The Hardcore side of things

Hardcore punk originated in the late 1970s. It's usually faster and heavier than regular punk rock. It spanned the straight edge movement and its associated submovements, hardline and youth crew.

http://punkmusic.about.com/od/punktionary/g/straightedge.htm
http://www.dictionaryupdate.com/Hardline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_crew

Hardcore influenced other music genres like alternative rock, alternative metal, metal core  thrash metal, emo, and post-hardcore. It started in the underground scenes across the US in the early 1980s. The most popular places being Washington, California, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Canada and the UK. Traditional hardcore has never reached mainstream commercial success, but an exception would have to be Black Flag's album Damaged: it was included in Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003. 

Return to that One-ness

Ndonsa was in a hardcore band for over 2 years. It's funny that somebody with such a traditional Zulu background has an interest in the hardcore scene. I've gathered much from what Ndonsa has told me about the genre itself, but there is something deeper with this genre that drives him forward and always makes him "discover things about himself when performing hardcore that he never knew before." Ndonsa tells me other people see it as loud, abrasive music, but to him it's a channel through which he can transport his alter ego and "feel the one-ness we all felt when we were still children." From a young age Ndonsa would play on his teacher's piano at school whenever he got the chance. He never had the money to buy his own, so he would beg his teacher to let him stay in after school. Ndonsa taught himself how to play and he says he was happiest when his teacher would leave him in this classroom after everybody was let out for recess. He was at peace knowing that he could play whatever he wanted and experiment in whatever way he chose because there was nobody around to criticize him like his parents would. His parents never wanted him to become a musician. They said to him, "Art is a hobby. It isn't a breadwinner. Wake up and make good money. You're not going to make money playing your silly piano." That cut Ndonsa, but he knew what made him feel closer to the rhythms of life: playing keys to sick drum beats.

Genre and style

The fashion industry has boomed all over the country of SA with urban apparel designers as a result of this Kwaito craze. Designers such as Stoned Cherrie, Loxion Kulca, and Sun Goddess to name a few.

http://lesaniblog.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/stoned-cherrie2.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKTm9VMzOEHcv78oGfVKSFa5BE7fBQjboDNnx8IwSr-jgeULJBXW_F6kJ40BACB5BjLMHzUxfY9ZT8L_lRDebDUZK4gWigfNuBa0QoDGY3XThaOAIVc8Ga4lYD6sSkS8gTiK7ab9lyO8/s1600/_MG_0922.jpg

http://www.represent.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/sun-goddess-compressed.jpg

Bringing back Brenda

So, the iconic Afro-Pop singer Brenda Fassie will be performing again. Say what?

The deceased singer will make a come back with the use of a holographic projector at a concert. Flashback from the movie Simone. It's amazing what science and technology can do. 

http://www.channel24.co.za/Music/News/Brenda-Fassie-set-to-perform-again-20130313

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Fassie

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.

A Kwaito artist escape

Kwaito can be seen as a means of recreation and also a sense of escapism being a genre that looks to the future instead of to the past. It represents the refusal of politics. Some Kwaito songs also reflect the artist's political view. An example is Zola. He rhymes, chants and sings explicitly about political and ideological issues.

This song "Mdlwembe" was featured in the Academy Award Winning film "Tsotsi".

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Tic-tac among all the bad breath

It was only until 2001 that SA artists and music found their way to Europe and the US. This electric, new found freedom gave SA musicians easier access to international works and a greater ability to freely express themselves too. As a result of this, Kwaito has been known as the express of this delicious new freedom and many anti-apartheid chants have been used as lyrics for Kwaito songs. Kwaito is called "the music that defines the generation who came of age after Apartheid."

Another thing Ndonsa told me, is that schools in townships were unable to fund programs like music classes to enhance the learning experiences of the students. Kwaito, didn't require a formal knowledge of music theory or large spaces to rehearse. Kwaito was engaging, exciting, and most imprtantly easily accessible to people in these downtrodden communities. It gave them a sense of community where there were none, too.