Rebecca Malope (born 30 June 1968) is a South African gospel singer and television personality. She is known for winning the talent competition “Shell Road to Fame” in 1987.
Malope has been singing for over 30 years and has sold over 10 million albums worldwide. She hosted the television show It’s Gospel Time from 2004 to 2019. In 2021, President Ramaphosa honoured her with the Order of Ikhamanga for her contribution to South African music.
Rebecca Malope
Rebecca Malope is known as “The Queen of Gospel”
Personal Details
Name:
Batsogile Lovederia Malope
Born:
30 June 1968 (age 58 years old)
Place of birth:
Nelspruit, Mpumalanga
Nationality:
South African
Parents:
John Malope (father) Paulina Twala (mother)
Occupation:
Singer television personality
Years active:
1984-date
Spouse:
Themba Tshabalala
Early life
Rebecca Malope was born on 30 June 1968 in Lekazi near Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, to John Malope and Paulina Twala. Growing up, she was sickly, undernourished, and started walking late. She was ill and confined to a wheelchair, and doctors told her family she would never walk again.
Her father beat her pregnant mother, causing her to be born too early. Her mother later ran away, leaving Rebecca to start working on a tobacco farm at 11.
When she was 13, she and her sister Cynthia left home for Ermelo because Cynthia wanted to join a music group, but they were disappointed upon arrival.
Education
Rebecca Malope received an honorary doctorate from the University of Natal (now University of KwaZulu-Natal) for her contribution to music in 2003.
Career
Her musical career began in 1984. She rose to prominence after winning the 1987 music talent search “Shell Road to Fame” with the song “Shine On”.
After winning the contest, Malope struggled with finding a record company. Eventually, Mike Fuller of Fuller Artists Management Enterprise arranged a recording contract for her. She released her first album, Sthembele Kuwe.
She later signed a recording contract with MFM, but they banned her from making gospel music. She released two albums in 1989, titled Thank You Very Much and Woza Lovey, which reached platinum status.
In 1990, Malope dropped another album, Buyani, which achieved double-platinum status. She defeated Brenda Fassie to win the Best Female Vocalist at the OKTV Awards. She released another album, “Saturday Nite”, in 1991.
In 1992, Rebecca released the gospel album Rebecca Sings Gospel. She was voted Best Local Established Artist in the Coca-Cola Full Blast Music Award Music Show in 1993. She released another album, “Ngiyekeleni”, in the same year and “Umoya Wam” in 1994.
Rebecca won Best Contemporary Gospel Album at the first South African Music Awards in 1995. She toured Europe, the Middle East, America, and Africa with her backing group Pure Magic between 1995 and 2004.
In 1995, she filmed a 52-minute Easter special national broadcast on Good Friday during a trip to Israel. She later signed a contract to sing the National Anthem at the Double World Boxing Title fight, aired live in 30 countries.
She performed live in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2001 and also won the Kora Award for Best Gospel Singer. She released her 30th album, “My Hero”, in 2009, followed by her 31st album, “Uzohamba Nami”, in 2010, and her 32nd album, “Ukuthula”, in 2011.
Malope began her own SABC-2 TV talk show, Gospel Time, in 2004. She was among the judges of the Mzansi Magic reality competition Clash of the Choirs South Africa in 2013. She was also a guest judge at Idols (season 15).
Rebecca Malope on stage at Mayine Crossover Gospel Experience held at Durban ICC
She has also performed at the 20th and 25th Annual South African Music Awards. She has appeared in the music talk show Zaziwa.
She was announced as host of the talk show The Healing Zone, which focuses on gospel and social issues on Touch HD. She was honoured with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the Basadi in Music Awards (BIMA) in August 2025.
Personal life
Rebecca Malope is married to businessman Themba Tshabalala. In 2004, she became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage. She has adopted and raised her late sisters’ three children, Zweli, Noluthando, and Thandeka.
She returned to look for her mother, whom she had not seen for many years and found her living in an abandoned caravan in a veld in Witbank. She took her in and bought her a three-bedroom house in Spruitview.
In 1990, she went in search of her father and found him sick. He had told her that he never expected her to come for him. She took him to Johannesburg, where she had him admitted to a private hospital.
After her father was discharged, she took him to live with her while she was building a double-storey house for him in Nelspruit. She also bought him a double-cab bakkie.
Sadly, her father passed away in 1996 and her brother, Jonathan, also died the same year. She has also lost her sister, Cynthia, and her mother passed away from illness in 2003.
Rebecca currently lives in Johannesburg, where she has her own studio.
Imanuweli Mzingeli joined Eyaziwa in 2026. He holds a degree in Political Science from a prestigious university. Outside of his storytelling work, he enjoys reading and video games.
