Kwaito - History

History

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. The removal of the political and economic sanctions greatly transformed the South African music industry.

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 the World 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 in Johannesburg clubs such as 4th World, and local artists fused its sound with that of South African music. Arthur Mafokate, Makhendlas (Arthur's brother), Oskido, Boom Shaka, and Mdu Masilela were 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. Kwaito has been called the music that defines the generation who came of age after apartheid. 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 of music theory, large spaces to rehearse, and expensive instruments, it was easily accessible to individuals in these downtrodden communities.

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 Zulu phrase 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 band Boom Shaka was widely criticized by the political establishment for its rendition of the national anthem to a kwaito beat.

The kwaito industry is growing fast and there is becoming increasingly competitive. Popular artists include Zola, Mandoza, 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

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, 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 20–40 percent. 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.