MAUD BLOSE
20409618
BASIC RESEARCH PROJECT
BTECH JOURNALISM
TITLE:
“HOW DO THE ATTITUDES (TOWARDS SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT) OF
THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE KWAITO MUSIC INDUSTRY AFFECT
THE SOCIAL MESSAGES BROADCAST BY THIS MEANS?”
(OBJECTIFICATION OF WOMEN IN KWAITO)
1.
INTRODUCTION
As the post-apartheid fog cleared, South African youth culture found its own voice in a style of
music known as Kwaito and in producing a new and profitable industry. Summarising the state of
the Kwaito industry is like trying to condense the history of American hip hop music into a few
pages. Some broad brushstrokes will serve as an introduction, but to fully appreciate Kwaito, you
have to hear it for yourself. Similarly to hip hop in the United States, Kwaito is not just music. It
is an expression and a validation of a way of life – the way South Africans dress, talk and dance.
It is a street style as lifestyle, where the music reflects life in the townships, much the same way
hip hop mimics life in the American ghetto. Kwaito is known as the musical voice of the young
black urban South Africa. Rage, a South African lifestyle magazine, describes the sound of
Kwaito as “a mixture of all that 1990’s South African youth grew up on: South African disco
music, hip hop, R&B, Ragga, and a heavy, heavy dose of American and British house music.”
Like many styles of house and rave music, Kwaito is not performed using live instruments.
Rather, the tracks are manufactured in a studio, then played as backup on stage or in clubs for the
artists singing to them live.
The research project focuses on one aspect of this genre, the explicit lyrics which, I will suggest,
have a negative impact on society. The project also looks at the development of the Kwaito music
genre. The focus is on finding out if the listeners know and understand the history behind this
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type of music and its current contribution towards social development. To expand this further, the
main focus of the research will not only be based on the (explicit) lyrics but also their
objectification of women. Questions to be asked will include: “What happens to politically
motivated music when the politics moves on, and what is the role of the media?”
1.1
Origins and contribution of Kwaito music
The history of Kwaito music is impossible to separate from the political history of South Africa.
It should come as little surprise that the emergence of Kwaito coincided with the election of
Nelson Mandela as the first democratically elected president of South Africa. Previously there
was little room for black artists in the mainstream South African music business. Commercially
produced music began in South Africa in 1912, and for many years industry labels were owned
mainly by whites. Consequently Kwaito artists faced almost impossible odds getting signed, and
resorted to forming their own record companies. Many of these companies flaunted their
independence too, with names like Triple 9 Records, Wicked Sounds, Ghetto Ruff and MDU
Music. From the beginning Kwaito carried with it an undercurrent of oppression. The throbbing,
pulsating music was often accompanied by politically pointed lyrics that embodied the newly
animated youth culture. Whether Kwaito can be described as a force for social change or as a
musical style reflecting the energy of South African youths depends on whom you ask. Kwaito
group Natizen told Johannesburg magazine Hola earlier this year, “Kwaito is our way of
contributing to change in this country. It is also a way to remind public opinion what the ghetto
expects from change: jobs, better schools, and peace on the streets.”
1.2
Contribution to the economy
The historical trajectory of the genre imitates the lifespan of the other underground musical acts
of the past. Opposing imported pop music fads, a rough and anaemic Kwaito emerged as a
contender, layering European house with local attitude. The addition of a slowed tempo, elevated
percussion, piano riffs and African melodies – sung in South Africa’s many dialects including
Afrikaans, English, IsiZulu, Sesotho and Iscamtho (street slang) – resulted in a polished Kwaito
that exploded in popularity. By 1990s Kwaito was everywhere. In a country where nearly half the
population is under 21, youth culture exerts a major influence on social life. Translation: Kwaito
is a profitable industry. South Africa has a population of over 40 million, of which 75% are black
with many living in the ghetto. It is these youths especially who lay claim to Kwaito. Their stories
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spawned it, and the post apartheid economy gave them the opportunity to produce and sell it.
Today, they are buying Kwaito albums in record numbers.
1.3
The distinctiveness of Kwaito music
The Kwaito music industry is described predominantly by two types of people: the first
international and non-youth culture journalists, and the second, local producers and artists.
Mostly these two groups agree on what Kwaito is: a fusion of slowed down European house
music played at 90bpm (beats per minute) rather than 130bpm, with a liberal sampling of world
music styles such as reggae, soul and rhythm and blues (R&B). Kwaito artists and producers add
more detail to the description however and include piano, percussion, bubblegum (South African
disco), mbaqanga (stomping jive), kwela (penny whistle), and the South African gospel style
known as iscathamiya. In addition, South African artists are quick to maintain continuity with the
past and cite older black South African musicians like Brenda Fassie, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and
Chico as influences.
According to many Kwaito artists the mpantsula style has been a major influence on Kwaito. The
clothes, dance and even tough gangster attitude from the fifties, is evident in Kwaito. Junior, of
the group Boom Shaka says, “The mpantsula era was like the break-dance era whereby it was the
only culture we could relate to, it was what everybody wanted to be. It was like the B-Boy of
South Africa… it’s the only culture we can relate to that’s ours, that’s local” (Rage, Issue 2).
Junior makes very important points. First he asserts strongly that Kwaito has South African roots
and South African history. Second, that Kwaito is historically South African, not historically
American. Third, he draws a strong distinction between the American hip hop mode of dressing
and the Kwaito mode. In hip hop baggies are de rigueur, in South African “townships they call
you a punk if you are into the baggy pants and all of that” (Rage, Issue 2). Finally, he makes a
strong case that mpantsula style has evolved into Kwaito style thereby affirming the continuity
and uniqueness of black history in South Africa.
1.4
Motivation for this study
Kwaito has created an identity for young post apartheid black South Africans.
Like much rap in hip hop, Kwaito lyrics are often filled with misogyny, sex, money and some
violence. Kwaito is the style and music of the streets. It can be argued that Kwaito has a unique
3
meaning and role in the lives of young black South Africans, indeed for all South Africans, since
it re-arranges the hierarchy of dominance by including those who have been previously excluded
and by shifting the balance of economic power (Steingo G., 2005).
Yet with every success comes controversy, the same is true for Kwaito. Today, purists claim that
Kwaito artists have begun to rest on their laurels, exploiting the easy formula that had been the
ticket to their success. They argue that the industrial house blend of Kwaito that is played
increasingly today has arrested the political energy that had been so vital to the genre in its
infancy. With the newest Kwaito music swept into the mainstream, there is a fear that all that is
unique to the genre will be distilled. There is also the fear that an infusion of gimmicky marketing
will exploit Kwaito’s exploration of a country beginning an era of self-rule – notably; one of the
last emancipated in the post-colonial world. It is understandable, then, that globalization is seen
as a threat rather than an ally in the construction of Kwaito culture.
As with any burgeoning subculture, however, there are parts that are appreciated and those that
are criticized. Some claim that Kwaito’s newest acts are over-sexed, absent of thoughtful lyrical
content, and infused with vulgar industrialized sexual clichés in dance style, dress and melodies.
They fear that Kwaito’s newest records are mixed specifically for foreign appetites like the
United States, forcing the music’s roots to be ignored. Pre-fabricated cultural branding poses a
real threat to Kwaito – a genre that has always been about spontaneity. Worse, the music prepared
for foreign markets paints a falsified picture of what life is really like in South Africa.
1.5
Portrayal of women through Kwaito
Kwaito songs often refer to women in derogatory terms, and generally portray them scantily clad
in music videos. The artists do not show any appreciation of women whatsoever both in their
lyrics and music videos. In L’vovo’s song, njalo nge-weekend, he portrays women as partyanimals who are to be intoxicated with alcohol and thereafter used in a sexual manner. Stephens
(2000) reflects on the inclusion of women in Kwaito music as deliberate use of superfluous
“singing and dancing girls” as a marketing ploy. Artists seem to think that the more less-dressed
women they have on their music videos, the more the viewers will relate and like a particular
song.
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Women in Kwaito have often fallen into these stereotypes. For example, Brenda Fassie was
known and loved for her outrageousness which is where she got her nickname as the “Madonna
of the Townships”. Other women have managed to rise from the male-dominated Kwaito music
industry. The late Lebo Mathosa was adored by both men and women. Although she might have
seemed under-dressed most of the time with her bizarre dance moves, women related and young
girls looked up to her. Recently, the number of women joining the male-dominated Kwaito
industry as musicians has increased but is not sustainable. Chomee, Mshoza, Thab’sile and Purity
are amongst the youngest females who are into this genre. Additionally, they are all under the age
of 25.
Often the music is criticized of having no substantial lyrical content. Sometimes you find that
when the instruments are good, the lyrics are bad or visa versa. It is very rare that you find both
the instruments and the lyrics corresponding with each other nowadays. Surprisingly, the women
in the Kwaito music industry have also succumbed to being portrayed as objects of sexual
pleasures. On her interview with Ruwaydah Lillah of Drum Magazine, one of Kwaito’s female
icons, Lebo Mathosa, stated, “Being so outrageous is my way of saying I represent the females
who look down on themselves, saying they can’t wear certain clothes because their butts are too
big. Every woman should be able to express herself.”
2.
LITERATURE REVIEW
As mentioned in the introduction, this study covers a number of different areas, specifically the
listeners’/artists’/producers’ knowledge about the development of the Kwaito music genre, their
attitudes towards social development, the genre’s (explicit) lyrics and their objectification of
women.
It has been a challenging experience trying to find research done on a similar topic such as the
study that deals specifically with the portrayal of women through the Kwaito lyrics and music
videos. Research has been done on the different areas individually, for example the history of
Kwaito, and it is for this reason that this literature review will discuss each area separately in
order to provide a significant context and background for this study.
In “Ek se, heita!”: Kwaito and the constructive of community: communication, cultural and
media studies. T.E. Bosch (University of Stellenbosch) points out that Kwaito can be described
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as the new music of the new South Africa. It is young, vibrant and decidedly black. It emerged
over a decade ago after the country’s democratic election in June 1994. Most people who listen to
and identify with Kwaito are from the townships. Kwaito emerged in South Africa as a result of
local political, social and economic factors. It is a mixture of South African disco music, hip hop,
rhythm and blues, dancehall, raga, and American and British house music. There are three
possible origins of the word Kwaito:
1) that it comes from the Amakwaitos, the name of a township gang;
2) that it originates from the Afrikaner word “kwaai” meaning “cool” in a colloquial sense
(Stephens, 2000);
3) Sitshongaye (pers. comm. 4 June 2003) contends that one local musician developed both
the musical style and its designation. The word Kwaito comes from Arthur Mafokate. He
was one of those who sat down and said: “This is my music!” He was one of the Kwaito
architects.
Then along came Kalawa Jazzmee (Bruce Sibitlo and Oscar) and Don Laka (who used to sing
Kwaito) who were the rivals of Arthur. They called their music “The Gong” which still meant
Kwaito but people preferred the word “Kwaito” because that is the word that was marketed on the
streets.
Kwaito producers were the first in the country to launch their own black-owned record labels.
Oscar, Don Laka, Bruce Sibitlo and the members of Trompies are at the top of Kalawa Jazzmee;
Arthur is head of Triple 9 Records; Mdu Masilela owns MDU Music and Christos runs Wicked
Sounds. Along with Ghetto Ruff, these are the most popular independent labels with the biggest
acts.
According to Bosch, meaning was deeply embedded in the music, which played the roles of
education, cultural expression, and identity construction (Boloka, 2003). Kwaito was accelerated
by the political and social transition of the 1990s. Kwaito was thus the coming together of South
African music genres (eg: bubblegum, mbaqanga, township jazz, and Afro-pop), with Western
music genres (eg: rhythm and blues, house, hip-hop, jungle and drum and bass) (Boloka, 2003).
6
Angela Impey (2001) writes that while the sexual objectification of women in Kwaito may be
interpreted as ongoing male hegemony, Kwaito has also offered women new agency in selfrepresentation in post-apartheid South Africa. From a gender perspective, a similar gender
perspective exists. While on one hand Kwaito is criticized for being guilelessly demeaning of
women, from another perspective, by acting out the symbols of their sexual objectification, it has
provided a medium through which a new set of young black women artists have been able to
construct a commanding presence in the music industry.
Chomee is one of the young upcoming Kwaito female artists. She is the same young woman who
dances so provocatively in barely-there clothing in Arthur Mafokate’s controversial music video
Sika Lekhekhe. The song which literally means “cut the cake” and figuratively means “have sex
with me” was so steamy that it was banned by an SABC radio station. Kwaito King Arthur also
had to re-shoot the video after viewers complained about its explicitly sexual content. In the
music video of her own runaway hit “Jiver Sexy”, Chomee oozes confidence and sex appeal. She
and her dancers, all clad either in hot-pants or ultra-short mini-skirts, perform slow, sensual
moves that send temperatures high. “Honestly some of these music videos arouse certain feelings
from within because they leave nothing to the imagination,” says Sbonelo Ngcobo, a Kwaito fan.
Impey also looks at the historical development of Kwaito, focusing specifically on the
interpretive disparity between the representations of women as recklessly acquiescent to
patriarchal expectations, and women whose voices have gained credibility expressly because they
engage so provocatively with prevailing cultural discourses about gender, power and pleasure in
post-apartheid South Africa (McClary, 1991).
Kwaito took centre stage simultaneously with the momentous developments which ushered in
South Africa’s first democratically elected government in 1994. The present heir to a long
tradition of cultural assimilation, Kwaito, more than other local popular music style, has entered
into a complex alliance with global musical, cultural and technological trends.
Boom Shaka was the first commercially successful group. Its music, choreography and style was
rebellious, sexually charged, highly individualistic – and apolitical. While the Kwaito movement
appeared to adopt the politically defiant posturing of Cape rap and hip hop, in reality, it
appropriated defiance as a fashion statement. In essence, Kwaito’s tendencies are towards
materialistic, hedonistic, and flighty pre-occupations, and groups such as Boom Shaka appeared
7
to unleash amongst young black consumers an explosive desire to disengage from the long years
of oppression and political protest of the apartheid era. No longer restrained by the need to
comment on racial injustice and political freedom, it expressed a new set of dreams.
Boom Shaka’s popularity grew largely out of its imaging – black, urban, streetwise, selfconsciously stylish, and sexually unrestrained – which was vigorously promoted through music
videos, television, and live performance. It set the stage for a performance style and sub-cultural
movement that thrives on expensive fashion labels (Nike and Diesel), elaborate hairstyles (often
braided into extensions and dyed blonde), ostentatious wealth (men draped in gold jewellery
driving expensive convertible cars), and the impression of plenty of disposable cash.
Additionally, Boom Shaka’s exceptional commercial success stimulated the development of an
abundance of Kwaito groups: Abashante, Trompies, TKZee, Bongo Maffin, Arthur, Copperhead,
Bob Mabena, to name a few.
Kwaito was born with the new democratic South Africa where individuals were now free to
express themselves. Fans and non-fans alike adopt the township slang that is used in the songs in
their daily vocabulary. Although the songs are sung in African languages, predominantly Zulu
and Sotho, the slang tends to be mostly Afrikaans words and phrases such as “ek se” (I say),
“eintlik” (actually), “jou” (yours), and “nou” (now). To some extent this reflects the cultural and
linguistic hybridity of the country.
According to Peterson, the more “rough-and-ready” Kwaito artists were simultaneously “uneasy
with and celebratory of their ghetto origins”, and regarded themselves as “quintessential hustlers
(olova, oguluva, majimbos, izinja – masters of marginality)” (2003: 197-8).
Besides dancing and music, having fun in Kwaito culture primarily revolved around sex.
Although central to youth culture all over the industrialized world since the 1960s, explicit
references to sex did not occur in South African popular music until the early 1990s. Protected
from world trends by apartheid censorship, many older township people were shocked by the
sexual excess valorized in Kwaito. The degree to which this was found offensive is also likely to
have been increased by the extensive commitment to Christian morality amongst the country’s
black population. However, public outrage tended to be a response more to the language used
than to the subject matter. Kwaito song texts were born of the streets, and their transition from
street to studio to living room was sometimes exceptionally unmediated. Kwaito lyrics frequently
8
incorporated the intensive swearing typical of township street parlance and, as Iscamtho is a
language of double entendre, many words had provocative, sometimes obscene, secondary
meanings.
According to Thekwane, the double entendre in Arthur’s hit “Vuvuzela”, for example, was a
reference to the artist’s sexual prowess, and to the fact that he had a reputation for being
extremely rough in bed. Sex was often described from a particularly aggressive male point of
view, and in some cases artists were openly misogynist, valorizing violent sex and physical
abuse; a key feature inspired by gangsta rap in the United States. The lyrics that most offended
were, however, often berated by those who generally championed Kwaito culture. Soweto
Community Radio, for instance, carefully monitored in-coming albums and, explained Twala, “if
there are those lyrics which are not needed then the song is not going to be played on air.”
Thekwane suggests, furthermore, that the obscenities for which Kwaito artist Oscar became
notorious eventually became too lewd even for his fans and ruined his career. Although one of his
biggest hits “Isdudla ses’ febe”, may roughly be translated as being about a fat bitch woman who
“fucks everyone”, audience enthusiasm at festivals waned once his live performances started
including such pronouncements as “I am Oscar. Where are all those bitches? Bring them here. I
wanna fuck all of them!” (Allen L., 2004: 82-111)
An example of one of the Kwaito songs that had provocative lyrics is Bantwana by Bob
Mabena:
[spoken by male chorus]
Eish „ma ujay‟va baby
(Ooh when you jive baby)
Eish uyangijova uyazi
(Ooh you inject/paralyse me)
Eish „ma ujay‟va baby
(Ooh when you dance baby)
Uyazi uyangifunca „yazi
(Ooh you soak me up)
Eish nes‟gcebhezana
(Ooh your mini-skirt)
„Yazi soyangidonsa „yazi
(You know it really pulls me)
Maar ngiyakutshela baby
(But I tell you baby)
Mina ngiyavaya nawe
(I am going with you)
Ntla ho rekela banana
(I will buy you a banana)
Ka wean ngoana ka
(It’s you, my baby)
O njeesa mahala
(If you let me eat for free)
Ao vaya kea hana
(I will not let you go)
9
Kea o bona kea gafa
(When I see you I go crazy)
Le mama oa gafa
(My mum is also crazy about you)
Ao ntshware ka li tsepe
(Kiss me)
Ao ntshware ka li café(x2)
(Hold me by the curves)
Hey abo baby siyabancwana
(We like these babies)
Hey abo nunu siyabathanda
(We love these babies)
Abo sisi bayasi verstaan „a
(The sisters understand us)
Eyi abo baby bayasihlanyisa
(These babies drive us crazy)
[male voice rap]
Bantwana niyangibona
(Babes do you see)
Awungitshele ungangikhona
(Tell me you can take me)
Ungibize ngedollar
(Call me dollar)
Futhi ngivaya ngeCorolla
(I drive in a Corolla)
And ngiphethe iMotorolla
(I carry a Motorolla)
Yebo baby ungangithola
(You baby, you can get me)
Kanti vele ngiyahola
(I also earn)
Manje woza sophola(x2)
(Come now let us chill)
[female singing repeatedly]
Siyabathanda
(We love them)
Se a barata
(We love them)
Siyabafuna
(We want them)
Se a ba batla
(We want them)
Nowadays women seem to be the unfortunate targets of the (explicit) Kwaito lyrics. In Bob
Mabena’s song Bantwana (meaning Girls), he represents one extreme of the Kwaito spectrum
that portrays women as readily available to the physical desires of macho, jewel-bedecked, and
apparently cosmopolitan men. (Impey, 2001). But, it is not so much the men’s contempt for
women and ostentatious self-pleasuring with which Impey is concerned, but in the implications of
women’s apparent collusion in their objectification. The consensual inference in the lines “The
sisters understand us” (men), and the female response, “We love them/We want them”, can be
read in a number of ways. The first and perhaps more obvious interpretation would suggest the
continued existence of a profoundly un-interrogated gender hegemony in post-apartheid South
Africa in which women collude. In this context the lyrics of Bantwana imply that young black
women are willing to trade their bodies for the privilege of being associated with stylish men who
10
flaunt cash, cars and cell phones. “This interpretation would be supported by the prevalent
representations of women in Kwaito music videos in which they are frequently draped over a man
(centrally located and driving the latest BMW convertible), their bodies represented as lithe,
sensual and readily available to the whims and fancies of the male object of their
attention.”(Impey, 2001). However, an alternative reading may be that by acting out the part
rather than becoming it makes a parody of those expectations and therefore subverts them.
(Doane, 1982 in Cubitt, 1997:296).
If Mabena’s lyrics evoke an image of women in Kwaito as sexually and politically acquiescent,
then McClary’s interpretation of Madonna’s uninhibited and overtly sexualised mode of selfrepresentation is useful to generate this oppositional reading of women in Kwaito. McClary
argues that Madonna’s image enables girls to see that the meanings of feminine sexually “can be
in their control, can be made in their interests, and that their subjectivities are not necessarily
totally determined by the dominant patriarchy (Fiske, 1987 in McClary, 1991: 148). She claims
that Madonna’s agency in her own representations is a powerful response to the tendency for her
to be dismissed as “mindless playthings” acting out male fantasies. Her highly publicised/
visualised assertion of her sexuality can be seen as the articulation of a whole new set of subject
positions (McClary, 1991:149).
I would argue that Kwaito has offered women a new kind of agency in self-representation in postapartheid South Africa. However, as McClary cautions, this agency does not operate in isolation,
but is produced within a variety of social discursive practices, and draws on globally circulated
media images. Nevertheless, like Madonna, Kwaito female artists have learned to navigate
effectively within a repressive discourse to create liberatory musical images. A brief analysis of
Lebo Mathosa of Boom Shaka serves as a useful example.
From the outset, the dynamic two-male, two-female group, Boom Shaka, appeared to trade
almost entirely on the sexuality of their female members. However, a closer analysis of a range of
media reviews indicates that the focus of the Boom Shaka act is not predominantly the boldly
sexualised representations. Clearly the skimpy clothes, the gyrating hips an simulated sex on
stage are used to promote a variety of socially opposite concerns: “Stylishly clad in the deepest
blue velvet suits over lacy bras and flimsy white blouses – held in place by at least one button –
Boom Shaka’s Thembi and Lebo (had) walked to the front of the large Civic Theatre stage and
then stopped, each raising a clenched fist in the air. A pounding beat kicked in, sending a sensual
11
wave of motion down the girls’ lithe bodies, and so began their house-beat homage to a tune
which, they say, represents their freedom to sing whatever songs they choose in a liberated
nation, and an acknowledgement of those who have fought for their freedom (Blignaut, 1998).
The song refers to Boom Shaka’s Kwaito rendition of the national anthem (Nkosi Sikelela), which
provoked a national outcry.
Despite the various languages in which Kwaito is sung, it unifies the people that relate to this
genre. Majority of South Africans are blacks whom speak either one or more of the indigenous
languages in which Kwaito is sung. Clearly, this genre owes it to the public to convey the social
messages that will build a better South Africa for all. Kwaito artists (both young and old) need to
appreciate the platform that this genre has and utilise it positively. Artists like Arthur Mafokate
and Brenda Fassie, to name a few, portrayed the need for political freedom in South Africa. It is
through their songs that the authentic meaning of the Kwaito genre can be found; i.e. struggle
towards political, economic and social development.
Arthur Mafokate’s 1995 song Kaffir is considered to be one of the very first Kwaito hits. This
song is significant, not only as a musical milestone, but also in terms of the lyrics. The lyrics are a
perfect illustration of the freedom of expression that developed as a result of the political change.
In this song Mafokate says:
Boss, No.
Boss, don‟t call me kaffir.
Can‟t you see I‟m trying my best?
Can‟t you see I‟m moving around?
I don‟t come from hell.
You would not like it if I called you a baboon.
Even when I try washing up, you still call me a kaffir.
Boss, don‟t call me a kaffir.
In this song, Mafokate is protesting against the white people’s use of the word “kaffir” to address
black people. The subject is treated in a burlesque manner, but this only heightens the discontent
against the atrocities of the past. The song repeats these words right up until the end. A female
singer comes in at regular intervals between Arthur’s rhythmic speech and she sings the sings the
words that Mafokate has just recited (Mhlambi, 2004).
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A dialogue between a man and a woman is a very common feature in Kwaito. The man usually
does the rhythmic speech, which often forms the central part of the song and has more words than
the woman’s lyrics. This is a representation of the sexual subtexts present in kwaito music, where
the woman’s role is made subservient by merely reiterating what the man has said. This proves
true that “female roles are limited through male notions of female ability” (Firth & McRobbie,
2000:65).
In his paper on Kwaito music, musicologist Simon Stephens takes features present in many other
urban genres, such as sexual semiotics, and makes them unique to kwaito (and other genres of the
African Diaspora) – thus implying that kwaito (and Africans in general) is prejudicial and
condescending to women. He questions the effect that the “representation of the African female
body and sexuality have upon …women” (Stephens, 2000:269).
3.
METHODOLOGY
The literature reviewed previously established that this research project covers many different
areas and disciplines therefore a multi-pronged strategy was needed for gathering research and
collecting data. In terms of gathering research for the literature review information on trends of
Kwaito music in society and some knowledge of the industry was needed. This information was
obtained from journal articles, books and websites.
The methodology used for the research employs a qualitative approach. The qualitative segment
consists of interviews and questionnaires from the people concerned. The following people: the
listeners, music students, artists, producers and music critics; answered questionnaires in order to
balance the findings. From the interviews and questionnaires conducted through the people
involved in Kwaito from the “old school to the new school” (i.e. two producers, two musicians,
two music students and two listeners), their understanding of the genre plus the portrayal of
women is exposed as the research project unfolds.
The next stage was to draw up a questionnaire. This was viewed as a better method to interviews
because the participants had time to actually think about their responses before they answered.
Also, when writing down their response, the participants were able to ask for clarity to questions
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that they needed elaborated, read and then be satisfied with what they’d written. Additionally, a
questionnaire immediately meant formality. This was good because the research was a serious
and somewhat sensitive one.
From the literature reviewed, developing a questionnaire was not an easy or hard task. This stage
proved to be extremely important because the participants’ meaningful responses provided the
framework for the interpretation of data collected in the findings.
Ten students were interviewed from the Durban University of Technology (DUT). The
motivation for choosing students was that they are more exposed to the Kwaito genre than any
other age category. This is the time where partying in tertiary institutions is “the” thing. The
general older members of the public who somewhat knew Kwaito music were also interviewed.
The motivation for this was that I needed a meaningful contrast of views based on the portrayal of
women in Kwaito before ’94 and after (preferably from the year 2000 onwards). I strongly
believed that it was imperative for me to target both young and old participants so that I added
balance.
Additionally, I identified songs that contain the lyrics relevant towards my study of the portrayal
of women in the Kwaito music industry and where they contribute to social development or not.
The albums collected are between the pre-’94 (when the musicians in this genre sang about
political issues) and post-’94 (when the Kwaito musicians sang and still sing about social issues,
especially women as objects).
This stage required for me to go to music shops and get lists of Kwaito songs pre and post ’94.
This was not an easy task because shops’ records of music albums are only kept for a certain
period in time. Afterwards, getting discs of the actual relevant songs was more than a mission.
However, using the music shops’ right contacts in the music industry enabled me to gain access
to all the songs required. Without the transcription software, I had to rewrite the lyrics and
translate them into the English vernacular. Since I am Zulu-speaking, I had to approach Tswana,
Xhosa and Sotho speaking students for assistance to translation. Transcription of lyrics made it
simpler for analysis to occur.
14
4.
FINDINGS
The hypothesis of this project is that the Kwaito music genre could prove to be an effective
medium for causing social awareness with regard to gender equality, women’s rights, and social
development leading to the empowerment of society. The main reason for believing this to be true
is that Kwaito is presented in radio stations, television and even the latest mobile technology
gadgets. Listening to Kwaito music in the taxis, gatherings or social events is profoundly different
than listening to the genre alone. Kwaito was initially about the unity of people in the townships
and the celebration of African cultures.
From the interviews conducted, majority participants (95%) agreed that Kwaito lyrics show no
thought behind the messages. But, they were all in consensus about the uniqueness and
distinctiveness of the Kwaito identity. Based on the interviews with the “older” generation, they
all agreed that “Kwaito used to possess meaningful messages mainly about fighting for freedom
and politics. It used to encourage the victims of the apartheid regime that things will one day be
alright. The lyrics of the songs in those days used to raise emotions such that people would
literally cry because of the pain they experienced in those times. Brenda Fassie was one of the
Kwaito artists whose music was initially about the empowerment of black people. In her song My
Black President, she flashes back to the year 1963 when Nelson Mandela was sentenced into
isolation where he experienced painful years of hard labour. Then the song talks about 1990 when
Mandela was released and how he walked the long road to freedom. At the end of the song, she
tells the people to rejoice for his (and their) freedom. Her lyrics continued to address complex
themes dealing with the African culture and life. For example, in Sum‟bulala (translated as Do
not kill him/her), she asks taxi operators in the provinces to end their violent rivalries.
Kwaito did not originally aim to show a South Africa happy in its new urbanity, especially
because urban life has been exploited by foreign commerce. For these reasons, Kwaito’s best
moments become those that deliver a chorus of black voices opposing a legacy of bureaucracy
and racism, and anticipating a new identity and mobility on its own terms. Kwaito was touted as
part of a South African renaissance, but it’s also part of a South African revolution – one that
does not suffer misinterpretation lightly.
(http://www.southafrica.info/what_happening/news/features/kwaitomental.htm)
15
One older female interviewee stated:
Although Kwaito music is mostly played by young people especially at parties, it
does somewhat release some stress. Sometimes it does not have much meaning,
hence irrespective of democracy; censorship should be applicable in terms of the
language used. The dance moves are horrible and should be stopped since their
target market is the youth. These youngsters tend to imitate the very dance moves
that they see once that particular song’s video is shown on television. The lyrics
nowadays do not reflect South Africa’s gender ideologies. Women are used for
marketing purposes, and to my surprise, others (women) actually enjoy it.
There was, for the most part, a clear gender division in terms of vocalization: men, solo or
together in a chorus, spoke rhythmically around one pitch while women usually sang more
melodic phrases. Although the rhythmically spoken lyrics were inspired by rap, vocal delivery
was normally much slower in Kwaito, and the lyrics consisted of a few of the latest catch phrases
reported and played against each other, rather than complex lengthy poetry (Allen 2004).
In a song by Professor and T’zozo, one of Durban’s dynamic Kwaito duos, gender division in
terms of vocalization is quite clear. The males lead whilst the females follow proving true to the
analysis that sometimes male artists objectify females as inferior beings. The lyrics of the song
Wemantombazane (interpreted as, “Hey Girls”) are as follows:
[spoken by male voice]
Wemantombazane
(Hey girls)
[the female responds]
„E ye
(Yes yes)
[spoken by male voice]
Ziyawa ka Zake‟s
(It’s happening at Zakes)
Ziyawa ka mnganami
(It’s happening at my friends place)
Ziyawa eMgababa
(It’s happening at Mgababa)
Ziyawa ka mpintsh‟ yami
(It’s happening at my buddy’s place)
Wemantombazan‟
(Hey girls)
Yeh yeh
(Yes yes)
Safa ubumnandi
(We are dying from enjoyment/partying)
Safa uk‟jekedula
(We’re dying from jiving)
Wemantombazane
(Hey girls)
Yeh yeh
(Yes yes)
16
Asambe soy‟gruvela
(Let’s go jive)
Asambe soy‟pholela
(Let’s go drink)
Bese siy‟rokhela
(Then we’ll rock)
Bese siy‟lahlela
(Then we’ll loose ourselves)
Wemantombazane
(Hey girls)
Eh yeh
(Yes yes)
Wen‟ ongagcwali ngithi ngek‟ ul‟bon‟ izulu
(If you don’t wanna, you won’t see heaven)
Wen‟ ongagruvi ngithi ngek‟ ul‟bon‟ izulu
(If you don’t jive, you won’t see heaven)
Obheke manje mfana ngithi kujay‟va nabomkhulu(Look, even grand-dads are dancing)
Kurokha uT‟zozo manje kudlala nabonunu
(T’zozo rocks, even children are dancing)
Each chick must call another chick
„Coz I want more chicks
Sel‟phelil‟ iviki
(It’s been a week)
uProfessor ushayi six-to-six
(Professor working from six to six)
According to the analysis of these lyrics, the male voice(s) dominate the song. The man is the one
in command and all that the female does, is agree. What the male is requesting the female to a
party at his friend’s place where he’ll be her provider. The only thing that she has to say is “Yes
yes”. “This interpretation would be supported by the prevalent representations of women in
Kwaito music videos in which they are frequently draped over a man (centrally located and
driving the latest BMW convertible), their bodies represented as lithe, sensual and readily
available to the whims and fancies of the male object of their attention”(Impey, 2001). As
unbelievable as it is, this reflects on the current happenings of our society; where men are
providers for materialistic gifts in exchange for sexual pleasure. This song also refers to women
as “chicks’ showing that men don’t see women growing above them.
The women’s situation should be analyzed in terms of the development of society. Development
is a process, and there is no question of leaping over stages of development if we seek to
understand the oppression and subordination of women. The oppression of women is not natural;
it is something that came about as society passed through stages of development. It is a sad legacy
of history which needs to be corrected (Zama L., 1991).Women are still too scared because they
have not been able to evolve their own self-confidence.
17
A frame of reference for theory-formation about media and society: media interpose between
personal experience and more distant events and social forces (McQuail, 1994):
Mass media has the potential power to attract and direct the public’s attention. Agreeably, media
is made up of members of the public, who are in turn the agenda-setters. Kwaito artists are first
and foremost members of the public. However, it is the media that broadcasts the songs sung by
the artists. Media should serve as a gatekeeper. It should be able to sift the relevant agenda to
society because media has the power of persuasion in matters of opinion and belief. It influences
the behavioural patterns of society by structuring definitions of reality. It has been said that seeing
18
is believing; there are many things that have been portrayed by the media which society deems as
them being real. The portrayal of women in Kwaito music videos misleads the true reflection of
women and does not contribute to their empowerment.
Another interviewee felt that some of the lyrics in the Kwaito songs “have no message and tend
to do a lot of repetition. In most cases, they underestimate the intellectual capacity of our society,
especially women. Women are often disrespectfully portrayed as sexual objects on the music
videos wearing half to nothing. The dance moves are seductive and contain lots of sexual
innuendos. Kwaito music does not contribute to South Africa’s gender ideologies. Since it is
targeted to the youth, it should only have positive social messages because it is these young
people that are constantly troubled.”
Thus a long standing expectation that media should contribute to education, culture and the arts
has come increasingly into conflict with actual or perceived imperatives of the media
marketplace, under conditions of heightened competition for audiences. The term
“commercialism” has many meanings, but in one influential view it stands opposed to a number
of key social-cultural values. Commercialization has been associated with manipulation,
consumerism, lack of integrity and lack of originality and creativity (Blumler, 1991, 1992). It is
said to lead to homogeneity and neglect of minorities who do not provide profitable audience or
advertising markets (McQuail, 1994).
Another interviewee explained that she only listens “to the beat because they have nice beats to
dance to. But with Kwaito, even if the beat sounds good, the song will still contain rude or vulgar
lyrics. Women are portrayed as good-for-nothing loose cannons. They love to hate them.
Although the dance moves may be sexy and simultaneously provocative, they become popular at
social gatherings. The lyrics perpetuate some of the negativity which is dominant in our society.”
The typical content which flowed through the newly created channels to the new social formation
(the mass audience) was from the start a very diverse mixture of stories, images, information,
ideas, entertainment and spectacles. Even so, the single concept of “mass culture” was commonly
used to refer to all this (Rosenburg and White, 1957). Mass culture had a wider reference to the
tastes, preferences, manners and styles of the mass (or just the majority) of people. It also had a
generally pejorative connotation, mainly because of its associations with the assumed cultural
19
preferences of the “uncultivated” or non-discriminating. However, in socialist discourse, mass
culture could refer positively to the “culture of the masses”, taking its value from the idea of the
mass of ordinary people as the main agent progressive social change. In such cases the reference
has to be to the “culture of the people” rather than culture for the people (as mass consumers)
(McQuail, 1994).
A male interviewee exclaimed that “the dress code of women and their dance moves in the
Kwaito music videos is unacceptable! The lyrics are a huge contribution towards moral decay in
our society. They portray a society without values. I wish the lyrics and dance moves would
change in favour of social development.”
I’d like to then agree that “there has been a continued debate in many countries over another issue
of control – that concerning morals, decency and portrayals of matters to do with pornographic
sex, crime and violence. While direct censorship and legal limitations have diminished in
proportion to more relaxed moral standards in most societies, there remain limits to media
freedom on grounds of the protection of minors from undesirable influences. The issue has
become further complicated by similar claims on behalf of women, who may either be portrayed
in degrading circumstances or risk becoming the object of media-induced pornographic violence”
(McQuail, 1994).
In an interview with Syabonga Ngcangisa of Drum magazine, L’vovo Derango confessed that
there are harsh realities in the Kwaito Music Industry. His album spawned the massive hits
Bayangsukela and Resista and set him apart from the competition with the introduction of a new
sound that’s been dubbed Durban Kwaito Music (DKM). He had been nominated in both the Best
Kwaito Album and Most Popular Song of the Year categories but lost on both accounts. “My
music is different because I sing Kwaito on house instruments,” he explains. He writes about
issues “affecting him as a young man”:
I decided to make the album easy for me to record I should write about things
that have been bothering me in my adult life. Other musos would come visit me
on campus and I’d introduce them to attractive young women. But, they’d always
steal the attention and I’d end up feeling like the visitor.
Moreover, it was his friends who helped him pen down the lyrics to his runway hit, Bayangsukela
(which translates as “these girls are starting with me”). Certain Kwaito artists sing about portray
20
women the way they do, for commercial purposes. They use them as a marketing tool. They have
harmless intentions. “My ideal woman is someone who will love herself before me and know
what she wants out of life,” explains Derango. Clearly, the women that he sings about are not the
ones on his mind when searching for “wife material”.
Another interviewee sees Kwaito as a “Freedom of Speech”:
… because it talks about and relates to the issues that are happening in society at
that particular time. What I’ve also observed is that the Kwaito artists do not
have their mothers, sisters, or girlfriends in mind when they sing explicit lyrics;
the lyrics are dedicated to those girls that they party with. One tends to discover
that they are in a “serious” relationship with someone despite the “side-kicks”.
Usually the “serious” girlfriends are far from being party-animals. They
“worship” the ground their loved ones walk on.
Freedom as a media performance principle, together with related criteria (McQuail, 1994):
Freedom is a condition, rather than a criterion of performance, and does not readily lend itself to
either prescriptive or proscriptive statements. It refers primarily to rights to free expression and
the free formation of opinion. However, for these rights to be realized there must also be access to
channels and opportunities to receive diverse kinds of information (McQuail, 1994). Freedom
comes with responsibility. Although Kwaito artists and producers are free to express themselves
21
within their lyrics, however, they have to be responsible in singing songs towards social
development. Their lyrics have to be original and reliable to create critical stance.
There are, however, other Kwaito artists who sing only praises about women. They also have
songs with lyrics that contribute positively towards social issues. And, surprisingly, this has
earned them the loyalty of many Kwaito fans, both male and females, young and old. Amongst
these rare types of Kwaito artists is Zola-7. He was once a victim of being a criminal (car
hijacker) and was convicted to serve years in jail. However, he took his misfortune and turned it
into something constructive where he decided to uplift members of society. When walking
through the streets of Zola Township in Soweto, it’s as if he has a giant magnet on his back.
Everywhere he goes jubilant people spill from their homes and rush up to him, ululating with joy
while their kids flock to him as if he were Soweto’s own Pied Piper (Lillah R., 2006). Zola has
contributed tremendously and has become one of the biggest brands in the land. He is a multiaward-winning Kwaito singer, acclaimed actor, Good Samaritan host of reality television show
and owner of the Zola-7 fashion range that has become the fastest-selling brand of all time at
Edgars.
In one of his recent songs called 25 2 Life, Zola shows appreciation to his mother through a
prayer. He confronts fathers who run away from their responsibility of raising a child. The lyrics
follow:
Ngak‟tshel‟ ungilinde uzobuya
(You said I must wait, you will return)
Lolusana lubomvu
(This baby is newly born)
Kaze ngathini
(What did I do)
Wang‟duba, wang‟shiya, wanxapha
(You gave up and you left me)
Yonke lemihla ngakhula kanzima
(All these years I struggled)
Ehlanganisa uMama ethi: “Kuzolunga”(My mother struggled and said “It’ll be ok)
I thank God ngistholile isinkwa
(I thank God that I found bread)
Small boy ukhulile manje usuyindoda
(The small boy has grown to become a man now)
Nazi neziphiwo
(Here are my gifts)
Sebeyazi manje
(Now they know)
Emagumbini amane omhlaba
(At all four corners of the world)
Ngisho nabezizwe
(Even internationally)
Bayaziqhenya bangibiza ngeNdodana
(They are proud and call me their son)
22
Nkosi yizwa izwi lami
(Lord hear my prayer)
Thulisa abalala bengadlanga
(Comfort those who sleep on empty stomachs)
Nkosi isandla sami
(Lord let my hand)
Masiduduze abafwethu abanamanxeba (Comfort those who are wounded)
Baba isandla sami
(Lord let my hand)
Masishushuze kumanxeba
(Heal the wounds)
[chorus]
Ngakutshela ungilinde uzobuya (x3)
(You said I must wait, you’ll return)
25 years awugodukanga
(For 25 years you didn’t come home)
Lolusana lubomvu
(This baby is newly born)
KuMama emhlane bethi ngiyintandane (They called me an orphan behind my mom’s back)
Ngakhala wang‟beletha
(When I cried, she put me on her back)
Wangikhuza, wangifundisa
(She condemned me, taught me)
Wang‟thulisa, wang‟cathukisa
(She comforted me, lead me step-by-step)
Ma unesibindi esingaka
(Mother you have such courage)
Ungu-Ma, ungu-Baba kimina
(You are a Mother and a Father to me)
Ung‟gada ngoba awuvumanga
(You looked after me and didn’t allow me)
Ukuthi ngibe yis‟cela nkobe
(To be a beggar)
Ngithi kuwe Mama uphile uzukhokhobe (I want you to grow to be an old woman)
Nothing…like father like son!
(Nothing…like father like son)
Sithwele izono zoBaba
(We are cursed by our father’s sins)
Sikhanda lamakhaya
(We are building these homes)
Sikhulile madoda
(We are grown man)
Sula izinyembezi my sister
(Wipe those tears my sister)
Amasoka adliwa zinyama
(Men can’t control themselves)
Kusele izintandane
(Orphans are left)
Kodwa asingcwabanga
(Yet, we did not bury them)
Khala zome (x3)
(Weep no more)
The lyrics in this song contribute to social development. Children are daily becoming victims of
single parent-hood. This song is a form of a plea towards males to take actions for their
23
responsibility. He states that men cannot control themselves because they succumb to earthly
desires of the flesh. In the third last line, he says that “orphans are left yet no men were buried”.
This states that men are still alive but not in their children’s lives. Zola questions himself about
what he might have done for his father to give up on him. His mother and him had to struggle to
make ends meat. However, he is grateful to his mother for being his both parents. She taught him
to be an independent and responsible man. Zola disagrees with the statement “like father like son”
because throughout his song he reveals that he is nothing like his father. Instead, he feels cursed
by his father’s sins now that he is forced to be a grown man and build a home for his mother;
something that should have be done by his father, had he taken action for his responsibilities.
5.
5.1
CONCLUSIONS
Media and Society
Early thinking provides a point of reference for understanding the present. Despite the enormous
changes in media institutions and technology and in society itself, and also the rise of a “science
of communication”, the terms of public debate about the potential social significance of “the
media” seem to have changed remarkably.
The actual process of communication via the mass media seems to lead unavoidably to mass-like
relations between senders and receivers. This relation is necessarily one-directional and
impersonal and most mass communication originates in centralized industrial or bureaucratic
organizations remote from their intended “receivers”. The process is often calculative or
manipulative on the part of the sender, who takes a distanced and undifferentiating view of the
public, which cannot be known in any real sense. Whether accurately or not, the media receiver
was often conceived as a passive spectator, if only because opportunities to participate in the
process in any other way (for instance, by response or interaction) are very small or totally absent.
This description can be filled out by noting some essential features of the mass communication
process, as compared with other kinds of communication. Senders in mass communication are
nearly always either professional communicators (e.g. journalists, producers, entertainers)
employed by formal media organizations or others (e.g. advertisers, artists or politicians) who
have been chosen for access by the organizations. The symbolic content or “message” carried in
mass communication is often “manufactured in standardized ways (mass production) rather than
being unique, creative or unpredictable. It is a “product” of a work process with an exchange
24
value (in the media marketplace) as well as a use value (for receivers) and is thus a marketable
commodity. The relationship between sender and receiver is often essentially “non-moral”, a
service delivered or a market deal, voluntarily entered into, with no obligations on either side
(McQuail, 1994).
5.2
Kwaito lyrics and their portrayal of women
The research project reveals the fact that Kwaito has come a long way. Apart from anything else,
the young post-apartheid black South Africans still relate to the genre as a form of identity.
Kwaito has a rich history since it emerged in South Africa as a result of local political, social and
economic factors. “Meaning was deeply embedded in the music because it played the roles of
education, cultural expression, and identity construction (Boloka, 2003).”
The research project also reveals that Kwaito was accelerated by the political and social transition
of the 1990s. Angela Impey (2001) writes that while the sexual objectification of women in
Kwaito may be interpreted as ongoing male hegemony, Kwaito has offered women new agency
in self-representation in post-apartheid South Africa.
Young black female artists need to shy away from thinking that by acting out the symbols of their
sexual objectification; they are going to be able to construct a commanding presence in the music
industry. Appearance and stage performance should be about decency.
Musician Thami Thekwane explained that, as a Kwaito artist:
You can’t be formal on stage. You’re not singing ballads you know. I mean you
just have to be free, make people happy…Trompies is trying to tell you that,
“hey, don’t be afraid of me. I’m just like you and I’m singing for you.”
Trompies’ trademark was a small round white floppy hat with a coloured underbrim that was
worn turned up at the front, cotton trousers, takkies (soft sports-type shoes), and a large loose
shirt, always un-tucked (Allen,2004).
However, the lyrics contribute to social development. South Africa is a developing country thus it
is vital to construct positively to the development of society as a whole and members of society
individually. The media has crucial importance in terms of mass communication. Freedom is a
25
condition, rather than a criterion of performance, and does not readily lend itself to either
prescriptive or proscriptive statements. It refers primarily to rights to free expression and the free
formation of opinion. However, for these rights to be realized there must also be access to
channels and opportunities to receive diverse kinds of information (McQuail, 1994). Freedom
comes with responsibility. Although Kwaito artists and producers are free to express themselves
within their lyrics, however, they have to be responsible in singing songs towards social
development. Their lyrics have to be original and reliable to create critical stance.
Responses from the interviewees showed evidence that Kwaito lyrics fail to stimulate the
listeners’ intellectuality. The responses showed evidence that more awareness was stimulated
however, what was interesting was that the male and female interviewees had similar responses.
The male interviewees generally commented that the dance moves on the music videos must be
“done away with”. In comparison, female interviewees expressed that listening to lyrics that
degrade women in society emphasised on how vulnerable women are and accepting the situation
of how they are being labelled. However the older female interviewees did acknowledge that
listening to the “Kwaito of the olden days” made them feel powerful to an extent due to the fact
that the experiences were shared as other women had the same feelings and experiences, so they
were not one in experiencing the social injustices. However, all the interviewees agreed that the
females who get into the Kwaito industry must change the bad habits of the other artists and their
lyrics must not only contribute to social development, but to the empowerment of women as well.
Changed affective awareness was evident in the responses which indicated that the interviewees
responded personally to the portrayal of women in the Kwaito lyrics as their response includes
references to personal experiences related to the messages communicated.
5.3
The social role of Kwaito
In terms of the research reviewed previously, it can be established that Kwaito can be described
as the new music of the new South Africa. It is young, vibrant and decidedly black. It emerged
over a decade ago after the country’s democratic election in June 1994. Most people who listen to
and identify with Kwaito are from the townships. Kwaito emerged in South Africa as a result of
local political, social and economic factors. It is a mixture of South African disco music, hip hop,
rhythm and blues, dancehall, raga, and American and British house music. The lyrics that are
transcribed and analyzed establish that there are two types of Kwaito; one that sings about social
issues and demands positive change and the other that accepts and are comfortable with the
26
negativities towards the social issues. The latter, are comfortable with the current social issues
and instead of change, they’d rather “add more heat”. Commercialization has been another
contributing factor. Not much is taken into consideration when it comes to sales. Unfortunately,
society seems to agree because they are the consumers of such products.
McQuail supports this by stating that a long standing expectation that media should contribute to
education, culture and the arts has come increasingly into conflict with actual or perceived
imperatives of the media marketplace, under conditions of heightened competition for audiences.
The term “commercialism” has many meanings, but in one influential view it stands opposed to a
number of key social-cultural values. Commercialization has been associated with manipulation,
consumerism, lack of integrity and lack of originality and creativity (Blumler, 1991, 1992). It is
said to lead to homogeneity and neglect of minorities who do not provide profitable audience or
advertising markets (McQuail, 1994).
Lyrics provided one of the main sites for the inscription of the locale/age identity intersection.
Many Kwaito lyrics deployed a contemporary gangster-language or tsotsi-taal called Iscamtho, a
township language concocted from IsiZulu and Sesotho with smatterings of English and a great
deal of Afrikaans. 1950s tsotsi-taal had set a historical precedent for the predominance of
Afrikaans in urban street lingo, for it was considered streetwise to be able to manipulate the
language of those in power (Allen, 2004).
Arthur explains that, in those days, “Afrikaans was the clever language. If you didn’t know
Afrikaans then you were referred to as a moegoe, and a moegoe is somebody stupid.” Artists and
Repertoire (A&R) manager Skhumbuzo Khumalo adds, “In the township we’ve got our own
ways of talking. And what excites people, it’s like for the first time they are hearing what they are
using in the township being recorded. It’s for the first time! It’s that excitement.”
Freedom is a condition, rather than a criterion of performance, and does not readily lend itself to
either prescriptive or proscriptive statements. It refers primarily to rights to free expression and
the free formation of opinion. However, for these rights to be realized there must also be access to
channels and opportunities to receive diverse kinds of information (McQuail, 1994). Freedom
comes with responsibility. Although Kwaito artists and producers are free to express themselves
within their lyrics, however, they have to be responsible in singing songs towards social
development. Their lyrics have to be original and reliable to create critical stance.
27
6.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In the immediate post-apartheid years young urban black South Africans were primarily intent on
establishing an identity that marked them off from previous generations, and on voicing the
experience of freedom for themselves. According to the research’s unfolding discovery, artists
need to stop thinking that the more less-dressed women they have on their music videos, the more
the viewers will relate to that particular song. Women, also, need to stop falling into these
stereotypes. Kwaito music needs to start having content that is substantial. The typical content
which flowed through the newly created channels to the new social formation (the mass audience)
was from the start a very diverse mixture of stories, images, information, ideas, entertainment and
spectacles. Even so, the single concept of “mass culture” was commonly used to refer to all this
(Rosenburg and White, 1957). Mass culture had a wider reference to the tastes, preferences,
manners and styles of the mass (or just the majority) of people. It also had a generally pejorative
connotation, mainly because of its associations with the assumed cultural preferences of the
“uncultivated” or non-discriminating. However, in socialist discourse, mass culture could refer
positively to the “culture of the masses”, taking its value from the idea of the mass of ordinary
people as the main agent progressive social change. In such cases the reference has to be to the
“culture of the people” rather than culture for the people (as mass consumers) (McQuail, 1994).
There needs to be a governed structure for the upcoming artists. Kwaito musicians will have to
undergo training for a certain period of time. During the training, they will be taught about the
historical background of the genre and its intentions. They will also be taught about writing and
singing constructive lyrics that will contribute to social development. South Africa is under the
influence of a foreign media flow. Local artists are somewhat influenced by Westernization.
South African Kwaito and American hip-hop are totally different music genres but they are
similar in portraying women as “mindless” objects. We should be authentic as South Africans in
everything that we do and sing about. Music is very dominant in our country and singing about
development issues will contribute to a better and healthy South Africa loved and enjoyed by
every citizen.
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