Find Music from Southern Africa in the Afropop Shop

South Africa has given the world some of the most memorable voices from the African continent--the soaring, passionate alto of Miriam Makeba, the purr and pounce of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the amazing sub-bass groaning of the late Mahlathini and gorgeous, gospel-tinged harmonies of his companions the Mahotella Queens, as well as many others. Such vocal virtuosity is not surprising coming from a land where, Zulus, Xhosas and Sothos have for centuries celebrated life's large and small moments with song. Many South African artists started out singing in mission school choirs or in church. And when they made the jump to the commercial music world, a sophisticated recording industry awaited them.

South Africa has the most developed recording history on the continent with a prolific local music industry that's been pumping out commercial releases for over a half century. The first commercial recordings were made in South Africa in 1912, and S.A. music industry pioneer Eric Gallo established the first recording studio in the country in the 1930s. The major South African record companies today are Gallo, Teal, Tusk, CCP/EMI and BMG.

Because of all these advantages, South Africa has in many ways set the musical pace for the entire region. Today's youth-oriented, hip-hop informed kwaito sound is certainly the most influential genre in the entire region. But while any discussion of this region's music must begin with South Africa, other countries in the region have also produced beautiful, unique, and important music styles. Only West Africa is comparable for its musical richness and diversity.

The SA-US Connection

For over a century, South Africa, more than any other African country, has looked to the United States for musical inspiration. The discovery of gold and diamonds in the 19th century created an urban population hungry for entertainment. And traveling African-American minstrel shows, vaudeville acts and gospel groups helped fill the bill, making a big impression on local audiences. American jazz artists and jazz arrangement concepts energized the embryonic South African jazz scene from the '30s forward. American soul, disco and hip-hop from the '60s to the present all have their offspring in South Africa.

The Afropop Worldwide website contains the stories of the leading South African recording artists and the varied styles they defined--South African jazz, kwela, mbaqanga, mbube, neo-traditional, soul, disco, and reggae. Perhaps it is more accurate to say "S.A. soul", "S.A. disco" and "S.A. reggae" since local artists stamped the styles with a unique South African identity.

In the late-'80s, after Paul Simon's Graceland opened the ears of the world to South Africa, Afropop Worldwide first visited the country. Imagine our surprise on going to major black township festivals expecting to hear mbaqanga, township jive, and Zulu choral music only to hear band after band playing disco music driven by banks of keyboards. Asking when the mbaqanga would come on drew the laughing reply, "Oh, that was popular in the '70s." The movement that would lead to today's urban kwaito music was well underway already.

It remains true today that the South African sounds that have achieved the most recognition in the outside world are considered passé back home. The one exception to this may be jazz, which remains more popular and more original in South African than in any other African country. Musical taste in South Africa has often followed political events. The 1976 student uprising in Soweto was a turning point; the young generation shunned their parents' choices, including musical ones, and embraced what they thought were the more progressive sounds of American soul and disco. Similarly, today's tough kwaito reflects the disenchantment of youth in a post-apartheid world, where AIDS and economic stagnation loom as larger threats than racism.

Older musicians in South Africa now complain that national radio is saturated with American music, leaving little space for local music, and they've organized to demand that a minimum quota for local South African content on radio be put in place. It's also true that now that economic sanctions have been lifted, competition from international acts playing South Africa is stiff. However the wealth of musical talent in South Africa, the momentum of the recording industry, and an inevitable reassessment of indigenous music will surely yield welcome results.

Harare Was Dancing

To the north of South Africa, in neighboring Zimbabwe, the weekend nightlife in the capital, Harare, once pulsated with guitar bands playing for dance-happy crowds till early in the morning. Fans followed their favorite stars on the circuit from the Mushandira Pamwe Hotel, and Job's Nite Spot to the remote Hideout, and countless other clubs and beerhalls around this sprawling city. This was the musical haven Afropop Worldwide found and fell in love with in 1988. Unfortunately, the years have taken a heavy toll on Zimbabwe, and the music scene, like everything else in this besieged and suffering nation, has declined markedly.

Zimbabwe has historically been a sort of musical crossroads between the two regional powerhouses--South Africa and Congo. Pinched between the overwhelming influences of Congolese rumba and soukous, and South African jive, as well as British and American pop, Zimbabwean pop groups struggled for identity in the '60s and '70s. In the '80s and '90s, a distinctive generation of artists--Jonah Moyo and Devera Ngwena, John Chibadura, James Chimombe, Leonard Dembo--dominated this scene.

But the two most outstanding artists to emerge from Zimbabwe are Thomas Mapfumo, singer, composer and bandleader of the Blacks Unlimited, and Oliver Mtukudzi with his band Black Spirits. From his start singing covers of western pop hits, Thomas, along with his many collaborators, went on to create a singularly Zimbabwean sound, chimurenga, that at once claimed a modern place for ancient Shona music and rallied people during the war for an independent Zimbabwe. Mapfumo has since become one of the most brave voices in the country denouncing the failures of President Robert Mugabe and his corrupt, failed regime. Also a pioneer and a veteran of Zimbabwe music, Mutukudzi has been a voice of conscience and comfort from the mid-70s to the present, and he has recently emerged as the country's most successful artist on the international scene.

Malagasy Magic, and More

To the east, on the vast Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, forests, beaches, and highland plains support flora and fauna found nowhere else, and 18 ethnic groups, descended from Africans, Arabs, Europeans and Southeat Asians play equally rare music. Star musician and bandleader Rossy says, "Malagasy people are a mixture of Asian and African. The Asian side is sad, bluesy and cool. The coast is hot--the coast is Africa. The mix is fantastic." And indeed Rossy's words are borne out by an impressive array of sounds and artists that has become available to the world market, especially since the early 1990s. From the coastal, 6/8 salegy dance pop to the reflective, semi-classical valiha harp music of the central highlands, to the raucous street theater and music contests called hiragasy , there is much to explore in the music of Madagascar.

Two southern African countries--Angola and Mozambique--are still emerging from devastating civil wars. Both were belatedly freed from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, and then suffered violent and contentious aftermath. Mozambique has now stabilized, and as a benefit, is producing excellent music, from Afro-jazz to roots pop by bands like Mabulu and Eyuphuru. Angola's revolutionary singer Bongo has recently revived his international career, and the younger Waldemar Bastos is showing a new generation of Angolan musicians the great possibilities inherent in their national music culture. As war recedes there, we can look forward to a peaceful and creative future.

Music from Southern Africa in the Afropop Shop

Contributed by: Banning Eyre