Pops Mohamed (born Ismail Mohamed-Jan) is a South African

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician and producer. Born in

Benoni Benoni may refer to: Places * Benoni, Gauteng, a town in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, in the East Rand region of Gauteng province in South Africa * Benoni, a barangay in Mahinog, Camiguin, Philippines People * Benoni (given name), a ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

, Pops Mohamed had a career in music that was the logical outcome of an early exposure at

Dorkay House Dorkay House is situated on Portion 168 of Farm Turnfontein at 5–7 Eloff Street, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was constructed in 1952 and was designed by architect Colman Segal (1923–1988). It takes its name from the original owner, Dora Ko ...

to the likes of

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934), previously known as Dollar Brand, is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

and

Kippie Moeketsi Jeremiah "Kippie" Morolong Moeketsi (27 July 1925 – 27 April 1983) was a South African jazz musician, notable as an alto saxophonist. He is sometimes referred to as "the father of South African jazz" and as "South Africa's Charlie Parker".Jürg ...

. Mohamed's father was a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

heritage and his mother was of

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

and

Khoisan Khoisan ( ) or () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for the various Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who traditionally speak non-Bantu languages, combining the Khoekhoen and the San people, Sān peo ...

heritage. He grew up in the

community of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. He started his first band ''The Valiants'', at the age of 14. Known by fans as the "Minister of Music", he plays a wide variety of instruments: African mouth bow,

bird whistle Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...

berimbau The berimbau (, borrowed from Kimbundu ''mbirimbau'') is a traditional Angolan musical bow that is commonly used in Brazil. It is also known as ''sekitulege'' among the Baganda and Busoga. It consists of a single-stringed bow attached to a gourd ...

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

, kora, and the

thumb piano Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and ...

. He is also known for his wide range of musical styles which include kwela, pop, and soul."Pops Mohamed Biography"
''Sheer Sound''. He produced ''Finding One's Self'', the late Moses Taiwa Molelekwa's award-winning album. Pops has received a lifetime achievement award in 2023 pops is also known for visiting a wide number of countries Pops has also performed regularly with and sits on the board of the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company Pops has 3 children,7 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren

Discography

* ''Kalamazoo'' - 1991 * ''Sophiatown Society'' - 1992 (with

Morris Goldberg Morris Goldberg is a South African saxophonist who is recognised as one of the early pioneers of Cape Jazz, along with Dollar Brand, Merton Barrow, Winston Mankunku Ngozi and Chris McGregor. Biography Born in Cape Town, Goldberg grew up in Obs ...

) * ''Ancestral Healing'' - 1995 * ''How Far Have We Come'' - 1996 * ''Music With No Name'' - 1996 * ''Society Vibes'' - 1997 (with McCoy Mrubatha) * ''Timeless'' - 1997 * ''Millennium Experience'' - 2000 (with Zena Edwards) * ''Pops Mohamed Meets "The LondonSound Collective"'' - 1999 * ''Africa Meltdown'' - 2001 * ''Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow'' - 2002 * ''Mood Africa'' - 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohamed, Pops 1949 births Living people South African people of Indian descent South African jazz musicians South African Muslims South African people of Portuguese descent South African people of Xhosa descent