South African pop singer Brenda Fassie.
“What makes South Africans so special is that we sing and dance, even when we’re with death,” says dancer and choreographer Gregory Manqoma.
As Rainbow Nation celebrates the 30th anniversary of the first post-apartheid elections on April 27, 2024, Manqoma is part of an organization of influential South Africans who have chosen songs that have been the soundtrack to the country’s socio-political and cultural transformation.
Titled 30 Years of Freedom, the variety is an adventure through the township of mbaqanga, the bubblegum pop of the ’80s, the kwaito and space revolution of the 1990s and 2000s, a dash of jazz, and the fresh global phenomenon of amapiano. Regardless of genre, music has served as a way for South Africans to speak out against oppression and poverty, but also to celebrate hope and success.
The task includes curated playlists for Apple Music through big names of music and similar fields. The musicians include PJ Powers, Arno Carstens, Brenda Mthambo and Musa Keys, actors Nomzamo Mbatha and Connie Chiume and football legend Benny McCarthy. Others include fashion designers Laduma Ngxokolo and Rich Minsi, presenter Melanie Bala, entrepreneur Sylvester Chauke, and dancer and choreographer Gregory Maqoma.
“These songs gave other people hope and encouraged them to keep going,” says Ngxokolo, founder of the South African knitwear logo MaXhosa Africa. Notice that the music resonates with the hardships and celebrations that a South African would experience. old has selected, among other songs, Hugh Masekela’s tale of immigrant miners Stimela, Freshly Ground’s ode to fatherhood, Nomvula (After the Rain), and Bongo Maffin’s hard-hitting kwaito classic, Thathisgubhu.
Legendary singer PJ Powers, best known for her ’80s anthem Jabulani, claims to have created a playlist based on knowing exactly where she was and how she felt the first time she heard the songs. “From the first time I heard Brenda [Fassie] sing Black President and the pride I felt, to the sadness in my center when I heard Bright Blue’s Weeping,” Powers says. “None of those songs, whether they’re protest songs or just love songs, in my opinion, have a date or ever. will. “
In addition to the two songs, the highlight of their playlist is Miriam Makeba’s rendition of Xhosa Qongqothwane’s classic song known as The Click Song, Paul Simon’s Homeless with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Angelina from husband-and-wife duo Caiphus Semenya and Latte Mbulu. He also chose Johnny Clegg’s Scatterlings of Africa, Hugh Masekela’s anti-apartheid campaign anthem, South African DJ and manufacturer Master KG’s Bring Him Back Home and Jerusalema, which have become a global hit during Covid-19 lockdowns.
Powers tells Apple Music that South Africa is so culturally diverse that if someone listened to her playlist, they’d think she’s musically schizophrenic. “The fact is that all these artists have contributed to the sonic fusion that we can so proudly call South African music. .
Actor Nomzamo Mbatha celebrates artists who she says “have given us a lifetime of memories,” adding Burn Out by Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, Vuli Ndlela and the kwaito bangers by Brenda Fassie, TKZee’s Dlala Mapantsula and Mandoza’s Nkalakatha. Her playlist also includes Mafikizolo’s Ndihamba Nawe, Zahara’s Loliwe, and the 2024 Grammy Award-winning song Water via South African global sensation Tyla.
“We have different emotions and memories with those songs,” says Mbatha. “The originality, the ambitious ambition, the booty, the excellent foundation in the positions that take us, is unmatched. “
Amapiano star Musa Keys has settled on songs by Grammy Award-winning DJ Black Coffee, as well as Semi Tee and Scorpion Kings, whom she credits with “breaking barriers so that the (amapiano) genre can grow tremendously. “Keys also chose some of her own songs, such as the collaboration with Nigerian star Davido, Unavailable, and the official 2010 FIFA World Cup song Waka Waka (This Is Africa) via Shakira with South African band Freshly Ground and Benni McCarthy, one of South Africa’s top hit produced by footballers, also appeared on TKZee’s 1998 hit, Shibobo/The Final Countdown.
So, it’s no surprise to place the song on his 30 Years of Freedom playlist alongside rapper YoungCPT’s 2023 hit named after the football legend. McCarthy also settled on 3 Brenda Fassie classics, “Weekend Special,” “Too Late for Mama,” and “Vuli. “Ndlela” and slain rapper AKA’s 2014 collaboration with Afrobeats star Burna Boy, “All Eyes on Me. “
According to McCarthy, the current generation of stars like Tyla has relied on the clever fortune of the base established through South African musicians over the years. “It’s about getting out of poverty and not having a long term or opportunities, to live a smart life. for you and your family. “
Designer Rich Mnisi is positive about the brilliant trajectory of South African music: “I hope that the next generation will explore, experiment and embrace new and artistic aspects of the freedom we have hard-won. “
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