Sound evolution

The unmistakable Kwaito sound originally came from using European instruments that Black African laborers had at their disposal after gold was found in the city of Johannesburg. A common characteristic of the Kwaito sound is the dialogue between a man and a woman with the woman mostly repeating the man's lines. It's usually distinguished as dance music with light subject matter and not really sung. It's more of a rhythmic speech. Kwaito usually engages with its audience by encouraging them to interact through a call-and-response manner. The artist really tries to engage its listeners.

So, what's the point? 

Well, ironically, not only does Kwaito resist a sense of Western-based oppression by remaining apolitical, but it also resists trends and constant presence of western influence in and of itself via its mode of production. Mhlambi  affirms it has remained the music of the SA youth after the struggle who wish to pursue rest and relaxation as opposed to dwelling in the past. The term "Kwaito" is also a very clear sign that oppression isn't something to be, or that will ever be forgotten. The danceability and poetry inherent to Kwaito, however, does show a reversion to better times-to cultural integrity.

Through Kwaito music, artists and youths collaborate to create, through music and dance, a realm where the struggle no longer exists.

Know what you're chewing on.

From the audience stats I've been looking at, most of our readers aren't from South Africa. Americans, Russians, and Germans. Some of you are even from wonderful exotic places like Malaysia and Indonesia. That's fantastic! We want to reach as many people as possible. It's an awesome thing to have people from all over the world hopping on board your journey with you. For those of you who don't know about Kwaito, this post is solely dedicated with much loves and cares, to you. 

So, what is Kwaito? It's a music genre which came about in Johannesburg during the 1990s. You can think of it as a form of house music, but with that African flare and personality you can't find anywhere else in the world...duh! It has a slower tempo than the usual house and it usually has extremely catchy melodies and percussive loop samples. Oh! And you can't forget the deep bass lines and quirky vocals. In a way, you can say it's similar to Hip-hop but the distinctive feature about Kwaito is the way the lyrics are sung. They're either rapped, shouted, or sung conventionally.  In a typical Kwaito song you'll hear synthesizer, sampler, percussion, vocals, and a drum machine. The interesting thing about Kwaito, is that the word originates from the Afrikaans "Kwaai", meaning angry.