Legendary singer Miriam Makeba, also known as Mama Afrika, died on Sunday night. The Grammy Award-winning South African singer collapsed as she was leaving the stage after a concert in Italy. The death of the talented musician was confirmed by South Africa’s foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Monday.

Makeba, a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement, apparently died of a heart attack. She died after being brought to the Pineta Grande Clinic at Castelvolturno. The concert she was a part of was in support of Roberto Saviano, a journalist who wrote a bestseller book that exposed the ways of the Naples Mafia. Saviano was threatened with death by the local mob.

Makeba, also called “the Empress of African Song,” was born in Johannesburg in 1932. She left her native country in 1959, but when she tried to reenter the country to attend her father’s funeral ceremony she was banned from South Africa and her passport was taken away from her. After she called on the United Nations to denounce the apartheid, her music was banned in South Africa.  

After a long exile in the U.S., France, West Africa and Belgium, the singer went back in her native country in 1990. She was allowed to enter South Africa after President FW de Klerk introduced a series of reforms to end the apartheid.

"One of the greatest song stresses of our time, Miriam Makeba, has ceased to sing. Miriam Makeba, South Africa's Goodwill Ambassador, died performing what she did best -- an ability to communicate a positive message through the art of singing," said South Africa’s foreign minister.

The 76-year-old singer died at the Veneto Verde hospital near Naples. She was taken there after collapsing on stage. Makeba’s most famous hits included Pata Pata, The Click Song (Qongqothwane in Xhosa) and Mailaka.