Khanyile was born in Soweto, and was forced to abandon his education at the age of fourteen in order to earn a living, after his mother died.[2][3] His father was a miner and performed capella songs in the isicathamiya style. His brother John played in a reggae and soul, covers band.[2] Jabu followed them into music, first joining a local band called The Daffodils, and in 1974 joined John's band The Editions as a drummer, later becoming the group's vocalist.[2]
In 1977 Khanyile moved on to The Movers, and by 1984 he had joined Bayete as drummer, a band that combined Afro-jazz and reggae. Bayete split up in 1992, and Khanyile embarked on a solo career, with releases credited to Jabu Khanyile & Bayete, although none of the original members of Bayete were involved by this time.[1] Khanyile became known internationally in 1996 after an appearance at the Royal Gala evening in honour of Nelson Mandela.[2]
In 1996 and 2000 he won the Kora award for best Southern African artist. He performed internationally with Youssou N'Dour, Angelique Kidjo and Papa Wemba.[2] He was known for his Pan-Africanist approach to music, attempting to unite different African styles.[4] He generally performed in a Zulu costume carrying a trademark fly-whisk, an African symbol of royalty.
Khanyile performed at the Live 8 concert in Johannesburg in July 2005.[1] His final public appearance was in July 2006 at the "Africa Calling" handover ceremony at the end of the World Cup in Berlin.[1]
He died in November 2006 after a battle with diabetes and prostate cancer.[5]
