Kwaito

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Kwaito
Stylistic origins Hip house, South African music,hip hop, dancehall
Cultural origins Late 1980s, South Africa
Typical
instruments
Synthesizer, sampler,percussion, vocals, drum
machine
Regional scenes
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana
For the cheese, see Kwaito cheese.
Kwaito is a music genre that emerged inJohannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a
variant of house music featuring the use of African sounds and samples. Typically at a slower
tempo range than other styles of house music, Kwaito often contains catchy melodic and
percussive loop samples, deep bass lines, and vocals. Although bearing similarities to hip hop
music, a distinctive feature of Kwaito is the manner in which the lyrics are sung, rapped and
shouted. American producer Diplo has described Kwaito as "slowed-down garage music," most
popular among the black youth of South Africa.
[1]

Contents
[hide]
1 Etymology
2 History
3 Kwaito in Namibia
4 Politics
o 4.1 Is Kwaito political?
5 Characteristics
6 Impact and cultural significance
7 Kwaito record sales
8 Kwaito record producers
9 King of kwaito
10 Women in kwaito
11 Criticism of kwaito
12 Cultural context and implications
13 Kwaito dances
14 Kwaito and globalization
15 References
16 External links
Etymology[edit]
The word kwaito is an Isicamtho term from the Gauteng townships and encompasses styles that
range from guz, d'gong, and isgubhu to swaito.
[2]
The word originates from the Afrikaanskwaai,
which traditionally means strict or angry, although in more common and contemporary use the
word is a loose translation of the English term cool. Kwaito led a post-Apartheid township
subculture into the mainstream. Despite the fact that the Afrikaans language is associated with
the apartheid regime and racial oppression, Afrikaans words are often drawn into
the Isicamtho vocabulary, reshaped and used in a related or new context. M'du Masilela, a
pioneering Kwaito artist, said, "When house music got popular, people from the ghetto called it
Kwaito after the Afrikaans slang word kwai [sic], meaning those house tracks were hot, that they
were kicking."
[3]
Another Isicamtho word derived from the Afrikaans word kwaaiis amakwaitosi,
which means gangster. The popular Kwaito artist and producer Arthur Mafokate describes the
relationship between Kwaito and gangsterism as music revolving around ghetto life.
History[edit]
In the backdrop of a transforming South Africa, Kwaito took shape in the township Soweto at the
same time Nelson Mandela took office as the first democratically elected president of South
Africa.
[4]
The removal of the political and economic sanctions greatly transformed the South
African music industry.
[5]

One of the first Kwaito singles to become a hit in South Africa was the song "Kaffir" by artist
Arthur Mafokate, which illustrated the freedom of expression resulting from political liberation in
South Africa. House music arrived in Cape Town in the early 1990s at raves such as theWorld
Peace Party and in the original venue Club Eden, and later Uforia and DV8. This spread
northward, where, in the mid 1990s, the genre was becoming popular inJohannesburg clubs
such as 4th World, and local artists fused its sound with that of South African music. Arthur
Mafokate, Oskido, Boom Shaka, and Mdu Masilela were among the first artists to produce a
huge kwaito hit and popularize it in and outside of the Black townships. However, it was only
after 2001 that kwaito artists and music have found their way to Europe and the United States.
Newfound freedom gave South African musicians easier access to international works and a
greater ability to freely express themselves. As a result, kwaito has also been known as the
expression of this new freedom, and many anti-apartheid chants have been used as lyrics for
kwaito songs.
[6]
Kwaito has been called the music that defines the generation who came of age
after apartheid.
[4]
Its pulsing dance beat evolved from styles such as mbaqanga and dancehall,
as well as house and disco.
Schools in the townships were unable to fund programs such as music classes to enhance the
learning experience of their students. As kwaito did not require a formal knowledge ofmusic
theory, large spaces to rehearse, and expensive instruments, it was easily accessible to
individuals in these downtrodden communities.
[7]

As kwaito became increasingly mainstream in South Africa, collaborations, such as between
South African R&B artists Danny K and Mandoza, have become more common. Kwaito hits often
attract a bit of media attention, as Arthur's August 2005 release "Sika Lekhekhe"
(a Zuluphrase literally meaning "Cut the cake" and figuratively "Have sex with me") did. The song
was banned by a SABC radio station and Arthur had to reshoot its video after several complaints
from viewers who were offended by its sexually suggestive content. Similarly, the kwaito
bandBoom Shaka was widely criticized by the political establishment for its rendition of
the national anthem to a kwaito beat.
[8]

The kwaito industry is growing fast and there is becoming increasingly competitive. Popular
artists include Zola, Mandoza, Trompies, Mzekezeke, Brown Dash, Mahoota, Spikiri, Mzambiya,
Chippa, Msawawa, Mshoza, Thembi Seite, Thandiswa Mazwai, Brikz, TKZee, Unathi, and the
late African pop and kwaito star Brenda Fassie. The kwaito stars in South Africa are seen as
celebrities who influence the culture, language, and economy of the nation in ways that were
impossible during the years of governmentally imposed segregation
[9]

TS, Ghetto Ruff, Kalawa Jazmee, and Bulldogs are the main recording companies that have
discovered kwaito musicians. Jam Alley is a South African talent show that has been a venue for
many young kwaito artists like Mandoza, Mzambiya, and Zola, as well as other pop stars. Some
kwaito artists have even transcended a musical career. Zola, for instance, now hosts a talk show
called Zola 7 on SABC1.
The globalized music industry influenced the cultural evolution that was to generate kwaito. A
popular import from the USA and the UK, hip hop trickled through the music scene in South
Africa, particularly amongst the so-called colored people of Cape Town, who began to identify
with an American construct of Blackness,
[7]
as well as strong parallels between the hardship
experienced in the many poor neighborhoods of South Africa and the ghettos of New York out of
which American hip hop grew. Local flavors and additives gradually started dominating the local
take on hip hop, and so kwaito started taking shape. The development of the genre and other
local sounds was given an enormous boost with one of the ANC's first legislative acts to
dramatically increase the amount of private radio stations in South Africa and regulate local
music quotas of 2040 percent.
[10]
As a result of this, exposure to local music, and in particular
kwaito, expanded dramatically, which made it very popular.
Global media corporations own the distribution rights of much of the music in South Africa, yet
market it specifically to the local youth.
[7]

Kwaito in Namibia[edit]
see Namibian kwaito
see Music of Namibia
For now, kwaito's appeal remains largely a South African phenomenon, and it has not yet
generated the kind of interest that other South African musicians have created for the country's
music in the rest of the world. Kwaito has expanded to the neighboring country ofNamibia, with
artists like The Dogg, Gazza, Matongo Family, EeS, Sunny Boy, and Qonjaexperimenting with it.
Namibian kwaito artists are determined to take kwaito to a new level. However, Namibia lacks
major distribution and publishing companies. Hopes are high thatSony Music, EMI, Universal
Music, WEA and other companies will spot this new, profitable venture. GMP
Records and Mshasho Productions are the two biggest kwaito promoting labels in Namibia.
There are no major collaborations between artists of Namibia and South Africa, although a
certain B.O.G was featured on a bonus track to Zola's Umdlwembe album, the song was
produced by Elias Newton of Namibia. Gazza is one of the first from there to collaborate with
South African counterparts. He has worked with DJ Cleo, Mandoza, Zola, Brown Dash and
Bleksem. The Dogg has been on shows in South Africa in the past years and has also worked
with various others.
Politics[edit]
While many assert Kwaito's apolitical character, it is worthwhile to note that a refusal to deal with
the contemporary realm of politics is an extremely political statement that denounces the political
status quo. In the words of renown Rastafarian teacher Leachim Tufani Semaj, "Whether you
deal with politics or not, politics will deal with you. The statement that one does not deal in
politics is in effect a political statement."
[11]
While a notion in reference to a Jamaican cultural
context, this concept remains true throughout a world of oppression and responsive
conscientious objection. Kwaito is often thought of as a means of recreation and escapism as a
genre that looks to the future instead of to the past. While apartheid is no longer in place, South
Africa continues to be riddled with social problems that demand to be addressed in the realm of
culture creation. HIV/AIDS and the increase in violent crimes since the end of Apartheid are
among the problems facing the youth of South Africa. In other words, the absence of Apartheid-
related subject material in kwaito songs should not be seen as an absence of a political
awareness and activism but rather as a shift in socio-political focus. Kwaito artist OscarwaRona
recalls, "We used to do tracks where we would ask why is the divorce rate so high? Why are little
children being found in shabeens drinking?"
[12]
The aftermath of a system of racial subjugation
that was in place for centuries is equally demanding of attention as the atrocities that occurred
during apartheid.
Is Kwaito political?[edit]
Many have noted that the lyrics of Kwaito songs are apolitical because it mostly helps to create
dance-oriented music. The listeners had pointed out that in many cases, kwaito songs use
catchy phrases. Gavin Steingo gave an example in his article "South African music after
Apartheid: kwaito, the 'party politic,' and the appropriation of gold as a sign of success" by saying
that the there was not a political view in the first song of Mandoza's album because Godoba kept
repeating "Cyborg/Move Your Skeleton" throughout the whole song.
[13]
On the other hand,
according to Simone Swink's article "Kwaito: much more than music," it is impossible to talk
about kwaito music without referencing the political history of South Africa. He notes that kwaito
music started off with the first democratically elected president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela.
He continues saying that it was very hard for Black South African artists to get signed in the
music business before.
[14]
Gavin Steingo did state that most kwaito is overtly political, even if it
seems like it is not. He said that it was more of anti-political situation for the artist than apolitical
because the youth of South Africa desire to disengage from the long years of oppression and
political protest of the apartheid era. Therefore, kwaito music represents the refusal of politics. It
is also been noted that there are some kwaito songs that reflect an artists political view because
there are some artists (e.g Zola) that rhyme, chant, or sing about explicitly political and
ideological issues. However, there are cases when people say kwaito that they refer only to the
apolitical variety.
[13]

Characteristics[edit]
The kwaito sound originated from the use of European instruments that Black African laborers
had at their disposal after gold was found in Johannesburg.
[15]
Another common characteristic is
the dialogue between a man and a woman with the woman largely repeating the man's lines. It is
predominantly dance music with light subject matter. Kwaito is also usually not sung, but is
usually rhythmic speech.
[15]

Kwaito performances require the audience to interact through verbal responses. This is done in a
call-and-response manner. The artist engages the listener, who in turn listens attentively and
responds when required.
[16]
It is also sung in one of South Africas languages, which include
Afrikaans, Zulu, and English. This makes it even more popular with its audience.
[17]

Instrumentally, Kwaito music is easily recognized for its use of slowed-down
[18]
house-
musicbeats, with the kick drum emphasizing each beat in the 4/4 time signature, which is
commonly called four-on-the-floor. Although it draws its most noticeable characteristics from
house music, Kwaito also draws upon the musical landscape that was popular in South Africa
during the early 1990s, which included disco, hip-hop, and contemporary R&B, among other
genres.
[14]

One characteristic that still is up for debate is whether or not to consider kwaito a mainly South
African phenomenon. While many believe that it is a distinctly home-grown style of popular
dance music that is rooted in Johannesburg urban culture and features rhythmically recited
vocals over an instrumental backing with strong bass lines, it is still argued whether or not this is
actually true because of how recently the music has hit the scene and some of the inspirations
from which it is gathered.
[19]
The debate is that it is largely influenced by music types from
the United States of America or the United Kingdom. Therefore, some people believe, even
though the roots of it are based in the movements by Mandela and the upheaval at the time, that
it is not fully of South African origin.
[6]
We can see the influence that American Hip Hop music
has had on Kwaito most visibly in the use of gold as a symbol of power. Kwaito artists will wear
gold and diamonds, completely ignoring its gruesome history and connection to South Africa, in
order to portray a rags-to-riches story like many hip hop artists do.
[13]
Consumption of gold and
diamonds, while at the same time saying you represent your people, is very similar to the
problematic rhymes of many American hip hop artists who glorify the drug trade but claim that
they want to improve the living standards in their communities. Furthermore, many Kwaito artists
would sell their records out of the trunk of their cars, a long-honored underground form of selling
records that was common among many fledgling hip hop artists.
[20]

It is also important to incorporate the attitude that Kwaito musicians have. Many critics have a
very biased and Western point of view on the genre. Kwaito rose from a ghetto culture, and most
critics always look at Kwaito in a cultural-studies context rather than looking at the
ethnomusicology side.
[6]
What makes Kwaito stick out is the fact that the music is always
associated with a cultural context that brings out some extra meanings and messages.
Furthermore, Kwaito is considered by some critics as the aggressive township music.
[21]
In South
Africa, some Kwaito music producers say that the genre is comparable to hip hop; it is only
comparable because it has become more than just a genre of music but rather a movement in
which people can create their own identities with their own values.
As Thokozani Mhlambi states in his article Kwaitofabulous, "In kwaito music, the emphasis lies
not in the poetic essence of the lyrics but rather in the instrumental arrangement and the
danceability of the composition. Therefore I disagree with writers such as Maria McCloy, the
author of 'Kwaito: Its history and where its at now', who criticize kwaito, claiming that very little
time and effort is put into kwaito production.... This criticism overlooks the musics multiple social
contexts such as parties, street bashes, and clubs. These are social venues where people are
more in pursuit of leisure than engaging in intellectual discourse." Ironically, not only does Kwaito
resist a sense of Western based oppression by remaining apolitical, but it also resists trends and
Western influence in and of itself via mode of production. Kwaito, as Mhlambi affrirms, has
remained the music of its people, which is the music of the South African youth after the struggle
who wish to pursue rest and relaxation as opposed to dwelling on the past. The term kwaito is a
clear sign that oppression is not something to be, or that will be forgotten. The danceability and
poetry inherent to kwaito, however, shows a reversion to better timesto cultural integrity.
Through kwaito music, artists and youths collaborate to create, through music and dance, a
realm where the struggle does not exist.
Impact and cultural significance[edit]
Kwaito is a form of self-expression and a way of lifeit is the way many South Africans dress,
speak, and dance. It is a street style as lifestyle, where the music reflects life in the townships,
much the same way hip hop reflects life in the American ghetto.
[22]
As a result, the growth of
kwaito in post-Apartheid South Africa has changed not only the music scene but many urban
cultural aspects as well. The fashion industry has boomed all over the country, with urban
apparel designers such as Stoned Cherrie, Loxion Kulca, and Sun Godd'ess setting trends
based on those trends emphasized by kwaito artists. YFM, a youth radio station launched in
Gauteng in 1997, has become the most widely listened to urban youth radio station in the
country, adhering to the principle of giving the youth the license to create its own identity.
[23]
After
having been rejected by major record labels of the apartheid era, many independent kwaito
labels emerged such as Kalawa, Triple 9, and Mdu Music. These labels produced myriad
employment opportunities for young Black producers, engineers, and attorneys in the music
industry and, more importantly, has provided young Black people with a source of financial gain
and dignity. Furthermore, kwaito has strengthened social integration. While promoting South
Africa internationally through successful overseas tours by artists such as Bongo Maffin, Tkzee,
and Boomshaka, kwaito has gained a huge following with older Black people who grew up on
protest songs, as demonstrated by President Thabo Mbeki when he performed the S'guqa dance
with kwaito artist Mzekezeke during his song "Sguqa ngamadolo" at the 2003 Freedom day
celebrations. This marked a huge change in the way people envisioned kwaito, engendering a
more widespread commercial audience.
[23]

There has been ongoing debate as to whether kwaito is a form of South African hip hop, or if the
music is in its own unique category. There are many ways to evaluate this according to
researcher Sharlene Swartz who says that in addition to the musical attributes of kwaito, it is
important to look at production, consumption and culture. While some say that kwaito is a form of
hip hop, Schwartz (and many native South Africans) argue that instead, kwaito is to black South
Africans as hip hop has been to African Americans. In her article Is Kwaito South African Hip
Hop? Schwartz clarifies that "kwaito, like hip hop has become more than music...it provides
youth with the means for creating an identity, establishing new societal norms and economic
opportunities."
[24]
Additionally, the kwaito artist Zola alludes to the idea that kwaito is a native
South African genre in the documentary Sharp Sharp! when he explains how kwaito is a
combination of music that comes from ancient Nigerian drumming patterns and poetry that
comes from the streets of the township. He ultimately parallels the kwaito movement to the hip
hop movement and others by saying "Im fighting the same struggle my brothers in the states
and all over the world are fighting."
[25]

Mhlambi's Kwaitofabulous highlights that hip hop and kwaito are both genres of the African
Diaspora, yet he points out their similarities do not provide a causal relationship between the two.
Yes, both cultures grew out of black oppression by whites, and in a world where consumer
culture has reached a global level, kwaito cannot claim to be completely free of hip hop's
influence. On the other hand, kwaito is unique due to its integration of African language and
instruments, and most importantly because of the distinctly South African political, social and
economic conditions in which kwaito was born.
[26]
A Newsweek report claims kwaito is South
Africa's answer to hip hop music, and is different for it incorporates a slowed down house beat
with jazz, blues, R&B and reggae.
[27]
Even the very title of a report on CNN.com, 'Kwaito: South
Africa's hip-hop?' calls a relationship between the two genres into question, and only likens them
because both music styles have their own subcultures.
[28]

The development of Kwaito has had a significant impact on South African culture and economy.
It has become mainstreamed and features in everything from television and radio to fashion. Half
of the South African population is under 21 years of age; therefore, youth culture is very
important to the nations economic prosperity. Kwaito provides an opportunity for the nations
youth to produce and sell something they enjoy all the meanwhile making a profit.
[29]
This can
especially be seen in the fashion industry where several Kwaito clothing lines have emerged
including Stoned Cherrie and Black Coffee Label. When Kwaito first emerged in the early 1990s,
"the look" was based around street threads and floppy Kangol hats. Today it is a blend of black
urban style and modern influences.
[18]

Though there is a fear of gimmicky marketing and loss of authenticity in the Kwaito music
industry, this will not occur so long as the industry remains controlled by the South African youth.
Kwaito did come from the first black owned record companies in South Africa.
[13]
The music will
continue to be profitable to the country as a whole as well as the people as long as it remains a
voice for the emerging middle class.
Kwaito music, in its most popular form, has made a statement by expressing the shift in interest
by South African Youth taking an apolitical stance in the post-apartheid era. In a sense by
rejecting and negating politics, they were making a political statement. However, the
overwhelming message that is being expressed in the music and culture surrounding Kwaito is
one of just wanting to have fun. This new sentiment portrays the desire of South African youth to
diverge from the years of oppression and disempowerment under apartheid laws.
[30]
The fading
of these apartheid laws permits them to "spend a night in a club rather than under a
curfew".
[31]
Therefore, the lyrics of many popular kwaito songs focus on dancing and reflect the
attitude of having fun for the sake of having fun, rather than engaging in the political issues of the
time.
The apolitical stance of kwaito, however, has been seen by older generation South Africans as a
sign of South African youth losing touch with important political struggles that have occurred in
the country. As a result, these critics of kwaito claim that kwaito is losing its purpose (which is to
speak out against the injustices that are occurring South Africa.) Artists of kwaito, however, claim
that the time has come to use kwaito as a vehicle to celebrate the freedom South Africans have
attained, leaving artists free to sing about other matters that are important to South African
youth.
[32]
Apolitical kwaito in this sense, relates to hip-hop as it is now: a form of entertainment.
Though hip-hop from America has enjoyed international success and has been embraced by
Africans, kwaito has yet to gain recognition in the U.S., arguably, because of the language. The
language of kwaito (a mix of Zulu, Afrikaan, and Xhosa) gives a Kwaito a sound that sounds
"messy" or unlike "mainstream party music." As a result, Kwaito remains most likely to be heard
in South Africa.
[33]

There are a few problems that can be seen in kwaito. Kwaito has not been very productive in
providing gender representation. It seems to be a male dominated field. Another con associated
with Kwaito according to Thokozani Mhlambi's article Kwaitofabulous,is that kwaito has been
criticized for its deficiency of "freshness and innovation" as well as too many pre-recorded
backup tracks that are used during live concerts.
Kwaito is the seen as the true rap or hip hop of South Africa. The music contains messages of
politics and things happening in the world, country or streets. Although some kwaito music talks
about just gangsters, or violence, it is not depicted as "fake" hip hop. Underground kwaito is seen
as fake rap in South Africa, while commercial rap is viewed as the true or real rap and hip hop.