INTRODUCTION 1

Kwaito’s assumptions: History, context & definition 2

SOUTH AFRIKA: A DEVIDED PEOPLE 2
THE 80’S FIGHT: BUBBLEGUM, CROSSOVER & REGGAE 4

KWAITO: A NEW ERA 4

The Meaning of Kwaito: Ideologies, values & social content 6

Kwaito’s actuality: Reflection, discussion & new contexts 10

Kwaito in development: Sandy B 15

2 SANDY B - SHONA PHANSI 17

6 SANDY B - SIKOKELA RUNDKREDS 18

9 SANDY B - SANDY B & MSAWAWA (FEAT. MSAWAWA & SANELISIWE) 19

CONCLUSION 20
BIBLIOGRAPHY 21

BOOKS & ARTICLES 21

ONLINE ARTICLES & WEBSITES 22

FILM & VIDEO 24

DISCOGRAPHY 24

OVERVIEW OF SOUNDPRODUCTIONS 25
APPENDICES 26

APPENDIX 1: DESCRIPTION OF OTHER MATERIAL 26

APPENDIX 2: KWAITO EXAMPLES 28

APPENDIX 3: BIOGRAPHY OF INTERVIEWEES 29

APPENDIX 4: TRANSCRIPTED INTERVIEWS 31

SUMMARY 36
INTRODUCTION

We are living in a globalized time, where all kinds of music across the world are
influencing each other. However, it is above all the western musical aspects that
tend to dominate the global image. Everywhere, local pop-music genres will usually
still incorporate these tendencies from western traditions.
That was also the case for the kwaito-genre, that dominated South Africe during the
1990’s and the first part of the 2000’s. Nevertheless, kwaito is most frequently
defined as its own genre entirely. It was especially worshiped by the black population
of South Africa, but kwaito has also earned a lot of attention from other people
groups in recent years. Such as in Europe and the USA for example. The genre was
not intended for this audience because it was originally enjoyed by the people in
South Africa, who from a social-historical perspective, went through a lot of changes
during this time. It was regarded as a symbol of the newly apartheid-free South
Africa, so Kwaito is today favored elsewhere without its original context. Based on
this fact, this text will address the following problem statement:

Based on the renewed popularity of the kwaito music in the West, I want to

investigate the ideological starting point of the genre, and whether it is

appropriate as a white European, to produce South African kwaito without the

social-historical context in which the music originated.

This text will attempt to define, examine and discuss the significance of kwaito's core
ideologies. The first part of the assignment will explain historical and political
preconditions for kwaito’s origin and give a brief theoretical definition of the genre.
This part will be based on knowledge gathered from articles and texts found online
and in books. An ideological discussion is then initiated on the basis of interviews
made for this task. All interviews were carried out during November and December
2017 and were semi-structured1 to be able to spontaneously engage in natural
dialogue if needed. All who were interviewed for the assignment are key people who

1
Jacobsen, Hillersdal, Walker (2014, 79) for details regarding interview technique.

1
are relevant to the problem formulation of the task. There is a brief biography for
each of these at the end of the text. 2
The outcome of this study will be linked to selected music technological theory, since
the study and its contents are largely ethnologically conditioned. Finally, there is a
description of selected thoughts and ideas behind productions created for this task.
These productions were created in collaboration with Sandy B: a Durban-based artist
who in 1995 released the kwaito album Amajovi Jovi, which in November 2017 was
re-released to a western audience on the record label Invisible City Editions (Juno
Records, 2017).3

Kwaito's assumptions: History, context & definition

It is essential to know about South Africa’s historical background, to fully understand

what context gave birth the kwaito genre. The following section will briefly highlight
its most important traits, setting the foundation of this task. Furthermore, this chapter
will also seek to give a short and style-oriented explanation of the kwaito genre. The
main focus here is ideologic and thus not a detailed insight of the musical theory of
kwaito. It will be explained from a general perspective, even though kwaito can be
divided into many subgenres.

Throughout this text, the terms ’white’, ’black’ and ’colored’ will be used in order to
identify various people groups in South Africa. These expressions are non-biased
and without any ideological superstitions. They follow the historical norms of South
Africa. ’Colored’ will be referring to people of a different ethnical origin than ’white’ or
‘black’.

SOUTH AFRICA: A DIVIDED PEOPLE

South Africa has a long and complex history regarding colonization, slavery, ethnical
division and censure. This part of the task contains the most essential aspects. For
more information about please refer to South African History Online (2000). The first
Europeans arrived to South Africa in 1652, and during the following centuries many
2
Appendix 3, page 29
3
Appendix 2, page 28 for soundsamples.

2
settled down in the country. Especially people groups from the Netherlands and
Great Britain. (SAHO, 2017a)
In 1948 The National Party rose to power and thus established The Apartheid
Regime, classifing all South Africans in races. Everyone got an identity card and
number that one had to keep on them. Various laws were introduced to control the
race split. Some residential areas were dedicated to white, other black or other
ethnicities. It was made illegal for some race groups to visit other groups' territories
unless one had a legitimate errand in that area. These laws were limiting the
freedom for all South Africans, but in most cases were least beneficial to the non-
white population. (SAHO, 2017b; Mhlambi, 2009, 119)

For black musicians it was illegal to collaborate with white musicians and perform for
a white audience. The government checked that no music was played that could in
any way speak against apartheid. SABC 4 was a state-owned company that had a
monopoly on almost all radio and television broadcasts in South Africa. Therefore,
the government could easily form an overview of what was played. Music that was
considered to speak against the state or apartheid was illegal and blacklisted from
the South African radio stations. In the case of blacklisting a song, every single vinyl
copy, containing that particular composition, was opened and scratched so that no
one could play it (Bendjelloul, 2012, 00:25:40). These censorships concerned both
local and international publications. (Drewett, 2003, 125-127)
Through SABC, the government started Radio Bantu: a radio station aimed at
sending radio to non-white. Radio Bantu had several subdivided stations for six of
the most spoken languages among its black population. The music on each radio
station was intended to appeal to the race group in question. Much of this music was
produced with this in mind and at the same time it meant that the government had
the opportunity to exercise some social control. (Hamm, 1991, 159-163)
In 1990, apartheid ceased, and Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years in prison. Four
years later, he was elected president of South Africa. (SAHO, 2017c)

THE 80’S FIGHT: BUBBLEGUM, CROSSOVER & REGGAE

During the 1980s, the apartheid government in South Africa met with growing
opposition. People were beginning to have enough and in the wake of this, new

4
SABC is an abbreviation for South African Broadcast Corporation.

3
popular styles arose, often containing political messages against the government.
The most dominant was the South African disco; most often referred to as
bubblegum. The Bubblegum genre was strongly inspired by international music
genres such as pop, disco and reggae. In addition, the lyrics were mostly sung in
English, and therefore bubblegum could appeal to several race groups. Bubblegum
musicians and singers were mostly black, while producers and technicians were
usually white. Many bubblegum musicians sneaked political messages into their
texts, which often passed the censorship committee. 5 (Copland, 2008, 294-299;
Durbach, 2015, 88-92) During the 1980s, Reggae also gained great success in the
country, which were undoubtedly the inspiration for South African musicians. This
might be due to the political messages that were often found in traditional Jamaican
reggae. A third genre that had significant success in South Africa and also often
contained political messages was called crossover music. The crossover genre got
its name because it was often created by musicians of several races and ethnicities.
Therefore, it was a genre that varied in style more than bubblegum and reggae. The
crossover genre had the greatest success among whites, while most of the
bubblegum and reggae audience was black. (Copland, 2008, 300; Byerly, 1998, 24)

KWAITO: A NEW ERA

There is limited documentation about the historical emergence of kwaito, rendering
the details about the genre's early years unclear. This section is a brief definition of
the kwaito genre. For further historical details and musical analysis of the genre,
please refer to Mhlambi (2009) and Steingo (2016).
Kwaito emerged in the early 1990s from Soweto's ghettos. It is not known with
certainty when the genre originated, and many myths exist about its exact origin.
The word kwaito came from kwaai, which from Afrikaans. It can best be translated
into angry or evil, but it also means cool or tough on a special South African slang
(Oxford Living Dictionaries, u. Å.).
Kwaito was greatly influenced by the American house from Chicago, Detroit and
New York, which, in the apartheid days, was extremely difficult to acquire. Despite
this, the DJ's in the latter half of the 1980s succeeded in obtaining American house
on vinyl and cassette tapes, and soon the house genre became popular in

5
For example Chicco’s We Miss You, Manelo (1987), which is referencing Nelson Mandela directly,
who was incarcerated at the time. (Copland, 2008, 296)

4
Johannesburg's townships. At clubs, DJs supposedly began playing their tracks at
33 rpm rather than 45, which was originally intended. Later, artists began
incorporating rapping or singing to this music. (Steingo, 2016, 34 -51)
Besides being influenced by the house genre, kwaito was also inspired by the 1980s
bubblegum and attracted local South African music traditions such as marabi, kwela,
imibongo and mashkandi. (Kwaito Music, u. Å.)
The texts in kwaito were not limited to one language but varied between South
Africa's official languages and various non-official township slang. In many cases,
several languages were included in the lyrics for just one song. (Steingo, 2016, xvii)
The lyrics often consisted of short sentences repeated throughout the musical track.
The vocabulary of kwaito music was most often expressed through what might best
resemble rap; rhythmically speaking vocals. (Mhlambi, 2009, 122) Kwaito was most
often released on CD and cassette tapes. It was therefore very common to produce
one album at a time.
During the 1990s and early 00s, kwaito became dominant hit-list music in South
Africa. Kwaito artists such as Arthur, Zola, Thebe, Mandoza, Boom Shaka, etc. got
stellar status in the country. Some of the largest kwaito record companies included
Kalawa Jazzmee, TS, Ghetto Ruff & 999 Music. (Steingo, 2016)
In some places, the genre is divided into two periods: old school kwaito and new
school kwaito, as there was a style shift in the genre around 1998 (Mhlambi, 2016,
117). This text is primarily based on the genre's old school period.

Kwaito’s meaning: Ideologies, values & social

“Kwaito - the most important music genre and cultural innovation to emerge in
postapartheid South Africa (...)” (Steingo; 2007; 23)

That is what Gavin Steingo wrote in an article 6 for the Black Music Research Journal
from 2007. With this sentence he emphasizes the significance of the kwaito genre
from a cultural context. Steingo merely states this and does not go further in the
elaboration of it. Throughout the rest of the article he puts kwaito into a political

6
The Politicization of "Kwaito": From the "Party Politic" to Party Politics

5
context and examines whether kwaito's content and background are politically
relevant or not. This chapter, based on Steingo's article and the interviews made for
this text, will investigate the ideological and social starting point of the kwaito genre.
Looking at the social-historical context in which kwaito originated, one could easily
imagine that the music from that time contained political texts or messages, just as,
the bubblegum genre had previously done so. According to Steingo, however, this
was not the case. Kwaito was most often expressed quite apolitically and has been
criticized for not taking part in a major political debate. (Steingo; 2007; 23-31).
Steingo (2007) also mentions that South Africa's former president Thabo Mbeki has
called kwaito “a ‘distraction’ from serious political issues." 7 The same designation is
used by Lance Stehr (interview, November 14, 2017), producer and the man behind
the record company Ghetto Ruff. He compares Kwaito with the more current music
genre Gqom.8
Kwaito fan Mduduzi Nkabinde says that kwaito started as "music for Tsotsies."
(Interview, November 18, 2017).9 Tsotsi is also the name of a South African film
following a young criminal in Johannesburg. Lance Stehr was a music supervisor for
the film's soundtrack, which primarily consists of kwaito (Hood, 2005). Kwaito thus
has associations with crime and gangsters. Steingo (2007) discusses this in his
article and draws social parallels to black youth culture in the US, where hip hop was
the dominant music genre. Then he emphasizes that the biggest differences
between hip hop and kwaito are ideological. Stehr supports this with: “We started
getting into hip hop first. We weren’t interested in kwaito at all. And the reason why is
because hip hop had a message. (...) Kwaito was just this party element” (interview,
November 14, 2017). Stehr points out that kwaito was party music. Steingo (2007),
in his article, addresses a similar claim when he cites kwaito fans who talk about
their relationship with the music (Steingo; 2007; 27). Kwaito was, as a rule, music
without a direct ideological message created to getting people to party. If you take a
historical look at kwaito’s origin, you will see that it is almost parallel to the
dissolution of apartheid. The first steps in the genre are rumored to have been taken
in the years around 1992-1993 (Nkabinde, interview, November 18, 2017) 10, a few
7
Steingo's article here is a secondary source. He is refering to Jubasi, 2000, which is no longer
accessible from his website.
8
Gqom is defined as a Durban-based genre influenced by "kwaito, tribal house and skeletal hip-hop".
(Cliff, 2015)
9
Tsotsi is a south african word for criminal or gangster (Oxford Living Dictionaries, u. å.)
10
See Appendix 4, p. 33 for a transcribed interview.

6
years after Nelson Mandela's release, and the genre really took off in 1995: the year
after Mandela was elected as president. (Mhlambi, 2009, 118-120) South Africa's
non-white population was free for the first time, which can explain the people's urge
to put political ideologies aside. A claim Stehr thinks is true: “Nobody wanted to
listen. People were interested in fucking drinking and partying at that point. The
elections happened and it was 1994.” (interview, November 14, 2017)

Stehr generally seems to have an uninterested and slightly degrading look at kwaito
for being just a party element, but for Nkabinde it was more than just that. “I think
we're not giving enough credit or recognition (to kwaito). This is what made us.”
(Interview, November 18, 2017). From this it is clear that the kwaito genre has been
important to Nkabinde and cannot be reduced to simple party music. He uses the
word "us" as if speaking on behalf of others than himself. Kwaito producer, Mthetho
Gotyana, who works for Lance Stehr at Ghetto Ruff, also speaks from a general
perspective on the genre: "Kwaito was more like ‘our’ soundtrack." (Interview,
November 14, 2017). Both in Nkabinde and Gotya's statements one feels a kind of
common ‘I’. They belong to the same generation 11, and were young in the years after
apartheid. They talk committedly about the South African youth involved with kwaito.
Nkabinde even calls kwaito “the sound of our generation.” (interview, November 18,
2017.) Gotyana has a statement that seems to elaborate on this: “It (kwaito) was a
form of expression. Now the South African youth had a voice and had an identity and
had a sound. So our sound was kwaito.” (interview, November 14, 2017).

It must be emphasized that it was the first time South Africa's black people
could express themselves completely freely. After many decades of blacklisting,
censorship and cultural repression, one could now suddenly express themselves.
Therefore, kwaito came to have a great emotional impact for much of South Africa's
youth. "We started to have culture" (interview, November 14, 2017) as Gotyana
points out. "It brought us taste and style and class,". In the years after apartheid,
freedom was also expressed on a smaller scale: " I remember back in the days if you
were drinking Heineken you were the shit. But as kwaito evolved we were able to
drink whiskey. We had taste.” (interview, 14 November 2017). From this statement
one seems to be able to deduce that the new sense of freedom was also largely
11
Nkabinde is born in 1981. Gotyana is born in 1983.

7
expressed through image. Individual identity seems to have become an important
standpoint. Nkabinde agrees that kwaito was about identity: “Kwaito is not just about
the music. Kwaito is the clothes you wore, the cars you used to be driving and places
that you went to. It was more about a lifestyle than just the music” (interview,
November 18, 2017). Kwaito is thus about lifestyle and individual status, but also
about expressing a great deal of social identity. Looking at one of kwaito's earliest
hits, Kaffir,12 by kwaito star Arthur Mafokate, one would be able to ascertain this from
reading the lyrics. In the chorus Mafokate sings: “Don’t call me kaffir”, 13 which is a
direct order against reducing his identity. Something that must also have appealed to
the black population in general. Perhaps that is why Kaffir became a big hit in South
Africa, and the number is credited several times as being the main catalyst of the
genre (Mhlambi, 2009, 5; Kwaito Music, u. å.). Incidentally, one could argue that in
the lyrics of this track, there is a political message. To conclude that all kwaito
contains a complete non-political content would therefore be a mistake. One can
imagine that Kaffir contributed to the overall common sense of identity that arose
around kwaito. It is not uncommon for individual and social identity to be represented
through music. This in particular is a significant topic in music technological theory.
According to music technology Timothy Rice (2014), focus on identity is linked to a
transition from one state to another:

In the modern world individual agency is foregrounded to help explain the

complexities of people on the move, whether because of social mobility and
choice within their own societies, or emigration from a specific, traditional place
into a globalized, transnational modern space where people need to construct
new individual and social identities. (Rice, 2014, 72)

With this in mind, it is not surprising that identity is such an essential part of kwaito,
that just arose in the wake of a great social and cultural transition. South Africa
underwent substantial changes at this time, and the kwaito genre must therefore be
a product of its time.
Kwaito was music created "in the ghettos of South Africa." (Nkabinde, interview,
November 18, 2017). It was a genre that did not have an ideological message on the

12
See Appendix 2, p. 29 for sound samples.
13
Kaffir is in South Africa a degrading word for a black person and has often been used by whites
(Douglas, u. å.)

8
surface. For some, however, the genre was given an ideological meaning, which was
most often found in many other layers than just the textual content. The above study
points out that, to a great extent, kwaito succeeded in communicating to a large part
of South Africa's younger generation, and for many people the music came to
represent freedom, community and not least identity. For a population that has
previously been oppressed, these concepts are expected to be of high ideological
importance. It is not surprising that kwaito is an important part of the South African
cultural history, and that the genre came to have an important social significance for
a large part of the population.

Kwaito’s actuality: Reflection, discussion & new contexts

Although kwaito has undoubtedly influenced a great deal of contemporary music in

South Africa, the genre rarely gets much attention in the country today (Durbach,
interview, November 9, 2017). On the other hand, interest in kwaito has been
increasing outside of South Africa in recent years. Particularly in Europe and
America, record collectors and DJ's have given the genre renewed attention, which
has generated great interest among an ever-growing DJ niche audience. Classic
kwaito albums such as TKZee's Halloween have been released on vinyl for the first
time in October 2017 (Roastin ’Records, 2017). As well as Sandy B's Amajovi Jovi
(1995), which was re-released on November 8, 2017 by the Canadian record
company Invisible City Editions (Juno Records, 2017). Even other kwaito releases
that never really were major hits to begin with in the 1990s South Africa, have been
seen re-released for an entirely new audience during the last decade. With the
renewed interest in the genre one must assume that there may also be interest in
producing new music inspired by kwaito. But how can one, as an outsider, produce
music with kwaito as its starting point, when kwaito is largely linked to particular
ideological values in South Africa? It is this question that the chapter here will try to
answer.
To answer it, one must first try to understand where the increased interest outside of
South Africa is coming from. The lyrics in kwaito were most often written in local

9
languages, and therefore one must assume that the interest is based on the
instrumental and production elements of the music. Dave Durbach, who through his
blog Afro-Synth14, has played an important role in the recent years' international
exposure to South African music. He has stated the following:

“It (kwaito) appeals to people overseas who are into house music, techno music,
but it’s far slower most of the time, so it’s kind of a novelty for some people that
the BPM is sometimes 100 or 105 BPM15 when most people are used to 120 or
125...” (interview, 9. november, 2017)

Durbach points out that kwaito appeals to supporters of house music; probably due
to recognizable musical features from house. However, the pace of kwaito is
somewhat lower, and according to Durbach it can be experienced innovatively for an
international audience. The attention to kwaito is thus largely based on the
instrumental production of the music. According to Steingo (2007), it was also this
element that originally appealed to the kwaito fans of the 1990s: "The beat is their
main reason for listening and dancing to kwaito" he writes, based on his music
technological study. (Steingo, 2007, 27)
The ‘beat’ in music is undoubtedly an important element in getting people to dance,
and therefore it makes sense that it was especially important in kwaito. The genre
also seems to work outside of South Africa, despite the fact that the majority of the
international audience is unlikely to understand the lyrics. However, one cannot rule
out the fact that the vocal itself has a big influence on how the listener experiences
the music. In kwaito's case, because nobody understands what is being sung, it adds
a potential exotic element to the music. As a foreign listener, one would then also be
immune to kwaito's often criticized non-political lethargy. Considering the element of
image and identity that is undoubtedly a part of kwaito and the ghetto environment in
which the music originated, it is not surprising that this aspect shines through. You
probably don't need to be able to understand the lyrics to sense this attitude. An
excellent example of this is Sandy B's, Amajovi Jovi (1994). In a description of the
EP's musical content, the record label Invisible City Editions (2017) writes on their
soundcloud profile: "Best of all are Sandy's vocals - deep, melodic Zulu rap, sung

14
(Durbach, 2017)
15
BPM er en forkortelse for beats per minute. (Robert, 2008)

10
flippantly — the way that only a true gangster could." So despite language barriers,
the vocals are an important selling factor for an international audience as well.
Sandy B's legal name is Sandile Mthethwa. He does not see any problem in that his
music is now popular with an audience who does not understand the lyrics: “If it
sounds good in America and they don’t understand the lyrics, but whatever that is
being said sounds good to their ears, why not?” (interview, December 5, 2017)
Mthethwa's argument is that you cannot offend anyone if they do not understand it.16
He knows that for the international audience, it is the vocal sounds of song rather
than its actual content which is interesting. In this way, one can say that the vocal
element works more like an instrument. One cannot, however, rule out that the
vocals nevertheless tell a story. But if it is the attitude of the vocals that catches the
listener, one can argue that a social story is still being told. So not through the words
themselves, but from the attitudes that lie within the voice. These experiences can
probably not be communicated through an instrument.
Although Mthethwa's music is popular outside of South Africa, he does not think that
he needs to write his lyrics in English: “It is nice to do kwaito in its original form, using
zulu and a little bit of street language. (...) That's what it's all about (...) ”(interview,
December 5, 2017). Mthethwa shows interest in adhering to kwaito's basic elements,
even though the genre has received renewed attention and a new audience.

Ideologically, kwaito was perhaps most relevant to South Africa's non-white

population, and the genre is most often described as a black music culture. One can
therefore imagine that whites taking part in the kwaito movement as problematic.
However, there are white people who has worked with kwaito a lot. One of them is
Gabi Le Roux, who produced kwaito hits for Mandoza and the Chiskop group. For Le
Roux it was never a problem to be a white man in a black musical movement. He
most often experienced very positive reactions to his interest in local African music,
and the members of the kwaito group Chiskop even wrote the number Dlala
Mlungu17 about Le Roux’s commitment (interview, 27. november, 2017).

Le Roux is enthusiastic about the renewed interest in kwaito: “For any European
producer to start incorporating kwaito elements will be a complement to us. It's not

16
See Annex 4, p. 32 for a transcribed interview.
17
Dlala Mlungo can be translated from zulu to “go for it, white man”.

11
theft or appropriating culture”, he emphasizes (interview, November 27, 2017).
Durbach also talks about cultural appropriation in relation to being a white DJ playing
bubblegum and kwaito:

“Of course the argument will always be there that DJ’s are somehow culturally
appropriating this or whatever but DJ’s are there to play music. You can’t
prescribe and say certain DJ’s can only play certain kinds of music and other
DJ’s can play different kinds of music.” (interview, 9. november, 2017)

The idea that there are special types of music that can only be played by some DJs
and other types of music that can only be played by others, is reminiscent of how
music was divided and thoroughly controlled during the apartheid era. It is therefore
this very thinking that kwaito is trying to break, representing freedom and diversity
after apartheid. Nkabinde who grew up in Soweto and experienced kwaito's creation
from close range, states: “I wish more white people were doing kwaito so that it
would lose the stigma that it's a black thing” (interview, November 18, 2017).
Although kwaito was about identity and is a very important part of Nkabinda's image,
he does not want the genre to be limited to only one people. This is because kwaito
represents an era where race division is to be avoided at all costs. An era where
certain music genres no longer needed to be produced and exposed to one targeted
race group. Gotyana also believes that kwaito can be for everyone: “You can be part
of the culture. Music brings us all together. (...) It doesn't have color and race”
(interview, November 14, 2017). Kwaito is about counteracting race divisions to
make room for new diversity. A diversity that does not have to limit itself locally, but
which can also be relevant on an entire global level. “With the official death knell of
apartheid in 1994, kwaito was reconfigured as an arrangement of musical material
that ignored (or even rejected) the division between local and nonlocal” writes
Steingo (2016, 27).
Le Roux says: “Globalization should mean a collaboration of cultures around the
world to form a world culture that is represented from all those subcultures.”
(interview, November 27, 2017). His view is that cultures should influence each other
across national borders around the world. Le Roux believes that globalization should
be equally distributed and not so heavily dominated by Western trends. (interview,
27, November, 2017)

12
Music Technologist Bruno Netti (1983, 432) divided the concept of globalization into
two terms: westernization and modernization. Westernization, according to Netti, is
about non-Western cultures adapting to Western culture standards by accepting its
principles. While kwaito is undoubtedly influenced by some Western music traditions,
one can certainly not say that it is a product of westernization itself. The genre
mostly incorporates musical elements from local music traditions and the lyrics are
often sung in local languages. Throughout kwaito’s history the genre has simply
been regarded as a collective unity of an enriched musical culture, which in no way
could arise from Western influences.

Kwaito is not about white or black. The genre originated from and during a time when
diversity first became a reality. Finally, music in South Africa does not need to be
addressed to only one population group. Although kwaito has been largely defined
as a black youth culture, there has always been a desire to share the music across
racial groups and populations. This desire still exists and does not need to be limited
within South Africa's borders. There is also an ideological interest in sharing the
cultures with a global community: an idea that the kwaito genre embraces.

Kwaito in development: Sandy B

Ten songs have been produced for this text, with kwaito as the main inspiration. It is
important to note that these productions have been created many years after
kwaito's golden years. Because the genre was so much a product of a special time in
South African cultural history, copying it may make no sense and therefore many
creative decisions have been made for the present interest in kwaito. Other creative
choices are made based on what is considered to be the right "kwaito spirit". This
chapter will deal with details about method and production process, account for
aesthetic decisions and perspective on the previous points of the task.
The ten tracks produced form an album together. Kwaito was also originally released
on CD or cassette tape, so the album format is very reliable. Specific numbers have
been selected here to represent the genre, because they emphasize one or more of

13
this text's main points. However, it is important to note that all ten numbers are
created based on this study and that they are strongest as a whole.
The full album is created for an European and North American audience. All tracks
are produced for and in close collaboration with former kwaito artist Sandy B. The
numbers will be released under Sandy B's already existing artist name, and thus the
material will retain authenticity as a kwaito release. The ten numbers have not yet
been mixed. For this task, however, a pre-mix has been made on all numbers.
The songs were recorded in December 2017 in Sandy B's study in Durban, South
Africa. They are based on Sandy B's own material from 1995.
As the previous chapter, kwaito concluded neither white nor black. This is
emphasized here by the fact that this album is created through a balanced
collaboration between Sandy B and I. Sandy B is black and I am white.
Most songs are, like Sandy B's earlier material, sung on Zulu to preserve an
essential kwaito element. Several of the songs have, however, been sung on a mix
of Zulu and non-official slangs. One track is also sung on Sotho.
We aimed to get the special kwaito attitude to shine through on all track, even
though one does not understand the lyrics as a listener.
In all cases, text and vocal melody are created spontaneously by Sandy B.
The result is then carefully reviewed, and in some cases the vocals have been re-
recorded with a new melody and text to better achieve the correct expression.

During production I assumed a great responsibility to keep myself credible to many

of the basic elements in the genre. A decision that was appreciated by Sandy B. To
produce the instrumental part, I used samples from Roland's classic TR drum
machine series, and through these I managed to hit a sound that almost resembled
Sandy B's 1995 sound. In almost all cases, I used a lot of energy to make the tracks
work with as few elements as possible. In this way many of them ended up with only
drums, bass, vocals and possibly an extra element as well. All vocals were recorded
on a simple USB microphone, which was what we had available in Sandy B's study.
This went well with the fact that it was kwaito we had to make, because a lot of
kwaito was originally produced on what was simply available.
During the recording process we often got visitors who spontaneously showed up in
the studio. Many of them had strong and positive reactions when they heard our
music. This may be because the kwaito genre is rarely grown in South Africa today

14
(Durbach, interview, November 9, 2017). Therefore, one can imagine that a
reverberation can provoke nostalgic feelings in people from that time. We considered
these reactions to be a sign that we were on the right track with the music
production.

It was important that core concepts such as community, diversity and identity shone
through on this kwaito album. Even though Sandy B has worked with many other
music genres since the 1990s, it was natural for him to work on a kwaito album. It
was obvious that the kwaito identity meant something to him. Especially the element
of identity during production, when he acquired a special attitude, which he otherwise
did not normally show.

The following paragraphs will briefly describe the way in which the three selected
tracks incorporated kwaito's core concepts. Note that the numbering is conditional on
the album's full track list and therefore is not chronological outside the whole. These
three tracks are selected to represent the whole. However, it is recommended to
listen to the full-length album after chronological numbering. For short descriptions of
the album's other numbers, see Appendix 1. 18 These tracks are also attached as
audio files.

2 SANDY B - SHONA PHANSI

Many of Sandy B's lyrics to the album are about partying and enjoying a community.
One of them is Shona Phansi. This song is initiated by Sandy B's voice, which says
in Zulu: "Come, clap with me." Then you hear the sound of clapping that are
interrupted by a clap from a drum machine, and the beat of the number starts. This
beat consists of drum machine elements, a deep bass and a simple synthesizer in
the chorus. To give the track a flippant and playful attitude through the instrumental
part, all quarter notes are marked with a cow bell. This effect is further emphasized
at the last beat of each measure by a classic sound from a Roland TR-808.
This track is a typical kwaito party number. Shona Phansi means "get down" which
refers to the end of the track, where "get down, get up" is being sung in Zulu.
Additional lines in the number can be translated into "We are going to be dancing till

18
Page 26.

15
the morning." And "Whose party is this? It's yours too.” So the theme is about
partying, and thus Shona Phansi emphasizes the element of community in kwaito.

6 SANDY B - SIKOKELA RUNDKREDS

The track Sikokela Rundkreds consists of several ideas that arose spontaneously in
the studio between Sandy B and I. One of them is the short introduction of the song:
the sound of a slurping. Starting a song with such a sound will probably often be
considered silly or corny. However, in a kwaito production like this one can argue
that it makes sense. This element adds a special flippant attitude to the track, which
is often an important presence in kwaito. This effect is also somewhat reminiscent of
the introduction to Sandy B's Student Night from 1995, which includes the sound of a
beer being opened. In this way, Sandy B's new material is linked to the old one. This
element can help reinforce the overall sense of identity on the album.
Thereafter the music continues with the heavy bass and the galloping, programmed
drums. These two elements, together with percussion and a piano, make up the
entire instrumental side of the song.
The text in Sikokela Rundkreds is sung in Sesotho. “Sikokela” means circle and
“Rundkreds” also means circle, but in Danish. Throughout the number Sandy B
repeats what can best be translated into English as: "Let's all join and make a circle."
In the middle of the song, the music is interrupted by a Danish voice that says: "Take
my hand, and we’ll make a circle.” This element was another spontaneous idea that
arose during the recording. The content of the text makes sense in relation to the
idea that kwaito is about diversity and community. The 1990's kwaito was about
freedom and community in South Africa and with this material, which specifically
addresses an international audience, it is now about freedom and community on a
global level. The voice is therefore credible to kwaito, which is most often sung in
several languages. The phrase being in Danish: a non-South African language,
emphasizes that the genre is now aimed at a global and especially a European
target group. Nevertheless, most of the target audience will not speak Danish and
therefore not understand this phrase, which is expected from a European audience.

9 SANDY B - SANDY B & MSAWAWA (FEAT. MSAWAWA & SANELISIWE)

To emphasize the element of community through the music, we invited the kwaito
star Msawawa to participate in a song. Kwaito artists often participated in each

16
other's publications, and therefore it was not unfamiliar for Msawawa to join in on the
project. Sandy B subsequently credited them both by naming the track “Sandy B &
Msawawa.” A title that does not hide the fact that identity plays a central role here.
Throughout the number, the two repeat their names followed by short gimmicks like
"How is it going?". Later, Sandy B utters some phrases that can be translated as "Me
and you, we are tight, we are together. When we move along, this is what we do.”
Based on the content of the text and the context of the track, it is clear that this was
a main element in that song. The instrumental production for Sandy B & Msawawa
was created by myself in advance, and after Msawawa listened to it, he was ready to
record. Sandy B then improvised a response track to Msawawa's recordings and we
continued working on it, until we finally had a mostly-finished track.
At 02:08 in the number, a woman's voice is introduced as a background element in
the music. This was a spontaneous invention that arose when a friend of Sandy B,
Sanelisiwe, was visiting his studio.

Producing a kwaito ablum that mostly relied on the genre's core ideologies meant
following many of the genre's artistic norms. This was also appreciated by Sandy B,
Msawawa and other guests visiting the studio. Although the music was aimed at a
European audience, we did not feel compelled to deviate from the core values of the
genre. On the contrary, we saw it as a strength. Music with plenty of authentic
expression, seems to be one of the elements the international audience responds to.
We added very little that was unusual for the kwaito genre and never anything
speaking against the ideological standpoint of kwaito.

CONCLUSION

Kwaito emerged from a cultural point of view in a particular time and in a country
under great social change. Something that, for many, caused a strong ideological
awareness regarding the genre. Therefore, one might have the imagine that taking
the genre outside of this context would be problematic. However, this has apparently
not been the case. The core ideologies of the genre embrace cultural harmony,
human freedom and new social opportunities. Concepts that all encourage one to
follow their own ideas and creations as one feels, which made it very straightforward

17
to produce a kwaito album in 2017. That said, it should be emphasized that it turned
out to be very important for me to understand the kwaito culture in advance. The
study carried out in this assignment was therefore quite essential.
Furthermore, it was a great advantage that I had knowledge of the Western audience
and the aesthetic expectations that might exist for kwaito. Increasing international
interest in genres such as kwaito could even be contributing to a more globalized
society in the future, that is represented by more subcultures and, to a lesser extent,
western traditions. After all, that is what kwaito ideologically stands for: community,
diversity and social identity across race groups and cultural differences.

The main focus of this task was about cultural ideologies of the kwaito genre. For
other future studies regarding kwaito, one could also write about the role of women
in the kwaito culture, the influence of kwaito in neighboring countries, its influence on
contemporary genres such as gqom or amapiano or examine the presence of kwaito
in today's South Africa.

18
BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS & ARTICLES

Byerly, I. 1998. Mirror, Mediator and Prophet: The Music Indaba of Late-Apartheid
South Africa. Ethnomusicology. University of Illinois Press.

Copland, D. (2008). In Township Tonight! South Africa’s Black City Music and
Theatre, Second Edition. The University of Chicago Press.

Drewett, M. 2003. An Analysis of the Censorship of Popular Music within the Context
of Cultural Struggle in South Africa during the 1980s. Grahamstown: Rhodes
University. Ph.d.projekt.

Durbach, D. J. (2015). A Study of the Linkages Between Popular Music and Politics
in South Africa under Apartheid in the 1980s. Master of Arts, African Politics,
University of South Africa. Kandidatprojekt.

Hamm, C. 1991. 'The Constant Companion of Man': Separate Development, Radio

Bantu and Music. Popular Music. Cambridge University Press. Article.

Jacobsen, B., Hillersdal, L., Walker, H. K. (2014) Investigation methods:

Observation, interview and Q&A. I: Nielsen, B., Nielsen, N. G., Møelgaard, N.
Professionsbachelor. UCC.

Mojapelo, M. (2008). Beyond Memory: Recording the History, Moment and

Memories of South African Music. African Minds.

Mhlambi, T. (2009). ‘Kwaitofabulous’: The study of a South African urban genre. I:

Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa. Taylor & Francis Group. Article.

Netti, B. (1983). The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-one Issues and Concepts.

University of Illinois Press.

19
Rice, T (2014). Etnomusicology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.

Steingo, G (2007). The Politicization of "Kwaito": From the "Party Politic" to Party
Politics. I: Black Music Research Journal. Center For Black Music Research. Article.

Steingo, G (2016). Kwaito’s Promise: Music and the Aesthetics of Freedom in South
Africa. University of Chicago Press.

ONLINE ARTICLES & WEBSITES

Cliff, A. (2015, 5. juni). What the foq is gqom? Localized the 20th November 2017
on: http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/24944/1/what-the-foq-is-gqom

Douglas, A. (u. å.). Kaffir. Localized the 23th November 2017 on:
https://www.etymonline.com/word/kaffir

Durbach, D. (2017, oktober). Afro-Synth. Localized the 25th November 2017 on:
http://afrosynth.blogspot.co.za

Invisible City Editions. (2017). ICE 13 SANDY B - AMAJOVI JOVI. Localized the 1st
December 2017 on:
https://soundcloud.com/invisible-city-editions/sets/ice-13-sandy-b-amajovi-jovi

Jubasi, Mawande. 2000. Dancing in the dark. [Johannesburg] Sunday Times

December 10. http://www.suntimes.co.za/2000/12/10/insight/in01.htm.

Juni Records. (2017). Sandy B - Amajovi Jovi. Localized the 20th December on:
https://www.juno.co.uk/products/sandy-b-amajovi-jovi/658391-01/

Kwaito Music. (u. å.). Origins of Kwaito. Localized the 20th November on:
http://kwaitomusic.co.za/about-us/origins-kwaito/

Oxford Living Dictionaries. (u. å.). Kwaito. Localized the 16th December on:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/kwaito

20
Oxford Living Dictionaries. (u. å.). Tsotsi. Localized the 24th November on:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/tsotsi

Roastin’ Records. (2017). TKZee “HALLOWEEN” (VinylL LP). Localized the 20th
December on:
http://roastinrecords.com/product/tkzee-halloween-vinyl-lp/

Robert, D. (2008). BPM. Localized the 20th December on:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=BPM

SAHO. (2000). South African History Online. Localized the 16th December on:
http://www.sahistory.org.za

SAHO. (2017a, 7. juni). History of Slavery and Early Colonisation in South Africa.
Localized the 20th December on:
http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-slavery-and-early-colonisation-south-africa

SAHO. (2017b, 16. august). Group Areas Act of 1950. Localized the 20th November
on:
http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/group-areas-act-1950

SAHO. (2017c, 6. september, 2017). Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Localized the 21th
November on:
http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/nelson-rolihlahla-mandela

SAHO. (2017c, 14. juli). Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki. Localized the 20th November on:på:
http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/thabo-mvuyelwa-mbeki

FILM & VIDEO

Bendjelloul, M. (2012). Searching For Sugar Man. Red Box Films/Passion Pictures.

Close. S. (2002). After Robot: Kwaito Music in Johannesburg. SVT.

21
Hood, G. (2005). Tsotsi. Tsotsi Films/Movieworld/The National Film and Video
Foundation of SA/

Kaganof, A. (2006). SHARP SHARP: The Kwaito Story. Mandala Films/Upro

Television.

DISCOGRAPHY

Arthur. 1995. Kaffir. CCP Record Company.

Chiskop. 1996. Akusheshi. KaleidoSound.

Chiskop. 1999. Relax. KaleidoSound.

Mandoza. 2000. Nkalakatha. CCP Record Company.

M’du. 1995. Y U 4 ME. Sony Music South Africa.

Sandy B. 1994. Amajovi Jovi. SB.

TKZee. 1998. Halloween. BMG Africa.

OVERVIEW OF SOUNDPRODUCTIONS

The following is a list of the ten tracks, that were produced. The three tracks
marked with bold letters, were specifically chosen for the task to represent the
entire production.

1 Sandy B - Amayellow Bone (04:55)

2 Sandy B - Shona Phansi (03:29)
3 Sandy B - Phakamis’ Izandla (03:42)
4 & 5 Sandy B - Bhatara/Yim ‘Ophethe (07:08)
6 Sandy B - Sikokela Rundkreds (05:13)
7 Sandy B - Thwabaza (04:18)
8 Sandy B - Ari Tsamaye (04:28)

22
9 Sandy B - Sandy B & Msawawa (feat. Msawawa & Sanelisewe) (04:35)
10 Sandy B - Botoza (02:41)

23
APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: DESCRIPTION OF OTHER MATERIAL

Below is a short description of the tracks that were not directly included in the
assignment. All numbers are also included as full length .wav files.

1 Sandy B - Amayellow Bone (04:55)

Amayellow Bone is the album's opening track, which for dramatic effect is initiated by
strings. The track draws parallels to Sandy B's Amajovi Jovi and even contains a
direct reference to it.

3 Sandy B - Phakamis’ Izandla (03:42)

Phakamis' Izandla means "clap your hands", which is repeated throughout the track.
It contains elements that have a more contemporary sound than much of the other
material.

4 & 5 Sandy B - Bhatara/Yim ‘Ophethe (07:08)

Number 4 and 5 are two tracks consisting of several of the same instrumental
elements. The two tracks are created with the intention of having them to work
together as one and also separated as individual tracks. For this task they were
merged to form an understanding of the flow in the album. The shift between the two
numbers occurs at 03:33.

7 Sandy B - Thwabaza (04:18)

Thwabaza reflects a current social matter. The vocal in the song utters “give me my
money” and “pay back my money.” South Africa is subject to a large amount of
injustice, unemployment and poverty amongst the people.

8 Sandy B - Ari Tsamaye (04:28)

Ari Tsamaye means “Let’s go.” and is about going out to party. This track was the
first track one we recorded together, but originally it had different lyrics and a much

24
slower tempo. We decided to record a new vocal and change the tempo, which is
why it became one of the last tracks we finished.

10 Sandy B - Botoza (02:41)

Botoza is the short, conclusive track on the album. The beat stands out a bit and the
overall feel of the song seems to be sillier when compared to the rest of the
production.

25
BILAG 2: KWAITO EKSEMPLES

Below are five examples of kwaito music of various kinds. Among the five tracks, two
of them are from Sandy B's Amajovi Jovi EP. This is because the material produced
for the assignment is based on this release. Extracts of all tracks are attached as
.mp3 format.

1 Arthur - Kaffir (CCP Record Company, 1995)

Arthur Mafokate's Kaffir has been credited in several places for seriously triggering
the kwaito wave in South Africa. Arthur also went by the name of King of Kwaito.
Please refer to this track on page 8 of this assignment.

2 Mandoza - Nkalakatha (CCP Record Company, 2000)

Mandoza’s Nkalakathe was another big hit in South Africa. The number is produced
by Gabi Le Roux who was interviewed for this assignment.

3 M’du - Y U 4 ME (Sony Music South Africa, 1995)

Y U 4 ME consists of fewer elements than the previous two tracks and represents a
sound that especially existed in the earliest years of the kwaito genre. The material
in this assignment is mainly based on this sound.

4 Sandy B - Amajovi Jovi (SB, 1995)

Amajovi Jovi hit in some regions of South Africa in 1995. However, it was a bit
forgotten until the year 2017, where it appeared in DJ sets around Europe, leading to
a re-release on the Canadian record label Invisible City Editions.

5 Sandy B - Student Night (SB, 1995)

Student Night originated from the same EP as Amajovi Jovi. The song never really a
hit in South Africa, but has, on the other hand, been played frequently on the
European DJ scene since 2017.

BILAG 3: BIOGRAPHIES OF INTERVIEWEES

Durbach, Dave

26
Durbach was born and raised in Cape Town. He is a trained journalist and
completed his education with the graduate project A Study of the Linkages Between
Popular Music and Politics in South Africa under Apartheid in the 1980s, which this
assignment makes references to. Through his blog Afro-Synth, he has presented
overlooked South African music to a larger international audience. He has toured several
times in Europe and Asia under his alias DJ Okapi, and has compiled releases for the record
companies Cultures of Soul and Rush Hour. Durbach is also the owner behind the record
store Afro-Synth, and has recently started his own record label under the same name, re-
publishing South African releases.

Gotyana, Mthetho Purari

Gotyana grew up in Port Elizabeth during the heyday of the kwaito genre, which
inspired him to enter the music business. He has written songs for kwaito artists like
Thebe, and has also worked as an event manager with Oskido, the man behind
Kalawa Jazmee. Most recently, he produced and compiled songs for a gqom-
compilation at the Ghetto Ruff, one of South Africa's largest kwaito record
companies.

Le Roux, Gabi
Le Roux is the backbone of music company KaleidoSound, based in Cape Town,
South Africa. As a producer, he is best known for his close relationship with the
kwaito group Chiskop, who had big hits like Klaimar, and later Mandoza. In addition,
Le Roux has also worked with kwaito artists such as Lebo Mathosa, Mapaputsi and
members of TKZee. He is still active as a producer.

Mthethwa, Sandile
Mthethwa is a Durban-based musician and performer who, under his artist name
Sandy B, released the Kwaito EP Amajovi Jovi in 1995. Later, he has moved across
many different genres. Including house, gospel and pop music. He is also behind the
music company MegaStar.
In November 2017, Amajovi Jovi was re-released to a western audience. The
renewed interest caused Mthethwa to go back to the kwaito genre with his new
material, which is the main product of this task.

27
Nkabinde, Mduduzi
Nkabinde grew up in Soweto and went to school with kwaito stars such as Zola, DJ
Walker and members of the kwaito group Chiskop. He was a young teenager while
the kwaito genre was at its peak and has held on to the genre ever since. Based on
his knowledge and interest around kwaito, he is a kwaito DJ and organizer of the
facebook page I Am Kwaito. He has also starred in a podcast section on kwaito on
Radio Cómeeme with the Chilean-born DJ, Mathias Aguayo, as host.

Stehr, Lance

Stehr is the backbone of the music companies Ghetto Ruff and Muthaland
Entertainment, through which he has released music for kwaito artists such as Zola,
Skeem and Brickz. He joined the music business during the apartheid-critical era,
and co-founded the hip hop group Prophets of da City in 1988. In addition, he has
been the music supervisor of the Oscar-winning Tsotsi, which primarily has kwaito as
soundtrack.

28
APPENDIX 4: TRANSRIPTED INTERVIEWS

The following are the chosen outtakes from all the interviews carried out for this text.

Durbach, Dave, Interview, November 9, 2017

S: Which qualities in kwaito appealed to you?
DD: (...) I think it’s probably worth mentioning that kwaito is not really a genre that’s
spoken of today in South Africa as an active kind of genre. Some people might
disagree, but in South Africa at the moment it’s all about house music and hip hop
and kwaito is always spoken off as an era of the 90’s or maybe the early 2000’s,
when that was the pop music of the day, and now we have moved beyond that point
I suppose. The appeal of kwaito today is often in that kind of historical sense, that
kind of nostalgic sense towards a previous era. It’s not like saying what appeals
about kwaito today. It’s more about what back then was so cool about kwaito that
can still translate to today’s audiences. So it’s always seen in that sense if you
understand what I’m saying. (...)

Gotyana, Mthetho Purari, Interview, November 14, 2017

(...)
S: I am here because I really like that sound (of kwaito). And I am here to research
that sound, and I think just the production, the technical aspect of kwaito I think is
just amazing, when I listen to it. Even though many times I don’t understand the
lyrics. And I would like in my future work to be inspired from kwaito and do some kind
of kwaito which is not like kwaito, but I would like to make some kind of music that is
inspired much heavily from kwaito, but outside the context of course because I am
not part of the culture.
MG: But you can be part of the culture. Music brings us all together, you know. Even
if you’re not part of Spanish music I remember there was an era all around the world
where people were starting to make records that had Spanish feel, you know? So
you could say that everyone was part of Spanish culture. Music is one thing that
brings us together. It doesn’t have colour and race. If you love a song… If a song hits
you it hits you. It doesn’t matter where it comes from. It could be a language that is
foreign to you but if it hits you it hits you. So you could be part of culture by sampling
elements out of it. (...)

29
Mthethwa, Sandile, Interview, December 5, 2017.
S: Now that your music has become popular outside Europe I guess there is a lot of
people, who don’t understand the lyrics. Do you see any problem in that?
SM: Well, I don’t see any problem. I don’t see any problem. It’s like we listen to a lot
of other African songs. We never know whether they’re swearing at us and it doesn’t
matter as long as we don’t know. When the beat is nice and it sounds nice we never
worry about that. I think again… Because there has been a lot of kwaito songs there
were banned from being played on the radio because of the lyrics, you know? Back
then radios were very sensitive when it comes to lyrics. They would pick a small
thing from the song and then they say “no.” Unlike nowadays, there’s a lot of music,
which you feel, that shouldn’t be on air because of the lyrics, but back then because
there were still morals. Maybe I should say that. So they used to check the lyrical
content. They used to check everything. Even something that you think it doesn’t
mean anything, you know? But they would check it. But now… I don’t think it is a
problem if you don’t understand the words. It’s never a problem. Even if you’re
having an argument with a person who speaks a different language. One starts
swearing at you in their own language. Do you care? You don’t care. ‘Cause you
didn’t hear anything. (...)

Nkabinde, Mduduzi, Interview, November 18, 2017

S: Can you tell me a bit about how kwaito started?
MN: Kwaito started as an alternative to bubblegum music which was the sound of
the late 80’s and early 90’s. Bubblegum had a lot of foreign influence. So kwaito
started as something that was different and something that we as a youth were trying
to not do what people in the old regime were doing. We just wanted to start
something new which spoke to us and that’s how kwaito started. But kwaito started
mostly with i’d say using house instrumentals from back in the day and making
something that was our own so kwaito started… I can say early 90’s there were a
few artists who were… Like 92 - 93 as much as didn’t have a name, a genre. It was
not a genre yet. It was something that people were just doing for fun almost like a
freestyle. Then people started making their own beats so it grew from that. But no
one can really claim that they started kwaito. (...) But I can say kwaito started from
the ghettos of South Africa.

30
(...)
S: Can you tell me anything about kwaito, that you just want to say?
MN: Something about kwaito that I want to say, that I was telling you about on
Kitcheners?
S: Yeah yeah, actually it is okay if you tell those things again, because some of the
things I don’t remember, and it would be very good for me to have it so I can go back
to it, when I am writing and find it so. Yeah.
MN: So now kwaito is more than just a music genre. Kwaito is the way of life that…
as in hip hop where hip hop is not just about rap. Kwaito is not just about the music.
Kwaito is the clothes you wore, the cars that you used to be driving and places that
you went to. And it was more a lifestyle than just the music. Like when someone was
into kwaito you could even see the sporties and the dance moves. The vibe. And
how it changed people’s lives and it was more like a stepping stone for ghetto kids
who were trying to become something in the world. Kwaito was a nice stepping stone
that I can just do me and be happy and make money as much as I enjoy.
I like the way how it grew from something that people thought… Cause when it
started people thought it was music for tsotsies, like only thugs would play kwaito
and some radio stations wouldn’t even play kwaito and... So how it grew into being a
major player in the community and in the… As you’re from Europe and you’re doing
a thesis on kwaito. Someone who was in the inception of kwaito never really had that
vision that someone from Europe would embrace the sound. I mean it was a sound
that was made for the people of that time and era. (...)

Stehr, Lance, Interview, November 14, 2017

S: So first you can just give me your background.
LS: Okay, my name is Lance Stehr. I’ve got a record company together with a couple
of people called Muthaland/Ghetto Ruff. We have been operating from 30 years now.
So we started getting into hip hop first. We weren’t interested in kwaito at all. And the
reason why is because hip hop had a message. And the reason I got into music was
to say something against the government.

31
(...)
S: You said that in the hip hop things you started doing, you made music against the
government because there was a message in the music. Did you try to incorporate
this in kwaito?
LS: Ah please, nobody wanted to listen. People were interested in fucking drinking
and partying at that point. The elections happened and it was 1994. Yeah, and until
2001 we released and recorded an artist called Zola. And Zola had some conscious
stuff to say. He was probably one of the only conscious kwaito artists around. And
then… But it wasn’t really enough because if you look at where we are today music
hasn’t necessary played a big part of our day to day lives of conscientising people.
Like now. There should be 20 track against Zuma, telling Zuma is a cunt, telling he
must die, you must go and stone him or whatever he must do. But that’s what music
is supposed to be about. Music is supposed to be about an expression, a feeling,
motivating people to understand, what is happening around them.
(...)
S: When kwaito came out, do you think it never meant anything to the people? In
terms of the fact that this music came right after apartheid and maybe people wanted
to party or whatever. Have you been doing any thinking in that direction?
LS: No, I think people were partying. It was party music. But you can say that it
happened after the elections but there has always been a sense... Music has always
been a way to express oneself and to enjoy... Even in time of trouble and even in
time of banning you know? When Brenda Fassie did Weekend Special. It wasn’t like
“oh, I am gonna tell you a story.” It was like “yo I am you’re weekend, weekend
special” and people went crazy and it was more a dance track. So I think it just
happened that 1994… Like now if you take gqom. Gqom is at the moment the shit.
Everyone is going crazy about gqom. Actually gqom is most probably a distraction
from what is really going down politically and what’s happening on the social level
and the problems we have. So that is a distraction from everyday life. (...)

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SUMMARY

This bachelor thesis seeks to investigate and explore the main ideologies behind the
South African music genre, kwaito. It does so from a contemporary perspective
based on a newly increased western interest in the genre. Through interviews with
persons of high relevance for the topic the thesis discusses the possibilities of
cultivating kwaito in 2017 outside its original context.
Firstly, the thesis sets up the historical conditions for kwaito and gives a short
definition of the genre. Secondly it investigates the ideologies of kwaito from a social
perspective based on interviews, articles and kwaito lyrics. Thirdly it explores the
current interest in the genre and discusses potential limitations or possibilities
concerning how to cultivate the genre. Finally it demonstrates all this by describing
the process of creating a kwaito release in collaboration with Durban-based kwaito
artist Sandy B. In this part the thesis puts earlier results and arguments into
perspective by using them in the final musical products that is part of the thesis.

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