On the surface, this seems like an odd pairing… but, I’ll reserve comment until I have more data. Besides, Tyler Perry does want to stretch himself, and expand his reach.

According to South African newspaper, The Times, South African a cappella folk-pop group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who Paul Simon introduced to the world on his Grammy Award-winning 1986 album Graceland (although they had already been active for about 20 years prior), are “in talks” with Tyler Perry to produce a feature film based on the stories of the lives of the group’s members, and the musical journey to international stardom that followed after their formation.

The group’s publicist, Andile Mqwebu, said, reportedly, yesterday, that Tyler Perry has been approached, but no “concrete deal” is yet in place.

No figure on what the budget will be, but financing is already in place, the publicist added, with South African actor Vusi Kunene (The First Grader, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) their top choice to place the role of the lead singer and founder of the group, Joseph Shabalala.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo was formed by Shabalala in 1960. Not familiar?