Cruise 5 with Rebecca Malope

Born Batsogile Lovederia Malupi, Rebecca Malope is the Queen of Gospel from South Africa. In her early age she was confined to a wheelchair after an illness; doctors believed she would be unable to walk on her own. At the age of 16 she and her sister Cynthia left their home township of Kanyamazane, near Nelspruit, and hiked 400 km (250 mi) to Evaton, and then finally reached Johannesburg. In 1985, Malope entered the Shell Road to Fame television contest with the band she was with, but they were eliminated in the first round of the competition. Despite winning Shell Road to Fame, she struggled to find a record company. Finally she was given a recording contract by MFM but was told that gospel music was off-limits. She was pushed to perform disco songs to sell records to compete with Brenda Fassie, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Mercy Phakela who were the biggest female artists at the time. She fought on and got her breakthrough through gospel music. She is now a recipient of multiple awards, her music is now enjoyed across the world, with huge listenership in Africa, USA, Sweden, Netherlands, Paris, Australia, Japan, and the UK. In 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa honoured her with the Order of Ikhamanga for her distinguished contribution to South African music.