Aura Lewis

Aura Msimang (Aura Lewis) Aura Msimang (4 March 1947 – 28 December 2015), born Aurelia Msimang, was a South African singer whose career bridged African, reggae, and Caribbean music scenes. Raised in Johannesburg, she moved to the United States in the early 1970s, studied at Hunter College in New York, and later adopted the name Aura Lewis after marrying a jazz musician. Her exposure to reggae came after seeing The Wailers perform in 1972, an experience that reshaped her musical direction. In 1976, she relocated to Jamaica, where she studied drama at the Jamaica School of Arts and collaborated with Cedric Brooks in the group United Africa. Her talent soon brought her into the orbit of Jimmy Cliff, who invited her to join his 1977 West African tour as a backing vocalist, documented in the film Bongo Man. Through Cliff, she was introduced to Island Records and became involved in sessions with key reggae figures. Aura Msimang went on to work with both Bob Marley and Lee “Scratch” Perry, contributing backing vocals to Marley’s Exodus sessions, including “Punky Reggae Party.” In the late 1970s, she recorded an album with Perry, cementing her place in reggae history as a distinctive and internationally connected voice whose work linked African roots with Jamaican reggae.