Puseletso Seema

Puseletso Seema (born 1949 in Johannesburg) is a musician and performer of the Famo musical tradition in Lesotho. She has been acclaimed as the Queen of Famo, breaking in as a rare female voice in a male-dominated music genre.

Life Early life Puseletso Seema was born in 1949 in Seteketekeng, a neighborhood of Johannesburg whose name translates as "place of [drunken] staggering". She grew up in urban Soweto (South Africa) and rural Lesotho.

Touring musician Puseletso Seema performed her music at the mines, and excelled at dance where she wielded a fighting stick.

In 1980, Seema and her band recorded an album in Johannesburg. Her song in memory of a dead brother became a hit, and she gained entry into the otherwise male-dominated Famo scene.

Musical themes and living conditions Puseletso Seema released more than 30 albums. Her songs were scripted from her life experiences, her marriages and their failure.

Puseletso Seema was robbed several times of her possessions, including the traditional accordion that is emblematic of the music.

Puseletso Seema's performances tended to be live with minimal staging, featuring extended solos and themes. Performing on television, however, forced her and other Famo musicians to shorten their solos, and each song became more focused on one theme, rather than the amalgamation of thoughts familiar from live productions.

In popular culture Zakes Mda's novel Wayfarers' Hymns features Puseletso Seema.