As soon as the beat drops for the song Jabulani, everyone jumps on it. Three decades after it dropped, it's still a jam.
And then you add in Feel so Strong, Bette Davis Eyes and Mama Africa and there's no mistaking who we are talking about.
It's the legendary PJ Powers. The musician was recently bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Basadi in Music Awards. When she got the honour, she had just come back from her UK tour.
She got the honorary award alongside the legendary musicians Letta Mbulu and Angélique Kidjo.
This isn't her first Lifetime Award. PJ Powers, real name Penelope Dunlop, got one from the South African Music Awards in 2021 and says the Basadi one feels different.
She has been in the industry for 42 years. She's managed to get two Lifetime Achievement awards and five Legend Awards, and these accolades matter to her.
The 63-year-old says she is fortunate that she gets a Lifetime Achievement Award at her age because other artists get them when they are much older.
“I am relatively young to get this specific award. My career started when I was 18 years old. I am incredibly proud to be honoured for the work I do, what I do, and what I am passionate about are extremely important. Anyone who thinks it's not, shouldn’t be in [this] business,” she says.
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“When you win an award like that, you are on cloud nine and it lifts you. And suddenly it starts to taper off and you wish to go back to that night, but you can’t. I am 63 years old and still have a lot of careers left in me. I want to drop music till people don’t want to listen to me anymore.”
PJ Powers says she feels touched and honoured by this award because she received it during Women’s Month, from the awards that celebrate women all over Africa and alongside the greatest artists in the music industry.
“I think that Basadi Awards are a first of its kind, and we must support that wonderful woman Hloni Modise. She is beautiful and strong. It was wonderful to be nominated as a woman, and it is a great women’s event. I feel proud and unbelievably flattered to the company as Angélique Kidjo and Letta Mbulu have been part of my career. I feel excited and if I am allowed to, I feel proud to win a Lifetime Achievement African award as a white person.”
She says she always says that as a white woman, she has been blessed to receive love, affection, and support from black Africans.
“It is not a usual thing to happen, and I am extremely blessed. My biggest award is the love and support that I’ve received from Africa. This specific award is a female’s award, I got a Lifetime Achievement from the SAMAs I am very proud of it but this one is about African women. And to be recognised and given a thumbs up by African women is a huge honour, and I haven’t lost sight of that.”
She says now more than ever, she celebrates the month of women, and in her acceptance speech she mentioned that people are conscious of gender and gender fluidity, binary, nonbinary trans, and she says she is not saying it is a bad thing.
“Amidst this gender-centric world, we live in, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that women have fought for their place in society. The women before us and the women globally have been fighting, and we must be careful that women don’t lose their place as being known to women. I agree with gender fluidity, and whatever you want to identify yourself, but you can’t be ashamed and start feeling like to be so politically correct that you are ashamed to say we are women.”
PJ Powers says this is a very important month now, and she thinks that is a very important time in the striving for women to be recognised.
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Getting the award is not the only thing that she will be celebrating this year. She now owns the master of her music as well. She tells Drum that she released her 20-track album titled Rightfully Mine on all digital platforms.
“This album has everything from Mapantsula and all my other old hits. We are working on releasing a single from the album. The album is called Rightfully Mine because I have been in dispute and been severely ripped off by my ex-publisher and record company. I have re-recorded my catalogue because I own my master's. In the olden days we were not as conscious as young people are these days about owning their artistic assets. I am in a situation of owning my masters, I own my songs.”
She says she also does a lot of business coaching and forming modules for businesses and does a lot of work when it comes to racial healing.
“This country needs racial healing, it is sad, you would’ve thought that we done this test and passed it. Unfortunately, the racial division in this country may be even bigger than it was in 1994. I will continue to be an activist and work to build a country that is safe for all the people living in it. I am not happy with how the poor are getting poorer in this country, it doesn’t please me. It didn’t please me in the past regime, and the regime now is not doing what it should be doing for the people of South Africa.”
