Lebo Mathosa was a popular South African kwaito singer. She was well known for her dyed blonde hair, her live shows, and unique fashion style She wasn’t afraid to show her sexuality, as was openly bisexual. She was frequently compared to the South African singer Brenda Fassie, who died in 2004. Mathosa won the Style Best Dressed Woman of the Year Award in 2001, and was nominated by FHM magazine as one of Africa's sexiest women.

Lebo Mathosa was born on the 17^th of July 1977 in Daveyton, a small town just outside Benoni in Gauteng, South Africa. Her family later moved to Johannesburg where Lebo attended St. Mary's High School. Lebo started singing at the age of seven in her local church choir. When her family moved to Johannesburg, she discovered bubblegum music (a sub-genre of pop that was popularised by people like Brenda Fassie). At the age of fourteen, Mathosa was discovered by a Johannesburg DJ, and soon after, she joined the group Boom Shaka. Boom Shaka became an instant success and one of the most prominent Kwaito groups in South Africa. Boom Shaka's first album, About Time, was an instant hit, but they ran into controversy with their last album when they infused and remixed a version of the South African national anthem, "Nkosi Sikelela". After leaving Boom Shaka, Mathosa started her own solo career and was very successful.

She turned solo in 1999. Her first debut solo album Dream went gold within a month of its launch in 2000. At the 2000 South African Music Awards, Mathosa won three South African Music Awards; Best Dance Album for Dream, Best Dance Single for her debut single Ntozabantu, and Best Female Vocalist. Her next album, Drama Queen, released in 2004, again earned the SA Music Award for Best Dance Album. She topped the South African pop charts in 2004, and in 2006 she was nominated for a British MOBO award (Best African Act category). She performed all over the world, from Southern Africa to Malaysia to Trafalgar Square in London, one of her most significant performances being at Nelson Mandela's 85th birthday party. She also toured the US with the show The Vagina Monologues.

Mathosa died in a car crash, aged 29 after her driver lost control of her vehicle in Johannesburg. Mathosa's driver apparently lost control of the Toyota Prado in which they were traveling on the N3 Highway on the East Rand.

Her big break came with Boom Shaka's debut album.

Did you know that Lebo Mathosa was a bi-sexual feminist, empowering women in South Africa and across Africa?