Recording Artist King Charles Releases Tribute Song For Nelson Mandela

NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- King Charles, the London-based son of a former South African student activist, has written and released "Lov Madiba" a tribute to the legacy of the late leader Nelson Mandela featuring Katie Melua and vocalist Shingai Shoniwa of the Noisettes.

The release follows King Charles' touching freedom tribute to Nelson Mandela which was published six months ago on YouTube.  All net proceeds of the recording will benefit the Nelson Mandela's Children Fund, a South African-based charitable organization founded by the great leader.

King Charles was raised in the generation that benefitted from Mandela's revolutionary work. Though he was born in West London, he grew up with a deep appreciation for Mandela's struggle. "Nelson Mandela has always been very close to my heart because my father was born and bred in the South African farmland, was at school during Mandela's trial and became very active at University of the Witwatersrand as president of the student union in staunch opposition to the ruling apartheid regime." He met Shingai Shonowai in the London music scene and invited her to collaborate on the song he penned last year as a birthday tribute to Madiba. The song brought together a core group from the London scene. Studio time was donated by Ally Horn of Sarm Studios.

King Charles has earned a devoted following in the UK. He opened for the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park on July 6 and played a series of sold-out concert dates last year.  He released his debut album Loveblood in 2012. King Charles is also a former member of the band Adventure Playground. In 2009, he received international acclaim after winning an International Songwriting Competition in Nashville that jumpstarted his career.

But it is South Africa that has inspired King Charles to bring attention to his family's homeland and the stories his father told about the horrors of apartheid that have resonated with him — the laws forbidding integration of races, the spies, the secret police and the resistance Mandela inspired among students like his father. "I think it one of the great privileges of our lifetime to have shared a lifetime with Mandela and I would like to do all I can to keep his legacy very active.  I think there is power in singing and shouting the name of freedom, and it is a role I think I can play in a very relevant struggle."

This is the first release of the newly-formed record label The Cherry Party, a venture with Sony Music. To purchase "Lov Madiba" and benefit the Nelson Mandela's Children Fund, please visit:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lov-madiba-feat.-katie-melua/id780143204

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lov-Madiba/dp/B00H9802JK/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386872167&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=king+charles+love+madiba?uo=4&at=10l4Be  

Video with caption: "King Charles' touching freedom tribute to Nelson Mandela on YouTube." Video available at: http://youtu.be/cmzUMXNeI-M

Image with caption: "King Charles 'Lov Madiba'." Image available at: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131212/NY32933

SOURCE The Cherry Party / Sony Music