Whatever happened to Kwaito?
Here's what ...
The highpoint of Kwaito may have passed but there's still life in the ol' dear. The genre emerged in Johannesburg the 1990s, spread all over South Africa and into neighbouring countries (Namibia, Zambia), but it was around the mid-90s that DJs in Europe and the States started to take notice, and suddenly the sound of the shebeens and taxi ranks of Johannesburg's townships went global.
The genre encompassed dress code, speech, dance, and was representative of township life, but what mostly lives on is the music: Kwaito is based on house music beats, but typically at a slower tempo and containing melodic and percussive African samples - which are looped - plus deep basslines and vocals (not always, but often), generally male, shouted or chanted rather than sung or rapped. Some referred to it as South Africa's Hip-hop, but it was more than that. If you want the full history with key players, and so forth, the Wikipedia page has a wealth of information.
Since the mid-2000s Kwaito's been losing out to the more international sound of South African House, so much so that if you're aren't a hard core music lover or DJ you could be forgiven for thinking the genre has disappeared completely. We love Kwaito, so we figured we'd pull together a dozen examples from just the last few months to show that, hey, it's still here and evolving, with many these days sounding more Housey than "traditional" Kwaito (Durban Kwaito uses faster House beats, and as a result that city pretty much wears the Kwaito crown these days), sometimes involving an R&B artist to give it some smoothness, but sometimes sticking to the old school template and still delivering the goods.
So here goes, and if you like what you hear, check out the recommended albums at the end of the post.
Zulu Love Letter - Skomplazi, ft Dj Nkoh
Hip Hop Hooray - DJ Cleo
Inseparable - Ma Africa (Zambia), Ft. DJ T-Boz
Pandula - Satlam (Namibia) Ft. Mushe (This is Gospel Kwaito)
Jabule - Dogg Mshasho (Namibia), feat. Biblos & Ompuff
Uzo'gcwala - Brickz, ft. Nhlanhla, Pro, Lungelo, Sashman, Mzekezeke
Inamandla - L'vovo Derrango (An example of Durban Kwaito)
Mr Uptight - Rhythmic Elements (Another very Housey Kwaito number)
Jika Uthi - Thebe
Vulamehlo - Emza (Another example of Durban Kwaito)
Owethu wena - DJ Fisherman, feat. Prof & Nuz (Durban Kwaito)
Forever Mine - Luvy, ft Arthur
RECOMMENDED ALBUMS
University of Kalawa Jazmee - ProfessorWorld Premiere - Howza
Imphempho - Zola
Irresistible - L'vovo
Real Deal - Mandoza