HER house is the whitest on the quiet street of Maseko in Orlando West. The manicured lawn and ornately decorated perimeter walls grab your attention.

It's no surprise then that the woman within those walls is just as together as her home.

Like the posh madam of the house, Abigail Kubeka is in a kaftan and morning slippers, still glowing after receiving the National Film and Video Foundation's lifetime achievement award at the South African Film and Television Awards last weekend.

There's something clinical about her home. The white walls of her lounge are adorned with a couple of abstract paintings, a mirror and a family portrait.

We are greeted by the sound of her barking Maltese poodle, Coco. "Coco, Snoppy, Coco, woza la," she says.

She flashes a smile. "Tea anyone?"

The white couch makes me fear the thought of a spill, but it would be rude to decline. It's not every day you get to have tea made by one of South Africa's most prolific and versatile entertainers.

She sits across from me and orders: "Let's talk."

We talk about her being discovered, at the age of 16, by Miriam Makeba. She became a member of the group The Skylarks. "It was awesome and unbelievable," she beams.

Initially, she was meant to be part of Hugh Masekela's group, but Makeba beat him to it.

Makeba was impressed with her singing while she watched them rehearse.

"We recorded for Gallo as Skylarks and the other one as Sunbeams."

Some of the details have faded and she apologises for not remembering the name.

Things changed when Makeba was banned and exiled.

"No, no, Miriam didn't go to exile". Her voice rises and I can see her irritation as she clasps her hands. "[An American documentary company] contacted Miriam with The Skylarks to provide music for them and nothing political."

It was the premiere of the documentary that changed Makeba's return plans and the future of The Skylarks. "She was the only one invited and that hurt the group. In America, she hooked up with Harry [Belafonte] and he introduced her to the United Nations and she then sang political songs. What hurt us more was that she was our big sister and she couldn't come back after that."

The group disbanded and members embarked on solo careers.

The intensity in the room is broken by Kubeka's recollection of a trip to Europe with the musical King Kong. As Makeba's protégé, Kubeka took over her role when Mama Africa fell ill.

"I've never been so scared in my life. Miriam was a superstar and the best to me." The show toured the whole of Europe. Kubeka returned to South Africa after 11 months as she was due to give birth.

She soon found comfort singing in the clubs in Hillbrow when it was still the place to be. It was at the clubs where Kubeka performed with musical giants like Abdullah Ibrahim and Kippie Moeketsi in cabaret performances.

"Hillbrow was beautiful back then and not what it is now. There were no drugs, just music and liquor."

She talks about how shebeens were the "social houses" and not looked down upon as they are now, calling Hillbrow and Sophiatown the "Harlem of Johannesburg" in the 1960s. "We had song and dance there, music was everything to us."

Kubeka's heart belongs to Soweto. It's where she was born, raised and discovered.

As we tour her kasi mansion, she shows me pictures of her as a model and speaks about her divorce from Kgomotso Modise. "It's men and their pride. My husband divorced me, but I still had a husband. My music."

Of her lifetime achievement award, she says: "This is my validation for my first love, acting. It really is something to be recognised for your love."

ndawos@sundayworld.co.za