The Mahotella Queens, Hilda Tloubatla, Mildred Mangxola, and Nobesethu Mbadu, are part of the legend of urban South African music known as mbaquanga. In the early 1960's, they helped the legendary Simon Nkabindé Mahlathini (the "Lion of Soweto") and the Makgona Tsothle Band create mbaqanga, a fusion of traditional South African tribal music (Zulu, Sotho, Shangaan and Xhosa) with marabi (South African jazz), blues, soul, and gospel.

Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens played halls and township dances in South Africa. Their original sound was named the "indestructible beat of Soweto," and their rhythmic dance music and soaring vocal harmonies embodied the spirit of the oppressed peoples of the townships. The group took a break in the mid-1970's to raise families, but reunited with Malathini in 1987 for a successful tour of Europe and United States.

Following the tragic death of Mahlathini and the dissolution of the Makagona Tsothle Band in 1999, the Mahotella Queens struck out on their own with a national tour and released a recording entitled Sebai Bai. In 2000, they received the second annual WOMEX (Worldwide Music Expo) Award, presented for outstanding contribution to world music.

The Best of (Wrasse Records WRASS 098, 2003)