In a career spanning nearly 30 years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has recorded 40 albums and sold more than 6 million records.

CAPA presents Ladysmith Black Mambazo at the Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St. on Feb. 24, at 8 p.m.

First brought to the attention of an international audience through Paul Simon’s Graceland recording, Ladysmith’s first U.S. album, Shaka Zulu, won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. Since then, the group has received 15 Grammy nominations, including a recent nomination for the 2008 Best Traditional World Music Album for its latest CD, Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo represents the traditional culture of South Africa. In 1993, at Nelson Mandela's request, Ladysmith Black Mambazo accompanied the future President to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway. Mambazo sang again at President Mandela's inauguration in May of 1994.

More than 20 years ago, Paul Simon was captivated by the stirring harmonies of Ladysmith Black Mamabazo and incorporated them into his Graceland album.

The music sung by Ladysmith Black Mambazo was born in the mines of South Africa and is called isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Me-Ya). Men were transported by rail to work far away from their homes and families. They would entertain themselves after a six-day week by singing songs into the early hours every Sunday morning.

In the late 1950s, Joseph Shabalala left the family farm to work in a factory in Durban. After singing with several groups in Durban, he returned to his hometown of Ladysmith and began to put together groups of his own, recruiting family and friends along the way.

The name Ladysmith Black Mambazo came about as a result of winning every singing competition in which the group entered. "Ladysmith" is the hometown of the Shabalala family; "Black" references the black oxen, considered to be the strongest on the farm; "Mambazo" refers to the Zulu word for ax, symbolic of the group's ability to "chop down" the competition.

For more information on the group, visit www.mambazo.com.

Tickets for the performance are $32.50 and $27.50 at the Ohio Theatre Ticket Office, 39 E. State St., all Ticketmaster outlets, and at www.ticketmaster.com.