Tsidii Le Loka

Tsidii Le Loka-Lupindo (born April 3, 1968, in Lesotho) is an actress, vocalist and composer from South Africa and The Kingdom of Lesotho. She is best known for originating the role of Rafiki in the original Broadway production of Disney's stage musical, The Lion King. Early life and education Le Loka was born Tsidii Le Loka-Lupindo on April 3, 1968 in Lesotho to a professor of health education and a professor of history and literature. Her mother is from Transkei, while her father is from Lesotho; at least one side of her family descends from the Zulu. She was the third of four children, and attended one of the first private schools in Lesotho to racially integrate in the early seventies. At 16, Le Loka moved to Johannesburg, South Africa to audition for a singing group. Le Loka performed with the group South of Sahara, where she was mentored by Anneline Malebo, a former member of Joy. Along with Malebo and Faith Shadi Kekana, Le Loka formed a new group, Shadiii, and released a maxi single titled, "Yes I'm Gonna Give It Up" in 1985, produced by Sizwe Zako. Le Loka also gained some experience as a cabaret artist in Johannesburg before moving to the United States in 1991. Le Loka began studying Economics and Music at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1991 before leaving, one credit short of a degree, in July 1996 to take the role of Rafiki in the original Broadway musical The Lion King. As a student, she performed for Desmond Tutu, toured briefly with Harry Belafonte, and recorded music with faculty members and jazz musicians Max Roach and Yusef Lateff. She later completed her degree at UMass, graduating magna cum laude. She also took extra credit courses at Berklee College of Music, and later earned a diploma in Speech and Drama from Trinity College of Music in London. Le Loka speaks English, Sesotho, Swahili, Zulu, and Xhosa.