But if you are going to wear blinders then you do not know the world.

I see other black women imitate my style, which is no style at all, but just letting our hair be itself. They call it the Afro Look.

In New York I heard A Piece of Ground, written by a white South African, Jeremy Taylor. I modified it a little and sang it myself. That song is very special to me because it deals with the land question in southern Africa. We were dispossessed of our land.

But if you are going to wear blinders then you do not know the world.

I have one thing in common with the emerging black nations of Africa: We both have voices, and we are discovering what we can do with them.

I kept my culture. I kept the music of my roots. Through my music I became this voice and image of Africa and the people without even realising.

I have to go and say farewell to all the countries that I have been to, if I can. I am 73 now, it is taxing on me.