May 09 2018
South African Music
I decided to research was the history of music genres in South Africa.
First off, I chose Kwaito music in South Africa. This began in the 1990s. Kwaito is a mix of various rhythms from marabi, kwela, bubblegum music, and others. It has been influenced by several different music artists and genres. The word comes from the Afrikaans word “kwaai”. This word means angry in English. It was popular in the townships and is now played on the radio, in clubs, and other places. It actually originally grew from the U.S house music. There is an African edge to kwaito dance music, and they chant or rap the lyrics. Some kwaito groups are known as Boom Shaka, Bongo Maffin, and Abashante.
This is a video of Kwaito music, showing their dance rhythms with the music.
Another type of South African music I researched was South African Jazz. It began from the black heritage population and also from the U.S. It was influenced by marabi which was also in the townships of South Africa in a time earlier than Kwaito. Marabi used three cords of the keyboard and had a pattern of ragtime and blues in America.
Lastly, I researched Reggae music in South Africa. Reggae came from the Caribbean, around the 1970s. A popular band was the Dread Warriors. They were brothers who played reggae hits together in the 1980s. They were influenced by the Jamaican originators of Reggae music. South Africans took reggae music as a foreign genre but made it their own. Reggae is still a popular genre for South Africa.
