When they returned to their homeland in South Africa they began to draw almost exclusively on American-style funk, soul, and pop music, sung in Zulu and Sotho as well as English.
Mabuse's music career began when he formed a group called The Beaters with two of his friends, Selby Ntuli and "Om" Alec Khaoli, when he was 15 years old.
After touring Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) in 1974, and dedicating a song called "Harari" to the people of that town, the group later changed its stage name to Harari –and went on to gain acclaim as one of the most successful acts that dominated the local music scene in the 1970s with its "feel good vibes of Afro-rock spiced with some get down boogie woogie space jabs", "vibrating in percussion in toto, conga drumming and some breath taking wailing of flutes and pennywhistles".
[7] Under the new front man, the group went on to support and back renowned musicians such as Percy Sledge, Timmy Thomas, Letta Mbulu, Brook Benton, and Wilson Pickett on their South African tours.
In 1982, the group split, giving Mabuse a chance to launch his solo career, making him one of the pioneers of township pop, while riding the wave of disco music.
In 1983, Mabuse released his crossover hit "Burn Out", which catapulted his solo career to stardom, selling an excess of half a million copies, and which remains popular today.
He was the owner of the legendary Kippies nightclub and sat on the boards of The National Arts Council and SAMRO (South African Musicians Rights Organisation).