kwaito revolution
Kwaito is a genre of of revolutionary music that began in black town ships of South Africa around Joburg (johanessburg) in the early eighties influenced mainly by house music and then branched off to become a genre of its own.
My first encounter of kwaito was when I was 11yrs old in 1987 at Mbulelo's (friends) place in Pimville Soweto, infact it was a Chicago house track. I had never heard anything like it before , just instruments playing and a man ocassionaly ,calmly and slowly repeating the same thing in the back ground. I then asked him what it was and he said kwaito.
Kwaito infact was the name we used to describe house music and later used it for our own version of house.
Apparently house music was music largely listened to by a gang called the kwaitos because they were" kwaai", I would not be supprised because personally ancountered it most times being listened to by amaginsa(car thieves) amagrootman (big brothers) and wannabees driving gusheshes(BMW's) and wearing spoties(floppy hats).
Local then unknown artists such as Arthur mafokate, Oskar Mdlonga, Mduduzi masilela, Joe Nina, group such as Trompies, Mashamplane and many others began emulating this music in their home studios and playing them in clubs and that emmulation came out as a different sound.
This sound later grew to absorb other genres including traditional South African music types, hip-hop and basicaly anything that sounded good to the ear.
This music was so influential and became an expression of joy for the newly attained freedom in the early nineties with the release of political prisioners including Nelson Mandela, the unbanning of liberation parties including the ANC and the erradication of apartheid leading to the first democratic elections in 1994.
This was then the begining of the kwaito revolution.
COMPARISONS BETWEEN KWAITO and HIP-HOP.
KWAITO compares to hip-hop is a sence that they are an expression of life in the gheto's/ townships and both have chants in them they are both flexible and can incorporate any genre in them but however kwaito artists clearly differetiate themselves from hiphop and do no see kwaito as hiphop.
Infact in SOUTH AFRICA, South african hip-hop and kwaito are categorised as two different genres that are infact rivalries where kwaito musicians and followers accuse South African hip-hopers as unorigional and AMERICAN IMITATIONS.
Differences between kwaito and are as many as there are similarities ranging from dress codes, lingo and beats to chants and phillosophy respectively.
As a South African born and raised in the kwaito era, my knowledge of kwaito is not based on a distant research from books but on personal experience. In short I did not read about kwaito, I lived it, listened to it, bought it and danced to it from the time it was undeground until now. Before Arthur "vuvuzela" Mafukate sold triple platinum when it was still called township dance by the upmarket white record companies in ivory towers who knew nothing of its origions.
In later blogs I will post photoes to spice up the blog, explain its dynamics that no researcher somewhere in europe or america can explain, infact they will need my experience to add to their knowledge.
THE ECONOMICS
One kwaito producer of note who is a co owner of one of the most renowned kwaito record labels named KALAWA JAZZME Oscar "warona" started as a street vendor selling boerevors( grilled sausage) outside one dance club in Joburg when a dj did not pitch up he voluntered to dj that night and was recomended since.He then started making recordings of his sessions and started selling them (like grilled sausages) and that was the begining of his multimillion rand career as a record label owner and producer.
Carachterised by its guirila marketing tactics kwaito is (as far as im concerned) the first successfull black empowerment schemes in South Africa producing self made millionaires overnight
My first encounter of kwaito was when I was 11yrs old in 1987 at Mbulelo's (friends) place in Pimville Soweto, infact it was a Chicago house track. I had never heard anything like it before , just instruments playing and a man ocassionaly ,calmly and slowly repeating the same thing in the back ground. I then asked him what it was and he said kwaito.
Kwaito infact was the name we used to describe house music and later used it for our own version of house.
Apparently house music was music largely listened to by a gang called the kwaitos because they were" kwaai", I would not be supprised because personally ancountered it most times being listened to by amaginsa(car thieves) amagrootman (big brothers) and wannabees driving gusheshes(BMW's) and wearing spoties(floppy hats).
Local then unknown artists such as Arthur mafokate, Oskar Mdlonga, Mduduzi masilela, Joe Nina, group such as Trompies, Mashamplane and many others began emulating this music in their home studios and playing them in clubs and that emmulation came out as a different sound.
This sound later grew to absorb other genres including traditional South African music types, hip-hop and basicaly anything that sounded good to the ear.
This music was so influential and became an expression of joy for the newly attained freedom in the early nineties with the release of political prisioners including Nelson Mandela, the unbanning of liberation parties including the ANC and the erradication of apartheid leading to the first democratic elections in 1994.
This was then the begining of the kwaito revolution.
COMPARISONS BETWEEN KWAITO and HIP-HOP.
KWAITO compares to hip-hop is a sence that they are an expression of life in the gheto's/ townships and both have chants in them they are both flexible and can incorporate any genre in them but however kwaito artists clearly differetiate themselves from hiphop and do no see kwaito as hiphop.
Infact in SOUTH AFRICA, South african hip-hop and kwaito are categorised as two different genres that are infact rivalries where kwaito musicians and followers accuse South African hip-hopers as unorigional and AMERICAN IMITATIONS.
Differences between kwaito and are as many as there are similarities ranging from dress codes, lingo and beats to chants and phillosophy respectively.
As a South African born and raised in the kwaito era, my knowledge of kwaito is not based on a distant research from books but on personal experience. In short I did not read about kwaito, I lived it, listened to it, bought it and danced to it from the time it was undeground until now. Before Arthur "vuvuzela" Mafukate sold triple platinum when it was still called township dance by the upmarket white record companies in ivory towers who knew nothing of its origions.
In later blogs I will post photoes to spice up the blog, explain its dynamics that no researcher somewhere in europe or america can explain, infact they will need my experience to add to their knowledge.
THE ECONOMICS
One kwaito producer of note who is a co owner of one of the most renowned kwaito record labels named KALAWA JAZZME Oscar "warona" started as a street vendor selling boerevors( grilled sausage) outside one dance club in Joburg when a dj did not pitch up he voluntered to dj that night and was recomended since.He then started making recordings of his sessions and started selling them (like grilled sausages) and that was the begining of his multimillion rand career as a record label owner and producer.
Carachterised by its guirila marketing tactics kwaito is (as far as im concerned) the first successfull black empowerment schemes in South Africa producing self made millionaires overnight
posted by Sbudah at 1:25 PM
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