Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2013

The songs of a gifted 1970s singer-songwriter named Sixto Rodriguez were compared to Bob Dylan and James Taylor. Critics raved, but his two albums sank without a trace. Such is the music biz. Now it gets interesting. Thanks to an enterprising Cape Town record store owner, the songs resonated with the anti-apartheid movement, and Rodriguez became (and still is) “bigger than Elvis” in South Africa. But what happened to the shy singer? Rumor had it that he shot himself, or even self-immolated, on stage. I’m not telling. Go see this appealing, Oscar-winning musical manhunt. You’ll be glad you did.