiatown music scene influenced her own wide-ranging musical style. At the age of seven she saw Miriam Makeba perform in Bloemfontein, and the die was cast. Makeba remained her lifelong inspiration.When Msimang was 15 she left South Africa with her family. They lived in several countries, including Rhodesia, Botswana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria during the Biafran oil war.Having completed her school career at the Annie Walsh Memorial School in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Msimang moved to the US in 1968, a crucial time in the evolution of black nationalism and African-American music.From Martin Luther King jnr and Malcolm X on the political front to Amiri Baraka and Stokely Carmichael on the creative arts scene, Msimang recalled these as "the best moments in African-American history".She married jazz musician Art Lewis and had a son, Alpha, before moving to Kingston, Jamaica, on a two-year scholarship at the Jamaican School of Arts.In Kingston Msimang met contemporary reggae stars, including Dennis Brown, "Cool Ruler" Gregory Isaacs, DJ Big Youth and Bunny Wailer. To meet living expenses she worked as a back-up vocalist, including on the Junior Byles reggae classic, Curly Locks. She hung out at Tuff Gong on Hope Road, the haunt of Marley, who Msimang had met in New York.Cliff invited her to do backing vocals on his West Africa concert tour. On a 1977 stopover in London en route back to Kingston, Cliff took Msimang to the famous Island Records studios where he introduced her to Perry, who was working with Marley at the time.Msimang ended up performing vocals on the first take of Marley's Punky Reggae Party , together with Candy McKenzie and members of Aswad and Third World.Back in Jamaica, Msimang recorded an album with her own group, Full Experience, produced by Perry at his legendary Black Ark studios. Unfortunately, it was only (partially) released 12 years later, due to what she described as a "nightmarish first experience in the real world of recorded music".Msimang departed Jamaica for Miami, where she worked part-time as an arts and culture teacher, and sold honey and homemade ginger beer at a farmers' market. She joined Cliff on a three-continent tour in 1980, which culminated in an appearance in the film Bongo Man.Msimang performed with Marley's mother, Cedella Booker, at Marley's funeral in Montego Bay in 1981.Msimang lived for some time in Paris and Brussels before returning to South Africa, finding her niche in the melting pot of Yeoville, a Johannesburg neighbourhood with a large immigrant population from across Africa.Her album Itshe, recorded in Brussels in 2000, was inspired by her return and showcases Msimang's broad musical range, underpinned by her African roots.Affectionately known as Ma'Aura by the artist fraternity and the street children in Yeoville, Msimang brought the skills she'd honed as a pedagogic facilitator for Oxfam in Belgium, to her new-found passion for encouraging Yeoville's young people to explore their creativity through the arts.In 2010, Msimang hosted the first Africa Week in Yeoville.Msimang's third album, Afrikan Child, a blend of African folk, reggae, funk and kwaito, was catalysed by her interactions with young men who grew up without father figures, and consequently make poor choices.Msimang's fluent French enabled her to communicate with Yeoville residents from Francophone countries and she also learnt Tswana and Zulu after her return. Msimang truly became the Mother of Yeoville, especially of its often rootless and confused young people.She is survived by her son Alpha Lewis and two siblings.On Saturday, her fellow artists and musicians will honour Msimang in a street parade beginning at 10am at Rare Cuisine in Rockey Street, Yeoville, followed by a memorial service at the Yeoville Recreation Centre1947-2015..