According to Sowetan Live,
Legendary musician Blondie Makhene believes that the country was never kind to the late township pop star Brenda Fassie.
Makhene said the country was not kind to all musicians.
He was speaking at the One Night in No Man's Land sessions on Saturday at SoMa Art + Space in Maboneng, Johannesburg.
The musician was answering a question that if Fassie had not died, where would she be in terms of music.
Makhene said the issue of overbooking musicians forced them to use stimulants to deal with the pressure. He made an example of when an artist had 10 gigs over a weekend, it was taxing both physically and mentally.
"It is not easy to move from one gig to another after a performance. You do not have time to sleep because you are constantly on the road.
"In some parts of the world, they ask you if you want to do the tour or not, and they give you cocaine to keep you energetic and awake," he said.
He said the country did not treat Fassie well because she was made to work too hard and she was forced to find something to keep herself awake.
Makhene, who worked with Fassie, said if she was still alive, she would still be going strong because she had an amazing voice.
However, intellectual Bongani Madondo, the author of Fassie's book, disagreed.
Madondo said if Fassie had not died in 2004 she would still be dead because she had died before the hit song Vulindlela came out.
The hit song was released on her album Memeza in 1997.
He said during that time, Fassie's voice had gone, and there was no chance to recover it.
"She was completely in decline as a vocalist. She was no longer that Brenda that captivated me.
"Brenda gave me a master tape for her album Memeza to listen to. It was not refined. You could sense that she was fighting hard. After that she was officially dead."
Madondo added that Fassie was at her best when she released the album TooLate For Mama in 1986.
Fassie died in her sleep at Sunninghill Hospital on May 9 2004.
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