THANDISIZWE MGUDLWA
ON THE 30th anniversary of the new generational South African music genre, kwaito, it’s fitting to celebrate this sensational musical artistry during Heritage Month.
Kwaito, which emerged in 1990s during the transition from apartheid towards the democratic dispensation, is classified as a weapon to deal with the oppression of black people and the context of colonialism in which they still find themselves in.
Sung mostly in several of South Africa’s indigenous languages, including Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu; and including Afrikaans and English, makes kwaito even more appealing to a wider audience.
When this musical genre emerged, it introduced a mixture of a number of different rhythms from marabi of the 1920s, kwela of the 1950s, mbaqanga/maskhandi of the hostel dwellers,…