Caiphus Semenya

Caiphus Semenya (born 19 August 1939) is a South African composer and musician. As a young musician he sang in the cast of the jazz musical King Kong. After moving to the United States in the 1960s he had a successful career as a composer and arranger, including work on the scores for Roots and The Color Purple (1985).

Biography Caiphus Katse Semenya was born in Johannesburg's Alexandra Township on 19 August 1939 in a musically inclined family. Semenya formed a recording label, "Munjale". He returned to South Africa in 1991. 2015: ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Music 1986: Academy Award for Best Original Score for the 1985 film The Color Purple; shared the nomination with nine other composers.

Discography The Very Best of Caiphus Semenya (Columbia, 1996) Woman Got a Right to Be (1996) Streams Today... Rivers Tomorrow (Munjale, 1984) Listen to the Wind (CBS, 1982)

With Quincy Jones Roots (A&M, 1977)