SOUTH African music idol Brenda Fassie died on Sunday after putting up a good fight for her life for two weeks. Brenda died after days of press speculation about her eminent end.

It was Marvin Gaye who said, "it seems the good die young". She passed away at 40 just when many would say life begins.

Brenda Fassie was phenomenal. Dubbed "Madonna of the Townships", she bore many other labels of endearment, including "The Undisputed Queen of the Vocals" and "Ma-Brrr". But just as Brenda Fassie was loved for her love of life and eternal youth, she also caused a lot of necks to turn. She was both loved and hated. In both her private and public life, Brenda was a shocker. When she first broke into showbiz, many viewed her as a non-serious peddler of bubble-gum music, when people still believed that music must have social commentary. She was to grow within her genre and even mature into creating songs that hinged on political commentary.

Like Gaye, Brenda's life was a mixture of blessings and banes. She managed to reach success and fame. But she also had a dark side of drug problems, with which she battled for years. Her wild child image, bi-sexual relationships, and diva tantrums did not sit well with some sections of society.

Born in Cape Town's township of Langa in 1964, she was discovered by veteran South African producer Koloi Lebona after word of a young singing sensation got around in 1979. She first appeared in public at 16 in 1980, with the Big Dudes and they released her famous hit "Weekend Special" in 1983. "Weekend Special" became the fastest selling record of the time and entered the Billboard Hot Black singles chart in 1986.

She began collaborating with another famous South African musician Chicco Twala in the late 1980s, and rose to stardom with "Too late for Mama" - a multi-platinum selling album.

Bankruptcy, depression and drugs followed her early success. She broke away from Twala's stable as she sank in both reputation and financially.

In 1997, she made a comeback to the Twala stable, releasing "Memeza", which became an instant success and South Africa's best selling album in 1998. "Nomakanjani", her 1999 follow up album sold 500 000 copies. That year she won her first Kora Award for best female artist.

For four consecutive years, Fassie won the South African Music Awards for best selling release for the albums "Memeza", "Amadlozi", "Nomakanjani" and "Mina Nawe".

All the albums earned the title of the country's most popular album in the year of their release. Her popularity spread through most of Africa and she toured the United States in 2001, leading to hopes that she could become an international pop star.

She celebrated her 39th birthday last year with the release of her new album "Mali".

Despite broken marriages, and failed relationships, all Fassie really wanted was love.

"I wanna be loved. I just wanna be loved," she once said.

Her brash and daring streak endeared her even more to her fans.

"I'm a shocker. I like to create controversy. It's my trademark," she once said in an interview.

Tabloids followed her everywhere. She was truly a crowd puller, and a shocking headline stealer. An only son, Bongani, and her siblings survive her. As shocking as it is to lose this talent that has inspired the music industry for 20 years, she remains alive in people's hearts. She departed on May 9 - Mother's Day - after she suffered an asthma attack that caused a cardiac arrest before she slipped into a coma on April 26.