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South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
is well known for its distinct musical styles which have played a huge role towards the country's society. The music of South Africa is very diverse with a wide variety of genres such as
Marabi Marabi is a style of music that evolved in South Africa over the last century. The early part of the 20th century saw the increasing urbanisation of black South Africans in mining centres such as the gold mining area around Johannesburg - the Wi ...
, Kwaito, house music, Isicathamiya,
Gqom Gqom () '(Igqomu) () is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 2010s from Durban, South Africa, pioneered largely by producer DJ Nathan_Medee, DJ Lag, Rudeboyz, Griffit Vigo, Mbreshcar SA and Citizen Boy. It was developed f ...
,
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...
, hip hop and Amapiano. With countless hits, such as Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, Pata Pata, Umqombothi (song), Vulindlela and legendary singers such as Miriam Makeba, Brenda Fassie, Hugh Masekela, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and
Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007
3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...
, South African music has played a huge impact in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
(especially in
Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
, such that countries such as
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
and
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
have their own versions of South African music genres such as Kwaito, etc.)


Pre-20th-century history

Early records of music in southern Africa indicate a fusion of cultural traditions: African, European and Asian. Modern country's early musician
Enoch Sontonga Enoch Mankayi Sontonga ( – 18 April 1905) was a South African composer, who is best known for writing the Xhosa hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" (), which, in abbreviated version, has been sung as the first half of the national anthem of South A ...
wrote the Southern African
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...
'' Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika'' in 1897. By the end of the nineteenth century, South African cities such as
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
were large enough to attract foreign musicians, especially American
ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
players. In the 1890s
Orpheus McAdoo's Jubilee Singers Orpheus Myron McAdoo (4 January 1858 – 17 July 1900) was an American singer and minstrel show impresario. He toured extensively in Britain, South Africa and Australia, first with Frederick Loudin's Jubilee Singers and then with his own minst ...
popularised
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
spirituals.


Marabi

In the early-twentieth century governmental restrictions on black people increased, including a nightly curfew which kept the nightlife in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
relatively small for a city of its size (then the largest city south of the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
).
Marabi Marabi is a style of music that evolved in South Africa over the last century. The early part of the 20th century saw the increasing urbanisation of black South Africans in mining centres such as the gold mining area around Johannesburg - the Wi ...
, a style from the slums of Johannesburg, was the early "popular music" of the townships and urban centres of South Africa. Practitioners played marabi on
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
s with accompaniment from pebble-filled cans, often in
shebeen A shebeen ( ga, síbín) was originally an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages were sold without a licence. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, the ...
s, establishments that illegally served alcohol to black people. By the 1930s, however, marabi had incorporated new instruments -
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
s, concertinas and
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
s - and new styles of marabi had sprung up. These included a marabi/
swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...
fusion called African jazz and jive, a generic term for any popular marabi style of music. Pre war, in the 1930s, when Eric Gallo's Brunswick Gramophone House sent several South African musicians to London to record for Singer Records. Gallo went on to produce music in South Africa, beginning in 1933. His company, Gallo Record Company, remains the largest and most successful label in South Africa, having had acclaimed artists such as Solomon Linda, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Miriam Makeba, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens and many more pass through the recording studios. Marabi, which happens to be a keyboard style of play traceable to the 1920s are mostly made up of Jazz with instruments like guitar and banjo.


Gospel

In the early twentieth century, Zionist Christian churches spread across South Africa. They incorporated African musical elements into their worship, thus inventing South African gospel music, which remains one of the most popular forms of music in the country today.


Classical and art music

Classical and art music in South Africa reached its zenith of popularity in the mid-20th century and was primarily composed by a triumvirate of Afrikaner composers known as the "fathers of South African art music." These composers were
Arnold van Wyk Arnoldus Christiaan Vlok van Wyk (26 April 1916 – 27 March 1983) was a South African art music composer, one of the first notable generation of such composers along with Hubert du Plessis and Stefans Grové. Despite the strict laws impos ...
, Hubert du Plessis, and Stefans Grové. All three composers were
White South Africans White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settle ...
, yet harbored very different views on
Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, which was state policy at the time. Stefans Grové was one of the first white composers to incorporate Black African music into his compositions, and openly rejected apartheid ideals in an effort to fuse his "Western art and his physical, African space." Arnold Van Wyk became known for his government-endorsed nationalistic compositions, though he himself was reluctant to support the apartheid administration. Hubert Du Plessis, on the other hand, was a very strong Afrikaner nationalist, and experienced a "growing consciousness" of his heritage which made him proud to compose such pieces. Du Plessis' works included chamber music, orchestral pieces, and many pieces for the piano.


Afrikaans music

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...
music was primarily influenced by Dutch folk styles, along with
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
influences, in the early twentieth century. Zydeco-type string bands led by a concertina were popular, as were elements of American
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
, especially
Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentlem ...
. The most prolific composers of "tiekie draai" Afrikaans music were lyricist
Anton De Waal Anton Joseph Johann Maria de Waal (5 May 1837 - 23 February 1917) was a German Christian archeologist and Roman Catholic church historian. He established the Collegio Teutonico del Campo Santo and carried out numerous archeological excavations ...
who wrote many hit songs with songwriters, pianist Charles Segal ("Hey Babariebab Se Ding Is Vim", "Kalkoenjie", "Sy Kom Van Kommetjie" and many others) and accordionist,
Nico Carstens Nicolaas Cornelius Carstens (10 February 1926 – 1 November 2016) more commonly known as Nico Carstens, was a South African musician, accordionist, and songwriter. Early life Born, 10 February 1926, in Cape Town of Afrikaner parents, Carstens ...
.
Bushveld The Bushveld (from af, bosveld, af, bos 'bush' and af, veld) is a sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. It encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of the North West Province of South Africa, the Central and Nort ...
music based on the Zulu were reinterpreted by such singers as Marais and Miranda. Melodramatic and sentimental songs called ''trane trekkers'' (tearjerkers) were especially common. In 1973, a country music song won the coveted SARI Award ( South African Music Industry) for the Song of the Year – "My Children, My Wife" was written by renowned South African composer Charles Segal and lyricist Arthur Roos. In 1979 the South African Music scene changed from the Tranetrekkers to more lively sounds and the introduction of new names in the market with the likes of
Anton Goosen Anton Goosen (born 5 March 1946) is a South African musician and songwriter. He became a pivotal figure in Afrikaans music and is generally regarded as the father of Afrikaans Rock. Early years As a young boy in school, Goosen was not consider ...
,
David Kramer (singer) David Kramer (born 27 June 1951) is a South African singer, songwriter, playwright and director, notable for his musicals about the Cape Coloured communities, and for his early opposition to apartheid. Early life Kramer was born in Worcester, S ...
,
Koos du Plessis Jacobus (Koos) Johannes du Plessis (10 May 1945 – 15 January 1984) was a prominent South African singer-songwriter and poet, colloquially known as ''Koos Doep''. Although he received critical acclaim for much of his work, he became best ...
,
Fanie de Jager Fanie de Jager (born 8 April 1949) is a South African operatic tenor and singer of light classical music. Early life Fanie de Jager was born to Christiaan Lodevicus and Frederika Stefina de Jager in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He ...
, Flaming Victory and Laurika Rauch. Afrikaans music is currently one of the most popular and best selling industries on the South African music scene. After
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
,
Afrikaner nationalism Afrikaner nationalism ( af, Afrikanernasionalisme) is a nationalistic political ideology which created by Afrikaners residing in Southern Africa during the Victorian era. The ideology was developed in response to the significant events in Afri ...
spread and such musicians as
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
and
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...
Charles Segal and accordionist
Nico Carstens Nicolaas Cornelius Carstens (10 February 1926 – 1 November 2016) more commonly known as Nico Carstens, was a South African musician, accordionist, and songwriter. Early life Born, 10 February 1926, in Cape Town of Afrikaner parents, Carstens ...
were popular.


The 1930s


A cappella

The 1930s saw the spread of Zulu a cappella singing from the Natal area to much of South Africa. The style's popularity, finally producing a major star in 1939 with Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds, whose " Mbube" ("The Lion") was probably the first African recording to sell more than 100,000 copies. It also provided the basis for two further American pop hits, The Weavers' " Wimoweh" (1951) and The Tokens' " The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (1961). Linda's music was in a style that came to be known as mbube. From the late 1940s to the 1960s, a harsh, strident form called isikhwela jo was popular, though national interest waned in the 1950s until
Radio Zulu Ukhozi FM is a South African national radio station & owned by SABC, based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal that caters to the needs of the Zulu language, Zulu-speaking community. Founded in 1960, it is the largest radio station in South Africa and Afr ...
began broadcasting to Natal, Transvaal and the
Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...
in 1962 (see 1950s: Bantu Radio and pennywhistle for more details). Also formed in this era was the Stellenbosch University Choir, part of the
University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest ext ...
, the oldest running choir in the country and was formed in 1936 by
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...
, also the first conductor of the Choir. The current conductor is Andre van der Merwe. They specialise in a cappella music and consist of students from the
University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
.


The 1950s


Bantu Radio and the music industry

By the 1950s, the music industry had diversified greatly, and included several major labels. Innovative musician and composer, Charles Segal was the first white musician to work with the indigenous African people, recording tribal performers and promoting African music overseas starting in the 1950s. Charles Segal was also the first white musician to write in the indigenous African style and to bring the African music genre into the commercial market. His single "Africa" was a hit amongst the diverse South African population in the 1960s and he continued to produce, record and teach his own unique style of African music, which was a mix of African and Jazz influences. These compositions include "Opus Africa", "African Fantasy", "Kootanda" and many more. In 1962, the South African government launched a development programme for Bantu Radio in order to foster separate development and encourage independence for the
Bantustan A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (n ...
s. Though the government had expected Bantu Radio to play folk music, African music had developed into numerous pop genres, and the nascent recording studios used radio to push their pop stars. The new focus on radio led to a government crackdown on lyrics, censoring songs which were considered a "public hazard".


Pennywhistle jive

The first major style of South African popular music to emerge was pennywhistle jive (later known as kwela). Black cattle-herders had long played a three-holed reed flute, adopting a six-holed flute when they moved to the cities. Willard Cele is usually credited with creating pennywhistle by placing the six-holed flute between his teeth at an angle. Cele spawned a legion of imitators and fans, especially after appearing in the 1951 film '' The Magic Garden (film)''. Groups of flautists played on the streets of South African cities in the 1950s, many of them in white areas, where police would arrest them for creating a public disturbance. Some young whites were attracted to the music, and came to be known as ducktails. The 1950s also saw 'coloured' bands develop the new genre of Quela, a hybrid of South African Squares and modern samba. Once again, we see the cross-over between white, Afrikaans music and the indigenous South Africa music in the compositions of pianist and composer, Charles Segal, with his penny whistle hits including "Kwela Kwela" and many others.


The 1960s

In the 1960s, a smooth form of mbube called cothoza mfana developed, led by the King Star Brothers, who invented isicathamiya style by the end of the decade. By the 1960s, the saxophone was commonplace in jive music, the performance of which continued to be restricted to townships. The genre was called sax jive and later mbaqanga. Mbaqanga literally means ''dumpling'' but implies ''home-made'' and was coined by Michael Xaba, a jazz saxophonist who did not like the new style. The early 1960s also saw performers such as bassist Joseph Makwela and guitarist Marks Mankwane add electric instruments and marabi and kwela influences to the mbaqanga style, leading to a funkier and more African sound. Mbaqanga developed vocal harmonies during the very early 1960s when groups including The Skylarks and the Manhattan Brothers began copying American vocal bands, mostly
doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...
. Rather than African-American four-part harmonies, however, South African bands used five parts. The Dark City Sisters were the most popular vocal group in the early 1960s, known for their sweet style. Aaron Jack Lerole of Black Mambazo added groaning male vocals to the female harmonies, later being replaced by Simon 'Mahlathini' Nkabinde, who has become perhaps the most influential and well-known South African "groaner" of the twentieth century. Marks Mankwane and Joseph Makwela's mbaqanga innovations evolved into the more danceable mgqashiyo sound when the two joined forces with Mahlathini and the new female group Mahotella Queens, in Mankwane's backing group Makhona Tsohle Band (also featuring Makwela along with saxophonist-turned-producer West Nkosi, rhythm guitarist Vivian Ngubane, and drummer Lucky Monama). The Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens/Makhona Tsohle outfit recorded as a studio unit for Gallo Record Company, to great national success, pioneering mgqashiyo music all over the country to equal success. In 1967 Miriam Makeba released US hit "Pata Pata". 1967, Izintombi Zesi Manje Manje, an mgqashiyo female group that provided intense competition for Mahotella Queens. Both groups were massive competitors in the jive field, though the Queens usually came out on top.


Soul and jazz

The late 1960s saw the rise of
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
from the United States.
Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bil ...
and Percy Sledge were among singers who were especially popular and inspired South African performers to enter the field with an organ, a bass-and-drum rhythm section and an electric guitar. In the 1960s jazz split into two fields. Dance bands like the Elite Swingsters were popular, while avant-garde jazz inspired by the work of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and
Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...
was also common. The latter field of musicians included prominent activists and thinkers, including Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim (formerly known as 'Dollar Brand'), Kippie Moeketsi, Sathima Bea Benjamin,
Chris McGregor Christopher McGregor (24 December 1936 – 26 May 1990) was a South African jazz pianist, bandleader and composer born in Somerset West, South Africa. Early influences McGregor grew up in the then Transkei (now part of the Eastern Cape Provin ...
, Johnny Dyani and Jonas Gwangwa. In 1959, American pianist John Mehegan organised a recording session using many of the most prominent South African jazz musicians, resulting in the first two African jazz LPs. The following year saw the Cold Castle National Jazz Festival, which brought additional attention to South African jazz. Cold Castle became an annual event for a few years, and brought out more musicians, especially Dudu Pukwana, Gideon Nxumalo and
Chris McGregor Christopher McGregor (24 December 1936 – 26 May 1990) was a South African jazz pianist, bandleader and composer born in Somerset West, South Africa. Early influences McGregor grew up in the then Transkei (now part of the Eastern Cape Provin ...
. The 1963 festival produced an LP called '' Jazz The African Sound'', but government oppression soon ended the jazz scene. Again, many musicians emigrated or went into exile in the UK or other countries. In 1968 Hugh Masekela got big hit "Grazing in the Grass", and it reached No.1 on Billboard pop chart. While the African jazz of the north of South Africa was being promoted in Johannesburg, musicians in Cape Town were awakening to their jazz heritage. Pianist Charles Segal, who had moved from Pretoria to Cape Town, brought an enthusiasm for jazz after several trips to the US, where he met and was influenced by the jazz pianist
Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...
. The port city had a long history of musical interaction with seafaring players. The rise of the Coon Carnival and the visionary talent of Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) and his sax players Basil Coetzee and
Robbie Jansen Robert Edward Jansen (5 August 1949 – 7 July 2010) was a South African musician. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Biography Jansen began his career in the pop band The Rockets. The first instruments he played were concertina and mouth ...
led to Cape Jazz. It was an improvised version of their folk songs with musical reference to European and American jazz which would go on some 20 years later to be South Africa's most important jazz export.


The 1970s


Mgqashiyo and Isicathamiya

By the 1970s, only a few long-standing mgqashiyo groups were well-known, with the only new groups finding success with an all-male line-up. Abafana Baseqhudeni and Boyoyo Boys were perhaps the biggest new stars of this period. The Mahotella Queens' members began leaving the line-up around 1971 for rival groups. Gallo, by far the biggest record company in South Africa, began to create a new Mahotella Queens line-up, recording them with Abafana Baseqhudeni. Lead groaner Mahlathini had already moved to rival label EMI (in early 1972), where he had successful records with backing team Ndlondlo Bashise and new female group the Mahlathini Girls. The new Mahotella Queens line-up over at Gallo found just as much success as the original Queens, recording on-and-off with new male groaners such as Robert Mbazo Mkhize of Abafana Baseqhudeni. Ladysmith Black Mambazo, headed by the sweet soprano of Joseph Shabalala, arose in the 1960s, and became perhaps the biggest isicathamiya stars in South Africa's history. Their first album was 1973's '' Amabutho'', which was also the first gold record by black musicians; it sold over 25,000 copies. Ladysmith Black Mambazo remained popular throughout the next few decades, especially after 1986, when Paul Simon, an American musician, included Ladysmith Black Mambazo on his extremely popular '' Graceland'' album and its subsequent tour of 1987. With progressive jazz hindered by governmental suppression, marabi-styled dance bands rose to more critical prominence in the jazz world. The music became more complex and retained popularity, while progressive jazz produced only occasional hits, such as Winston Ngozi's "Yakal Nkomo" and Abdullah Ibrahim's "
Mannenberg "Mannenberg" is a Cape jazz song by South African musician Abdullah Ibrahim, first recorded in 1974. Driven into exile by the apartheid government, Ibrahim had been living in Europe and the United States during the 1960s and '70s, making brief ...
".


Punk rock

During the punk rock boom of the late 1970s, UK and American punk music influenced South African bands, such as Wild Youth and Powerage and gained a cult following, focused in
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
and in and around
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
. Bands such as Dog Detachment and The Radio Rats and Young Dumb & Violent had a similar following on the fringes of the music scene.
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
had a big following with Safari Suits, Housewife's Choice, The Lancaster Band, The News and Permanent Force (aka Private File after BOSS intervention), soon followed by The Rude Dementals, The Zero's, Fred Smith Band, Red Army, Riot Squad, Injury Time and The Vipers. In Cape Town many gigs took place at "Scratch" Club (run by Gerry Dixon and Henry Coombes), 1886, UCT, Off The Road, numerous town halls and other local venues. Some of the aforementioned bands passed through on tours. The "RIOT ROCK" tour of December 1979 being a culmination of the period. National Wake was a multiracial punk rock band in the late 1970s. They were created in protest of the
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
regime. They were South Africa's first multiracial punk band.


Disco

In the middle of the 1970s, American disco was imported to South Africa, and disco beats were added to soul music, which helped bring a halt to popular mbaqanga bands such as the Mahotella Queens. In 1976, South African children rebelled en masse against apartheid and governmental authority, and a vibrant, youthful counterculture was created, with music as an integral part of its focus. Styles from before the 1970s fusion of disco and soul were not widely regarded, and were perceived as being sanctioned by the white oppressors. Few South African bands gained a lasting success during this period, however, with the exception of the
Movers Mover or movers may refer to: * Motion (parliamentary procedure), in parliamentary procedure, the person who introduces a motion * Moving company, a service which helps with packing, moving and storage * People mover, a type of mass-transit * Pr ...
, who used marabi elements in their soul. The Movers were followed by the Soul Brothers, and the instrumental band The Cannibals, who soon began working with singer Jacob "Mpharanyana" Radebe. The coloured (not black) band The Flames also gained a following, and soon contributed two members ( Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar) to American band
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...
. Harari arose in their place, eventually moving to an almost entirely rock and roll sound. One of Harare's members, Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse became a superstar in the 1980s.


Rock

There was a thriving, mostly white,
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...
scene in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
in the 1970s. The album McCully Workshop Inc. from the
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...
band McCully Workshop is a good example the genre on Trutone Records. The Trutone label was owned by South African company Gallo (Africa) Limited an internationally recognised music producer.


The 1980s


Alternative rock and Afrikaans

The early 1980s brought popular attention on
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...
bands such as The Usual and Scooter's Union. In and around Johannesburg the growth of the independent music scene led to not just a surge of bands ranging from big names (relatively speaking) Tribe After Tribe, The Dynamics, The Softies and the Spectres through to smaller hopefuls What Colours, Days Before and No Exit, but also to the growth of a vibrant DIY fanzine scene with "Palladium" and "One Page to Many" two titles of note. South African alternative rock grew more mainstream with two leading bands, Asylum Kids from Johannesburg and
Peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...
from Durban having chart success and releasing critically acclaimed albums. The burgeoning music scene around Johannesburg saw a surge of small bands, inspired and informed by the UK DIY punk ethic, form and start performing at a growing number of venues from clubs the likes of Metalbeat, Bluebeat, King of Clubs, DV8 and Dirtbox to student run venues such as GR Bozzoli Hall and later the Free People Concert on the University of the Witwatersrand campus. One artist of specific note to come from this era was James Phillips who was involved with several influential and important bands including Corporal Punishment; Cherry Faced Lurchers; and his Afrikaans alter ego Bernoldus Niemand (roughly translates as Bernard Nobody). With his Bernoldus Niemand character, James managed to cross the language division and influence a whole range of Afrikaans speaking musicians to the same punk ethic that had inspired him, and an important Afrikaans alternative rock scene grew from this influence. During this period, the only Afrikaners to achieve much mainstream fame were Anton Goosen, a rock singer-songwriter, and
Bles Bridges Bles Bridges (22 July 1946, in Viljoensdrif, Orange Free State – 24 March 2000, near Bloemhof, North West), born Lawrence John Gabriel Bridges, was a South African singer. He became known as Bles Bridges, as his Irish grandfather called him "Bl ...
, an imitator of American lounge singer Wayne Newton.


Gothic rock

In 1983, Dog Detachment was one of the earliest groups which combined Post-Punk music with elements of Gothic rock. South Africa's first
Gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie ...
band was No Friends of Harry, formed in the mid-1980s. Other notable bands from the second half of the 1980s are The Gathering (not to be confused with the Dutch Metal band), The Death Flowers of No-cypher, Lidice, The Attic Muse, The Autumn Ritual, The Elephant Celebes and Penguins in Bondage. In 1995, The Awakening was formed by vocalist, guitarist and producer
Ashton Nyte Ashton Nyte is a South African-born singer, songwriter, producer, composer, author, actor, and frontman of the gothic rock band The Awakening. Nyte has released seven solo albums, in addition to eleven albums as The Awakening and several other ...
. The band is credited in major national press as "South Africa's most successful Gothic Rock act and one of the top bands in the far broader Alternative scene" and headlined major national festivals throughout South Africa, including the country's largest music festival Woodstock, in addition to Oppikoppi and RAMFest. With more than a dozen top ten national singles between 1998 and 2007, The Awakening were the first goth-styled act to have major success in South Africa. Another notable goth artist was The Eternal Chapter, which had a hit with the cover "Here comes the man", originally by
Boom Boom Room Boom Boom Room were an English band which formed in 1985, comprising Andy Nakanza (vocals), Skid (drums), Inz (bass), and Lushi (rhythm guitar & bass). Lushi was also in a band called One the Juggler. They had one single in the UK Singles Cha ...
.


Pop

P J Powers won the 1986 Song for South Africa competition, the first one run by the SABC. It aimed to promote South African music. The winning song was Don Clarke's ''Sanbonani.'' The final round was televised on national TV, with P J Powers supported by her band, Hotline. ''Sanbonani'' featured on the ''P J Powers and Hotline Greatest Hits'' album in 1991.


International attention

The original Mahotella Queens line-up reunited with Mahlathini and the Makgona Tsohle Band in 1983, due to unexpected demand from mgqashiyo and mbaqanga fans. Ladysmith Black Mambazo took their first step into the international arena via Paul Simon on his '' Graceland'' album in 1986, where a series of reissue albums by US label Shanachie sold very well. Mambazo became world travellers, touring the world and collaborating with various Western musicians to massive success. "Graceland" won many awards including the Grammy Award for Best Album of the Year. A year later, Simon produced Black Mambazo's first U.S. release, Shaka Zulu, which won the Grammy Award, in 1988, for Best Traditional Folk Album. Since then, and in total, the group has received fifteen Grammy Award Nominations and three Grammy Award wins, including one in 2009. The ''Graceland'' album not only propelled Mambazo into the spotlight, but paved the way for other South African acts (including Mahlathini and the Queens, Amaswazi Emvelo, Moses Mchunu, Ray Phiri and Stimela, The Mighty Soul beat and others) to become known worldwide as well. ''World in Union,'' the Ladysmith Black Mambazo record feat. P J Powers, became an international hit record in 1995. It charted in the UK (no 47 on the singles charts). Johnny Clegg got his start in the 1970s playing Zulu-traditional music with Sipho Mchunu, and became prominent as the only major white musician playing traditional black music, achieving success in France as "Le Zoulou Blanc" (''The White Zulu''). The 1980s also saw a resurgence in rock and roll bands, among them The Helicopters, Petit Cheval, Sterling and Tellinger.
Mango Groove Mango Groove is an 11-piece South African Afropop band whose music fuses pop and township music—especially marabi and kwela. Since their foundation in 1984, the band has released six studio albums and numerous singles. Their most recent a ...
has racked up a host of achievements throughout the years, and has firmly established itself as one of South Africa’s most recognised and loved music icons. The group exploded into the national consciousness with the release of its 10 times Platinum debut album in 1989. Taking SA music to the world: Amongst other things, this included Mango Groove being the only South African act invited to perform at the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, being the only South African act featured on The Freddie Mercury Tribute concert (broadcast to over a billion people), appearing in front of 200 000 people at the SOS Racisme concert in Paris and receiving 3 encores at the Montrieux Jazz Festival.


Reggae

The most lasting change, however, may have been the importation of
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
from Jamaica. Following international superstar
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements ...
's concert celebrating Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, reggae took hold across Africa.
Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007
3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...
was the first major South African artists; his style was modelled most closely on that of Peter Tosh. Into the 1990s, Lucky Dube was one of the best-selling artists in South African history, especially his 1990 album '' Slave''. The 1990s also saw Jamaican music move towards
ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...
, an electronic style that was more influential on kwaito (South African hip hop music) than reggae. A group from the Free State called Oyaba also emerged during this period. Their best known hit songs are Tomorrow Nation,
Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...
and Love Crazy. Reggae became quite popular and there was also a singer from
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...
, Sipho Johnson known as Jambo.


Bubblegum

Bubblegum was a form of pure South African pop music that arose in the middle of the 1980s, distinctively based on vocals with overlapping call-and-response vocals. Electronic keyboards and synthesisers were commonplace. Dan Tshanda of the band Splash was the first major bubblegum star, followed by Chicco Twala. Twala introduced some politically oriented lyrics, such as "We Miss You Manelo" (a coded tribute to
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
) and "Papa Stop the War", a collaboration with
Mzwakhe Mbuli Mzwakhe Mbuli (born 1 August 1959) is a South African poet, Mbaqanga singer and former Deacon at Apostolic Faith Mission Church in Naledi Soweto, South Africa. Known as "The People's Poet, Tall Man, Mbulism, The Voice Of Reason", he is the father o ...
. In 1983 a major new South African star was born, Brenda Fassie. Her single, "Weekend Special", announced her as the pre-eminent female South African vocalist of her generation. She remained unmatched in popularity, talent until her untimely death in 2004. The late 1980s saw the rise of Yvonne Chaka Chaka, beginning with her 1984 hit "I'm in Love With a DJ", which was the first major hit for bubblegum. Her popularity rose into the 1990s, especially across the rest of Africa and into Europe. Jabu Khanyile's Bayete and teen heart-throb
Ringo Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
have also become very popular.


The Voëlvry movement

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...
-language music saw a resurgence in the 1980s as the ''Voëlvry'' ("free as a bird" or "outlawed") movement reflected a new Afrikaans artistic counter-culture largely hostile to the values of the National Party and conservative Afrikanerdom. Spearheaded by the singer-songwriter
Johannes Kerkorrel Johannes Kerkorrel (27 March 1960 – 12 November 2002), born Ralph John Rabie, was a South African singer-songwriter, journalist and playwright. Career Rabie, who was born in Johannesburg, worked as a journalist for the Afrikaans newspapers '' ...
and his ''Gereformeerde Blues Band'', the movement (which was named after Kerkorrel's 1989 regional tour) also included musicians Bernoldus Niemand (aka James Phillips) and
Koos Kombuis Koos Kombuis (born ''André le Roux du Toit'', 5 November 1954) is a South African musician, singer, songwriter and writer who became famous as part of a group of anti-establishment maverick Afrikaans musicians, who, under the collective name ...
. Voëlvry tapped into a growing dissatisfaction with the Apartheid system amongst white Afrikaans speakers, and thus Voëlvry represents the musical branch of opposition that was paralleled by literature and the arts.


The 1990s


New rhythms

In 1994, South African media was liberalised and new musical styles arose. Prophets of Da City became known as a premier hip hop crew, though a South Africanised style of hip hop known as kwaito soon replaced actua
hip hop
groups. In kwaito, synthesisers and other electronic instruments are common, and slow jams adopted from Chicago house musicians like The Fingers, Tony Humphries and Robert Owen are also standard. Stars of kwaito include
Trompies Trompies is a South African music group formed in 1995 who specialise in kwaito music. The members Spikiri, Mahoota, Donald Duck, Jakarumba & Mjokes grew up together in the Soweto township and agreed to form a band after they had all compl ...
, Bongo Maffin, TKZee, Mandoza and
Boom Shaka Boom Shaka was a pioneering South African kwaito music group consisting of Junior Sokhela, Lebo Mathosa, Theo Nhlengethwa and Thembi Seete. They released their first single "It's About Time" in 1993, and subsequently released their debut L ...
. The band
Tree63 Tree63 is a contemporary Christian music band from Durban, South Africa. History The band was formed in 1996 and originally, it was unnamed. In 1997, the band had to come up with a name before performing at North Beach, Durban, and came up w ...
also emerged, first known for their hit single, "A Million Lights" and then further popularised by their version of Matt Redman's "Blessed Be Your Name".


Gospel

The biggest star of 1990s gospel was
Rebecca Malope } Batsogile Lovederia "Rebecca" Malope (born June 30, 1968) is a South African gospel singer. She is known as "The Queen of Gospel." Her music career spans more than three decades. She has sold at least 10 million albums worldwide, making her o ...
, whose 1995 album '' Shwele Baba'' was extremely popular. Malope continues to record, in addition to performers such as Lusanda Spiritual Group, Barorisi Ba Morena, Amadodana Ase Wesile, Vuyo Mokoena and International Pentacoastal Church Choir, Rayreed Soul Beat, Lundi, Joyous Celebration, and Scent From Above who have performed in Botswana occasionally. In 2000s Vuyo Mooena has emerged as the best selling Gospel artist. His albums have been audited to be in Top 5 selling in the country. In his album he sang in all South African languages like Venda, Shangaan, Sotho, Zulu and Xhosa. The industry has also been joined by the likes of Hlengiwe Mhlaba (whose Aphendule is popular) and Solly Moholo. Also we see the new singers like Oleseng Shuping become popular and he won the king of gospel award.


Afrikaans music

Prof
Piet de Villiers Pieter Johannes de Villiers (19 June 1924 – 18 May 2015) was a South African pianist, organist and composer. His nicknames were "Prof Piet" and "Piet Vingers". He is known for setting Boerneef poems to music, teaching piano and organ, and acco ...
was the front runner prior to 1994 with his compositions of Boerneef. The period after 1994 saw a dramatic growth in the popularity of Afrikaans music. Numerous new young Afrikaans singers (soloists and groups) released CDs and DVDs and attracted large audiences at "kunstefeeste" (art festivals) such as the "
Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (Afrikaans for ''Little Karoo National Arts Festival'' and usually abbreviated to ''KKNK'') is an Afrikaans language arts festival that takes place yearly in the South African town of Oudtshoorn. The festival i ...
– KKNK" in Oudtshoorn, "
Aardklop Aardklop is an annual South African arts festival held in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Potchefstroom has always been a cultural city and home to several well-known South African writers and artists. The Aardklop National Arts Festival has been ...
" in Potchefstroom and "Innibos" in Nelspruit. Apart from dozens of new songs being introduced into the Afrikaans music market, it became popular for modern young artists to sing old Afrikaans songs on a stage or in a pub, with crowds of young admirers singing along. The reason for the dramatic increase in the popularity of Afrikaans music can be speculated about. One theory is that the end of Apartheid in 1994 also meant the end of the privileged position that the Afrikaans culture had in South Africa. After losing the privileged protection and promotion of the language and the culture by the State, the Afrikaans-speaking community seems to have spontaneously started embracing and developing their language and culture. This was due to pop artists like Steve Hofmeyr,
Nádine Nádine Hoffeldt (born 28 February 1982) is a South African Afrikaans pop singer and presenter, best known for the hit song "Kaapse Draai". She has also recorded a number of songs in English. Life and career Nádine was born in Durban Starting ...
, Kurt Darren, and Nicolis Louw bringing a new fresh sound in Afrikaans Music. Many of the songs sung and/or written by these artists are similar in sound to Euro dance music. Critics would claim that all an Afrikaans pop artist needs for a song to be popular is a catchy tune and an easy beat. This is due to the massive popularity of a form of couples dancing called "langarm" or "sokkie". The dance halls where this takes place could be considered as night clubs but they play almost exclusively Afrikaans pop music. The Afrikaans pop music market therefore generates tremendous demand for new material.


Alternative

The 1990s could be seen as the genesis of a vibrant alternative music scene in South Africa. The Voëlvry movement was a major influence in establishing the scene, but subject material markedly shifted from
protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...
to the more abstract and personal. Major festivals like Oppikoppi and
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...
were started and grew steadily, firmly cementing the niche under predominantly white university students exploring a newfound intellectual
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...
after the fall of
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
. The first band to reach any major recognition was Springbok Nude Girls established in 1994. Other notable acts established in this decade were The Outsiders (est. 1991), Nine (est. 1992), Fetish (est. 1996), Wonderboom (est. 1996), Boo! (est. 1997), The Awakening (est. 1996), Henry Ate, Just Jinger (est. 1996),
Fuzigish Fuzigish ( ) is a South african ska punk band from Gauteng, South Africa, established in 1997. They are noted for their high energy performances and have released five full-length albums and one compilation since their inception. The band retain ...
and Battery 9.


Metal

In the early and mid-1980s there were bands like Black Rose, Stretch, Razor, Lynx, Pentagon, Montreaux, Unchained and Osiris. Then came the new breed of South African metal with a band called Ragnärok, South Africa's first thrash metal band, formed by Dean G Smith who were labelled as South Africa's Metallica and the only metal band at that time to have a cult following. They formed in South Johannesburg in 1986 playing covers for a short while and then moving on to original music only. Through the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, South Africa grew a well supported metal scene, marked by the release of Johannesburg-based Odysseys' self-titled album in 1991. There was a burgeoning crossover punk/metal scene in the major centres, particularly spurred on by Cape Towns' Voice of Destruction and Johannesburg base
Urban Assault
in the very late 1980s. Johannesburg developed an extreme metal scene in 1992 with rising grindcore/death metal act Retribution Denied, Boksburg based macabre/death metal act Debauchery followed by Pretoria doom metal band Funeral, Christian metal act Abhorrence and Insurrection, Metalmorphosis, Sacrifist and Agro, the latter two acts still perform today. The Cape Town metal scene was on a high in the mid-1990s, driven largely by Pothole and Sacraphyx. Pothole would release two critically acclaimed albums on South Africa's most successful punk/metal label, Way-Cool Records – their debut "Force-Fed Hatred" is still the top selling South African metal album to date. Whilst many of the acts failed to find commercial success in terms of CD sales, there was a devout following nationally and local metal bands soon opened the national touring circuit to a higher extent than most other genres. It also attracted international artists to tour the country almost immediately after the demise of apartheid, with some of the most respected international artists having seen fit to visit the country since.


Techno

The first South African live
techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
band was Kraftreaktor. Amoraim and Gareth Hinde are from Kraftreaktor and performed at several raves, playing mainly techno-trance music with guest musicians sometimes. Their music was influenced by themselves, but included a unique South African touch. They sometimes integrated African sounds and ethnomusicologist, Gavin Coppenhall.


The 2000s


Blues Rock

The Blues Rock scene has dramatically emerged in South Africa. Albert Frost, Dan Patlansky, The Black Cat Bones,
Gerald Clark Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Irish ...
, Crimson House Blues, The Blues Broers and Boulevard Blues band are some of the most prominent blues acts in South-Africa. Figures like Piet Botha and Valiant Swart have largely contributed to the South-African Blues and Rock scene.


Kwaito

Kwaito is based on house music beats, but typically at a slower tempo and containing melodic and percussive African samples which are looped, deep bass-lines and often vocals, generally male, shouted or chanted rather than sung or rapped. Many consider it
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
's unique implementation of hip hop.


Afrikaans

In a resurgence (an increase or revival after a period of little activity, popularity, or occurrence) that has been linked by some to freedom from
Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
guilt, Afrikaans music saw a surge in new artists, album releases and sales after 2000. In 2004 an Afrikaans album (by balladeer
Steve Hofmeyr Steve Hofmeyr (born 29 August 1964) is a South African singer, songwriter, writer, actor and former TV presenter. Personal life Hofmeyr married actress Natasha Sutherland, whom he had met on the set of ''Egoli: Place of Gold'' in 1998. They had ...
) was named best-selling album of the year. In 2007 an Afrikaans song about
Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
general
Koos de la Rey Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey (22 October 1847 – 15 September 1914), better known as Koos de la Rey, was a South African military officer who served as a Boer general during the Second Boer War. also had a political career and was one of the ...
by Bok van Blerk became a hit amid debates on whether it represented a call to arms for the reinstatement of Afrikaner rule or just expressed cultural nostalgia. While the boom in the Afrikaans pop industry has continued from the previous decade through the popularity of arts festivals and dance halls, other Afrikaans music genres experienced a revival of sorts in the new millennium. Rock and alternative Afrikaans music had stagnated somewhat after the heady days of the "Voëlvry" tour and the alternative movement. Signs of a revival could be found in the arrival of Karen Zoid on the music scene due to her distinct alternative sound. Shortly afterwards, a band of young rockers called "
Fokofpolisiekar Fokofpolisiekar (, ''Fuckoffpolicecar'') is an Afrikaans alternative rock band from Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. Due to the obscenity in the name, they are also commonly known simply as Polisiekar or FPK. Band history The band w ...
" became the first group to create alternative rock in Afrikaans. Their controversial name (translated as Fuckoffpolicecar), statements and behavior drew much public attention, making them a symbol of the Afrikaans Rock revival movement. Lead singer
Francois Van Coke Francois Badenhorst, better known by his stage name Francois Van Coke, rose to fame as the front man of South African rock bands Fokofpolisiekar and Van Coke Kartel. On the 8 April 2015, Francois launched his self-titled debut solo album and k ...
and songwriter Hunter Kennedy have gone on to explore other genres of music also not previously popular in Afrikaans and have ventured into more commercial routes. Shortly after the arrival of this and other rock acts, the first Afrikaans television music channel ( MK89) was opened which focused mainly on rock music. The Afrikaans (and English) rock and alternative music scene has been booming ever since. Bands like Battery9, Terminatrix, NuL, K.O.B.U.S. and Thys Nywerheid continue to reinvent alternative Afrikaans music, while
Jack Parow Zander Tyler (born February 22, 1982), better known under his stage name Jack Parow, is a South African rapper who has collaborated with other South African artists such as Die Heuwels Fantasties, Die Antwoord and Francois Van Coke. Career P ...
has continued the Cape's development of Afrikaans rap from pioneers
Brasse vannie Kaap Brasse Vannie Kaap (BVK) was a hip-hop group from the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa. They rapped predominantly in the Cape Flats dialect of Afrikaans. The original line-up included Deon Daniels (Boeta-D), Roger Heunis (Hamma), Ashley ...
, finding success as far afield as Holland with his 2009 single "Cooler as Ekke".


2009 Breakthrough Experimentalism

From 2009 into 2010, two unique and eclectic but thoroughly South African groups in particular received high acclaim from international music media, and both groups challenged traditional genre descriptions. They significantly increased global recognition of contemporary South African music culture. BLK JKS' experimental Afro-rock took inspiration from The Mars Volta to blend their Zulu heritage and township origins with modern sounds and equipment and an approach to music-making that seems entirely devoid of boundaries, while maintaining the sweet melodies and rhythmic qualities of South Africa's traditional music. They received an important boost after performing in Opening Ceremony of
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. Die Antwoord has challenged conventions of hip-hop through its blend of English, Afrikaans, and local slang, and sparse House-influenced production, reflecting the new 'Zef' counter-culture in its cheap-and-dirty values. The band achieved worldwide attention with their self-published debut thanks to two striking and humorous YouTube music videos released in 2010 that rapidly reached viral proportions. The highly polarised international response to their music helped them secure an album deal with Cherrytree Records, an imprint of Interscope. They also famously triggered a feud with American pop singer
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
, who offered them the chance to open for her on her Born This Way Tour, which they blatantly refused. In 2016, singer Refentse Morake made waves for releasing his debut album solely in
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...
, becoming the first black singer to do so.


Drum and bass

The South African
drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub- ...
scene began in the mid nineties. In 2000, events such as Homegrown became a prominent fixture in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
and a launching platform for international and local artists such as Counterstrike,
SFR SFR (; ''Société française du radiotéléphone'', ) is a French telecommunications company. As of December 2015, it had 21.9 million customers in Metropolitan France for mobile services, and provided 6.35 million households with high-spee ...
, Niskerone, Tasha Baxter, Anti Alias and Rudeone. Other regular events include It Came From The Jungle in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
and Science Friksun in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
. A weekly Sublime drum and bass radio show is hosted by Hyphen on Bush Radio.


Psychedelic trance

South African psytrance is a form of darker psychedelic trance music that started and is produced mostly in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. Unlike the Russian dark psytrance, South African psytrance is more rhythmic, melodic and danceable, yet keeps the 'nasty-like' attitude. Notable record labels include Timecode Records, Mind Manipulation Device and Nano Records.


Modern day

The South African music scene has continued to flourish in the 2000s. The decade has seen the rise of Xhosa singer
Simphiwe Dana Simphiwe Dana (born 23 January 1980) is a South African singer and songwriter who works mostly in her mother tongue, the Xhosa language. Dana is also known for her creative social commentary and activism through music as a political art form. ...
, whose success has seen her hailed as the "new Miriam Makeba", with her unique combination of jazz, pop, and traditional music. Another similar young singer is
Thandiswa Mazwai Thandiswa Nyameka Mazwai (born 31 March 1976) is a South African musician, and is also the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bongo Maffin. She is also known as King Tha. Her debut album '' Zabalaza'' (2004), which attained double platinum status ...
, originally a kwaito singer with Bongo Maffin. Thandiswa combined local hip-hop rhythms with traditional Xhosa sounds, creating a rich textured style. 2006 saw the rise of Shwi Nomtekhala, a duo combining mbaqanga rhythms and maskandi sounds. The duo has become one of the most influential new acts on the music scene today, outselling even kwaito artists. Their third album '' Wangisiza Baba'' was a major hit in the country.
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
-based female artist Verity has been recognised internationally for innovation in the music industry for selling 2000 copies of her album Journey before it was actually recorded. Rap group "2 and a Half Secondz" has found recognition in Cape Town suburb, Delft since 2009. Cape Town based band Crimson House Blues has made waves throughout the live circuit being hailed as one of the greatest live acts in the country. In addition Willim Welsyn, part of the
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...
rock band Willim Welsyn en Sunrise Toffies was nominated and won multiple awards in the Afrikaans Alternative categories.
Nianell Nianell (born September 25, 1971 as Sonia Aletta Nel in Omaruru, Namibia) is a singer, pianist, guitarist, and composer. Biography After growing up in Windhoek, Nianell graduated with a three-year diploma in light music from Pretoria Technikon ...
, the South African superstar, is also another internationally recognised artist in modern South African music, combing Folk, Classical, Pop, Country, and Celtic music that make her own unique sound. She has released seven albums with songs that switch back and forth between Afrikaans and English. Her first platinum hit that sold more than 2 million copies was "Who Painted The Moon" that was also covered by international superstar
Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million ...
. In early 2011, she made her initial debut in the U.S. with her compilation album ''Who Painted The Moon''. Ladysmith Black Mambazo remain one of the world's most popular choral groups and still retain popularity in South Africa, with their latest offering being the highly praised '' Ilembe'' (2007/2008). The legendary group boasts three grammy wins. The Mahotella Queens also remain high-selling, and – with the death of long-time groaner Mahlathini in 1999 – have recorded several new albums, including their 2007 release '' Siyadumisa (Songs of Praise)''. 2008 has also seen the return of a former singer with the Mahotella Queens, Irene Mawela. Mawela appeared on thousands of mbaqanga and mgqashiyo recording sessions well throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, recording mainly for Gallo Record Company, often as part of the line-ups of the Mahotella Queens, the Mgababa Queens, Izintombi Zomgqashiyo, and also under her own name (though sometimes as Irene & The Sweet Melodians, or Irene & The Zebra Queens). In 1983 she left the company to record as a solo artist, with a successful Venda-traditional release '' Khanani Yanga''. Mawela left the music business in the late 1980s, but returned in November 2007 with a brand-new album called '' Tlhokomela Sera'', which combines modern contemporary sounds with pure gospel music, making what Mawela calls "gospel jive". The music scene in South Africa is focused around four major areas,
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
,
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
,
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
and Bloemfontein. One of the characteristics of the scene is the strong sense of community which sees artist, promoters and venues all actively involved in developing the local talent. Bloemfontein's music focus is centred predominantly around the metal and Afrikaans genres.
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
,
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
and Durban are far more wide-ranging in the genres of music covered by bands and artists. Cape Town is a hotbed for the underground music scene, generally held to be more experimental than the music produced in the other centres.
Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier ( Afrikaans for "pretty ri ...
seems to be the newest development ground for Afrikaans rock music, with various bands like Straatligkinders making their start here. The introduction of the
South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in ...
(SAMA), intended to recognise accomplishment in the South African recording industry has raised the awareness of local artists and bands. The awards are given in various categories, including album of the year, best newcomer, best artists (male and female) and the best duo or group. South African Music Award winners include Karen Zoid, Freshlyground, Tasha Baxter and
Seether Seether are a South African rock band founded in 1999 in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. The band originally performed under the name Saron Gas until 2002, when they moved to the United States and changed it to Seether to avoid confusion wi ...
. Uniquely African music aside, the South African music scene has, to a large extent, been characterised by bands seeking to emulate popular genres abroad. However, recent years have seen South African music begin to develop a truly original sound. South Africa has several annual music festivals including Woodstock South Africa, MotherFudd, Oppikoppi, Rocking the Daisies and
Splashy Fen Established in 1990, Splashy Fen is South Africa's longest-running music festival, which every Easter attracts thousands of people to a farm near Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal for a unique outdoor music experience. Also present are arts and crafts s ...
. The music festivals cater to different genres and styles of music. Motherfudd is an exclusively metal festival held early in the year. The 2008 Motherfudd festival had a line-up of 30 bands with 2 stages and took place near Hartebeespoort. The Oppikoppi festival started in 1994 and is held in the
Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...
Province of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
, near the mining town of Northam. Originally a rock festival, Oppikoppi has expanded to include other genres.
Splashy Fen Established in 1990, Splashy Fen is South Africa's longest-running music festival, which every Easter attracts thousands of people to a farm near Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal for a unique outdoor music experience. Also present are arts and crafts s ...
is an annual Easter festival held on a farm near Underberg in
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...
, with a focus on rock and reggae music. Since 2016, ''The Legend'' stage at Splashy, convened by Don Clarke and Dicky Roberts has brought well known local legends back to the festival, including P J Powers in 2019. Rocking the Daisies is an annual music festival which is held outside Cape Town in Darling on the Cloof wine estate. It was established in 2005 with a focus upon rock music and is a "green" festival for which it has garnered awards. ''Skouspel'' is a very popular televised annual concert sponsored by the Afrikaans family-magazine Huisgenoot, hosted at the Sun City resort. Skouspel (translates as "spectacle") focuses primarily on Afrikaans music and regularly features some of the biggest names in the Afrikaans music scene along with new artists. There is also a young movement of community rap called Tzaneen Rap, producing up-and-coming rappers that are already coming up and keeping up with the rap game. It is a good combination of vernacular Xitsonga, Sepedi, Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
lyricism. It was formed in the 1990s and only became popular around 2015. There are vernacular rappers like DNP,
Dj Snake William Sami Étienne Grigahcine (born 13 June 1986), known by his stage name DJ Snake, is an Algerian French music producer and DJ, first achieving international recognition in 2013 by releasing an instrumentation-oriented single called " Turn D ...
and English lyrics from
Ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into d ...
,
Savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground ...
and Gratitude Moruti. It all began in
Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...
,
Tzaneen Tzaneen () is a large tropical garden town situated in the Mopani District Municipality of the Limpopo province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region ...
. South Africa has experienced a new wave of artists over the last few years, some artists include Nasty C, Timo ODV,
AKA Aka, AKA or a.k.a. may refer to: * "Also known as", used to introduce an alternative name Languages * Aka language (Sudan) * Aka language, in the Central African Republic * Hruso language, in India, also referred to as Aka * a prefix in the n ...
,
YoungstaCPT Riyadh Roberts (born Riyadh Emandien; 23 December 1991), known professionally as YoungstaCPT (or simply YoungCPT), is a South African rapper and songwriter. He is known for incorporating details about his Cape Malay culture and his Cape Town ...
, K.O, Anatii, and Maloon The Boom. Although the local music scene has continued to grow exponentially since the 2000s, a lot of South Africans still consume foreign music contents over local contents.


Amapiano

In 2019, the South African music scene was introduced to a new genre of music called Amapiano, the genre is thought to be most dominant in the music industry. Amapiano can be fused with trap music and kwaito music. The Amapiano genre has filled the void that was left by the disappearance of Kwaito in the 2000s. Amapiano is appealing to the Youth and is currently producing the most chart-topping songs in South Africa. The top 200 Shazam songs in South Africa is dominated by Amapiano tracks. Amapiano has taken the international market by storm, with some of its top artists getting bookings from West Africa, the UK and other parts of the world. The international attention has created appropriation concerns among the local Amapiano fans, as noticed with the recent song by British artist Jorja Smith.


Neo-traditional styles

Traditionally styled music is generally appellated as "Sotho-traditional" or "Zulu-traditional", and has been an important part of the South African music business since the 1930s. Vocal and concertina records were released with a call-and-response style and a concertina used as a counterpoint to the lead vocal. Following World War 1, cheap imported concertinas arrived in South Africa, especially the Italian brand bafstari.


Sotho-traditional

The Sotho musician Tshwatlano Makala was the first traditional musician to achieve widespread commercial success. He helped to set the stage for the subsequent rise of Letsema Mat'sela's band, Basotho Dihoba, which used styles from his native Lesotho to develop a genre called mohobelo. By the 1970s, the concertina of Sotho-traditional music was replaced with an accordion and an electric backing band. This wave of neo-traditional performers was led by Tau Ea Mat'sekha.


Zulu

The Zulu people adopted the
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
following its introduction by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, and guitars were locally and cheaply made by the 1930s. John Bhengu was the first major Zulu guitarist, earning a reputation in 1950s Durban for his unique ''ukupika'' style of picking (as opposed to traditional strumming). Bhengu's song format, which includes an instrumental introduction (''izihlabo''), a melody and spoken praise (''ukubonga'') for a clan or family, was widely used for a long time in Zulu-traditional music. Bhengu, however, switched to the electric guitar in the late 1960s and began recording as " Phuzushukela" (Sugar Drinker). His popularity exploded, and Zulu-traditional music entered a boom. Since the 1970s, the concertina has returned to Zulu-traditional music, while diverse influences from pop music and drum and bass were added. Vusi Ximba's '' Siyakudamisa'' (1992) was perhaps the most memorable Zulu-traditional album of the later twentieth century, and drew controversy for racy, comedic lyrics.


Tsonga-traditional

Tsonga traditional music was first recorded in the 1950s by Francisco Baloyi for Gallo, and showed a largely African style influenced by Latin rhythms. Mozambiquan musicians Fani Pfumo and Alexander Jafete became prominent studio performers in the 1950s and into the next decade. In 1975, however, Mozambique became independent and a radio station was opened by Radio Bantu, leading to the abandonment of Portuguese elements from this style. More modern Tsonga bands, such as General MD Shirinda & the Gaza Sisters play a style called Tsonga disco, featuring a male lead vocalist backed by female singers, a guitar, keyboard or synth and disco rhythms. Thomas Chauke & the Shinyori Sisters ( Tusk Records) have become probably the best-selling band of any neo-traditional style. George Maluleke na Van'wanati Sisters have also been instrumental in modernizing the music by experimenting with a faster tempo and native instruments. The most popular Tsonga musicians, however, has arguably been either Thomas Chauke, the pop singer Peta Teanet or the equally successful Penny Penny, Joe Shirimani. Paul Ndlovu is another artist who has contributed a lot in this genre, with his popular hits, ''Hi ta famba moyeni'' and ''Tsakane''. The modern sound of traditional Xitsonga music comprises more of the earlier native sounds that had initially been abandoned in favor of the Portuguese electronic guitars, namely the xylophone and bass marimba. Bands such as Thomas Chauke and the Xinyori Sisters and George Maluleke predominantly used guitars; however the modern sound replaces these with the xylophone or bass marimba. The Tsonga people's preference for the xylophone and marimba type of sound is inherited from the timbila music of the Chopi people, which has been entered into the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
heritage archives as a
Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and th ...
.UNESCO
2014, "Chopi Timbila" accessed 31 October 2017.


Pedi-traditional

Pedi-traditional music is principally harepa and is based on the harp. The German autoharp arrived in South Africa in the nineteenth century, brought by Lutheran ministers proselytising among the Pedi. Harepa has not achieved much mainstream success in South Africa, though there was a brief boom in the 1970s, led by Johannes Mohlala and Sediya dipela Mokgwadi.


Venda-traditional

Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of t ...
-traditional music was also recorded when black music in South Africa was being recognised. The late 1960s (and, more significantly the late 1970s) saw a boom in Venda-speaking artists. This was mainly influenced by the launch of a Venda radio station. Irene Mawela (who had been singing in the 1960s and 1970s with groups like Mahotella Queens, Sweet Sixteens and the Dark City Sisters) significantly impacted traditional and contemporary Venda music, despite vocal recordings in Zulu, Sotho and Xhosa languages. Mawela's 1983 release, '' Khanani Yanga'', was one of the most successful Venda-traditional music albums of that year. After some lean years, Mawela returned to the South African music scene with '' Tlhokomela Sera'', released in December 2007. Mawela's recent numbers like ''Mme Anga Khotsi Anga'' and ''Nnditsheni'' are very popular. Solomon Matase is known for his hits ''Ntshavheni'' and ''Vho i fara Phele''. Alpheus Ramavhea, Mundalamo, Eric Mukhese, and Adziambei Band are also famous for their contributions to Venda music. The latter band still continues to produce music with great success, including a recent album release, ''Mutula Gole'', in February 2012. Colbert Mukwevho has been involved with Venda music for over 20 years, starting with 1980s hits like "Kha tambe na thanga dzawe," "i do nela rothe" and "saga-saga." In 2006 his comeback album ''Mulovha namusi na matshelo'', included hit songs "Ndo takala hani" and "Zwa mutani wavho" which remain popular with Venda and Pedi's. He grew up in a family of music. His father Christopher Mukwevho, then leader of the popular band Thrilling Artist, used to feature him at young age. Rudzani Shurflus Ragimana of shurflus was well known for known for venda reggae music together with Khakhathi and friends, Tshiganzha, Ntshenge. Reggae music is well played by a lot of artists for Tshivenda. Other performers include: Makhadzi, Fizzy, Prifix, Bhamba, Komrade Li, SubZro, TAKZIT, Humbulani Ramagwedzha, Jahman Chiganja, Khakhathi and Friends, Maduvha Madima, Takalani Mudau, Rapson Mbilummbi Rambuwani, TMan Gavini, Clean-G, Mizo Phyll, Killah Gee, Jininka, Paul Mulaudzi, Malondo Ramulongo, Burning Doctor, Just ice, Lufuno Dagada and Tshidino Ndou. Another singer making a name for himself in the South African music market is Tshidino Ndou, a reggae artist who is also owner of Vhadino Entertainment music company. Tshidino was born and bred in Tshakhuma, a rural village in South Africa in the Limpopo Province. So far he has two albums, ''Ndi do fa na inwi'' (2009) (Till death do us part) and ''Nne Ndi Nne'' (2010) (I am what I am). His song "Ni songo nyadza" (meaning "do not undermine other people's religions"), featuring a Venda reggae icon Humbulani Ramagwedzha of thivhulungiwi fame, is gaining extensive media exposure through Phalaphala FM, Soweto TV, Makhado FM and Univen radio. Tshidino entered the music scene as a founder member of Vhadino House Grooves group which he established alongside his brother, Arthur Ndou in 2008. They released their debut hot album titled Ro Swika meaning we have arrived. The album contains a controversial song "Ri ya groova", widely known as "Ndo Fara Mudifho". He has released a single, "Ri khou phusha life", which has already made a mark on radios and newspapers. The full album was planned for release in 2012, featuring two other giants: Takalani Mudau of "baby fusheani" fame and the Burning Doctor of "A lu na mutwe" fame. Tshidino is not just a musician but also a prominent film producer who is more popular in the Vendawood film industry in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. He plays the character of Vho-Mulingo in Vho-Mulingo comedy. Other movies he produced include ''Mathaithai'', , and .


Xhosa-traditional

Perhaps the best known neo-traditional South African music, internationally anyway, is the music of
Amampondo Amampondo is a South African percussion ensemble that was started by Dizu Plaatjies in Langa, Cape Town in 1979.Craig HarrisArtist Biography AllMusic.com. The name in Mpondo means '' people of Mpondo'' or Pondoland, a kingdom in the Eastern Cap ...
and the solo work of their leader and founder,
Dizu Plaatjies Dizu Plaatjies (born 5 February 1959, Lusikisiki, Pondoland, South Africa) is a Xhosa musician best known for being the founder and former leader of the South African group, Amampondo. He is a graduate of the South African College of Music, Unive ...
. He and his group took traditional Xhosa music from the hills of
Pondoland Pondoland or Mpondoland (Xhosa: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo p ...
and the Eastern Cape and put it on stage worldwide. The success of the genre was how the exponents combined their music with their stage performances and dance. The great composer Stompie Mavi, who is originally from Nqamakhwe was also very popular during the 80's and 90's. His music was inspired by Xhosa rhythms, cultural values and social commentary especially on songs such as Teba and Manyano. Musicians such as Nofinishi Dywili, Madosini, Mantombi Matotiyana and many other women have been on the forefront of traditional Xhosa music. Very recently new and younger artists such as Indwe and Gatyeni are gaining momentum.


See also

*
List of Afrikaans singers This is a list of notable singers who have performed in the Afrikaans language. Solo artists are alphabetised by their stage name or surname—whichever is more common. Choirs that sing in Afrikaans are also included in the list, but other musi ...
* List of radio stations in South Africa * List of South African musicians *
Music of Namibia The music of Namibia includes a number of folk styles, as well as pop, rock, reggae, jazz, house and hip hop. The Sanlam-NBC Music Awards and the Namibian Music Awards are two separate institutions that give out annual awards at shows on Decem ...
* Recording Industry of South Africa *
South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in ...
* Music in the movement against apartheid *
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...


Bibliography

*Allingham, Rob. "Nation of Voice". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp. 638–657. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. *Mthembu-Salter, Gregory. "Spirit of Africa". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp. 658–659. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. *Allingham, Rob. "Hip Kings, Hip Queens". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp. 660–668. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books.


References


Further reading

* Xulu, M.K., "The Re-emergence of Amahubo Songs, Styles and Ideas in Modern Zulu Musical Styles." PhD dissertation, University of Natal 1992.


External links


BBC Radio 3 Audio (120 minutes): South Africa 1995.
(Sony Radio Award Winner, 1995.) Accessed 25 November 2010.
Field recordings of traditional and neo-traditional music mainly from KwaZulu-Natal, recorded by composer Kevin Volans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of South Africa South African culture