Rebecca Malope is a South African gospel singer who rose to international stardom in the late '90s. Malope was born on a tobacco farm in South Africa. As a child, she and her sisters sang in hymns in a local church. She joined a gospel group in her teens, which led her to Johannesburg. She eventually was brought to the attention of producer Zizwe Zakho, who had Malope record a large variety of material, from disco and pop to love ballads and gospel.