Music of Namibia - Folk Music

Folk Music

Traditional Namibian dance occurs at events such as weddings and at Traditional Festivals, such as the Caprivi Arts Festival. Folk music accompanies storytelling or dancing. The Namaqu use various strings, flutes and drums while the Bantu use xylophones, gourds and horn trumpets.

  • The Herero people's oviritje is popularly known as konsert. Otjiherero is the primary language of Oviritje music. Oviritje was made popular by "The Willa ya Hakane" (The Wild Dogs) from the Okakarara area with their hit song "Kaondeka" (A praise song about the Waterberg Mountains): other artists include Okazera from the Omaheke Region, the first group to include a San-speaking member, Bullet ya Kaoko, based in Opuwo in the Kunene Region, Tuponda, Katja, Millenium, Kareke and the United Kingdom-based oviritje queen Kakazona ua Kavari.
  • Ma/gaisa, the popular dance music genre commonly known as Damara Punch, has produced household names like Stanley, Phura and Raphel & Pele (Marurus di /Gereseb), all with Welwitchia Music Production, Swakopmund, Axue and Om Backos. The genre was derived from Damara traditional music and is mainly sung in Khoekhoegowab or Nama/Damara. Castro, an Oshiwambo native speaker, is one of the few non-Damara singers to experiment with it.
  • Shambo, the traditional dance music of the Oshiwambo-speaking people, derives its name from "Shambo Shakambode" - "music". In the late nineties Yoba Valombola blended existing Oshiwambo music widely popularised by folk guitarist Kwela, Kangwe Keenyala, Boetie Simon, Lexington and Meme Nanghili na Shima. Later Setson and the Mighty Dread Band combined these and other Namibian styles and this was the birth of Shambo shakambode music. Yoba based Shambo on a dominant guitar, a rhythm guitar, percussion and a heavy "talking" bassline. Themes range from love to war and history. Young Namibian musicians contributed sampled tracks backed by a blend of house music and Kwaito. Prominent shambo musicians include Tunakie, Tate Kwela and D-Naff, also a gospel musician. Kwiku mixes shambo with Kwassa kwassa. The genre was made popular by Tate Buti and his sister Janice with Faizel MC on the song "Kwiku". It is listened to by most Namibians including Basters and Coloureds. In 2005 it was recognized by the Namibia Society of Composers and Authors of Music (NASCAM) as one of Namibia's folk music genres. The annual Sanlam-NBC Music Awards also included it as one of their awarding genres in 2005. Other kwiku artists include trio PDK, Olavi, Killa B, Castro, Faizel MC, Tunakie, and the late YT de Wet.
  • Hikwa or hip hop/kwaito is genre established by Sunny Boy. According to Sunny Boy, hikwa is a combination of hip hop and kwaito. The lyrical artist established the genre through his album Young, Black en Gifted to accommodate his rhythmical rapping with slow tempo kwaito beats. Most kwaito songs are characterized by singing, chant, rhythmic-screaming, repetitive verses and chorus, and occasional rapping. Sunny Boy's songs structures are identified by a chorus and separate verses, similar to hip hop. Beats have a slower tempo than kwaito but faster than hip hop. Other artists who use a similar style include Tre VDK and OmPuff, from Sunny Boy's former label, Mshasho, Chipolopoolo, Qonja, Mappz, and Exit & Mushe. Hikwa also has award category both at the Namibian Music Awards and Sanlam Music Awards.

Read more about this topic:  Music Of Namibia

Famous quotes containing the words folk and/or music:

    I think that Richard Nixon will go down in history as a true folk hero, who struck a vital blow to the whole diseased concept of the revered image and gave the American virtue of irreverence and skepticism back to the people.
    William Burroughs (b. 1914)

    On the first days, like a piece of music that one will later be mad about, but that one does not yet distinguish, that which I was to love so much in [Bergotte’s] style was not yet clear to me. I could not put down the novel that I was reading, but I thought that I was only interested in the subject, as in the first moments of love when one goes every day to see a woman at some gathering, or some pastime, by the amusements to which one believes to be attracted.
    Marcel Proust (1871–1922)