14 Shabalala

Mhlahleni James "14" Shabalala (died June 2007 According to the Durban Daily News, "He had been nicknamed '14' Shabalala by his grandmother because he was apparently abandoned by his mother when he was 14 days old." Shabalala was not educated and could not read or write and only spoke isiZulu and Afrikaans learned through conversations.

By the late 1970s, Shabalala went to Johannesburg in search of work. He bought his first guitar in 1981 and started singing for a living. Shabalala also featured on several recorded compilations. This included his dedication to Nelson Mandela featured on the Mandela Peace Rally recorded at Kings Park in Durban 26 Durban 1990. As an opening act, Shabalala also toured the United Kingdom with Joseph Shabalala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo in 2002.

Shabalala mostly played at festivals and his music was popular among his audiences, he however could not sell his CDs or cassettes in music shops as a result of Apartheid pressure. He was known for his trademark whistling words personalising each song with a string of deep Zulu singing clicks and percussive whistles as well as his personal guitar with 5 nylon strings with the high E string missing. His influences ranged from American country rock to flamenco, mixed into Zulu walking-pick, as well as rhythms of highlife and Zimbabwean chimurenga.

Death Shabalala died of liver cancer at his Bergville home, following a lengthy illness.

His archival material including photographs, vinyl records, letters and documents, are in the Hidden Years Music Archive, preserved at the Documentation Centre for Music, Stellenbosch University in 2017.

Discography "14" Shabalala released an album through 3rd Ear Music in 1991 called Is' Tofu Esisha.