Growing up in Mofolo, Soweto, I remember my mother would play her music on spring cleaning days. For her, it was therapeutic to clean while singing along to the gospel praises.
I grew to like Fraser’s music and knew most of the songs word for word.
When travelling to KwaZulu-Natal with my parents, I knew that I would listen to Fraser and Lucky Dube (my dad’s favourite artist) throughout the six-hour drive.
The funny thing is that I never met the “Hamba we Sathane” hitmaker until 2020. We were at the South African Fashion Week media screen at the Mall of Africa, and she sat next to me.
We had a lovely chat, and I was emotional because she reminded me so much of my mother, who passed away when I was 10.
She gave me a warm hug and on my way back home, I played some of her old hits.
Here are my top five Deborah Fraser songs:
“Uma Kungenxa”
“Ngonile”
“Lobuhlungu”
“Hamba we Sathane”
“Siyakhothama”
Fraser passed away on May 15, 2022, after a short illness. Her family released a statement confirming her passing.
They said: “It is with deep sadness to inform you of the passing of our beloved mother, sister, aunt and friend, and gospel musician, Dr Deborah Fraser, following a short illness. She passed today (Sunday, May 15) after midday, in the presence of her family and friends.
“As Dr Deborah Fraser's family, we would like to be given space to process and deal with this very tragic situation.”