Music
When kwaito first emerged from Soweto in the early '90s it became one of the soundtracks of modern South Africa. Now, after a period on the margins, this house-infused sound is enjoying a renaissance.
“We just wanted to make good music,” says electronic music producer Jakinda. “When we met, neither of us went into the studio thinking ‘we want to make future kwaito’, but after dropping our EP, that’s the title everyone associates us with.”
Stiff Pap – the Cape Town-based duo of rapper Ayema Problem and Jakinda – are recalling how big 2017 was for them. Their debut EP, Based On A Qho Story, was released to acclaim and introduced music lovers to their futuristic blend of kwaito, gqom, house and industrial music.
Dlala, their lead single, is the best example of the future kwaito label they’ve been lumped with. With a rattling bassline, machine-gun flow and a chorus that could be easily mistaken for a '90s kwaito hook, the song represents just how widespread the genre’s influence runs.
But kwaito was dead, wasn't it? How did we get here, and more importantly, where to now?
Kwaito is dead, long live kwaito
The cadence of Kid X's 2014 single Pass ne Special is definitely kwaito and, in some respects, so is the unhurried beat with its sparse drum work. Speaking of the influence of kwaito in a recent radio interview, Kid X said: “Trap isn’t ours. It’s popular now but that won’t last forever, that’s why [the recent] music has kwaito and house influences.”
He has a point. L Tido’s Thixo interpolates Groovers Prayer by Thebe. The video for Riky Rick’s Stay Shining draws its inspiration from TKZEE’s We Love This Place and Dlala Mapantsula. KO’s kwaito-infused Caracara was even the first South African YouTube video to reach over a million views.
In the same interview, Kid X went on to say: “Before I started rapping, I was a big fan of kwaito and house, so I wouldn’t want to box myself in and just call myself a rapper. I’m just a musician.” Which is maybe why, in 2018, no one refers to kwaito by… well, kwaito. Instead, they call it new-age kwaito, Durban kwaito, future kwaito and, in Kid X’s case, skhanda rap.
While the influence of the original sound is easy to spot, the genre boundaries are being blurred. Okmalumkoolkat has been reimagining the genre for the better part of a decade – long before it was fashionable to do so. Skhanda rap is just as much rap as it is kwaito, and kwaito’s distant cousin, Durban kwaito, is more house than it is kwaito.
Talking about these new genre classifications, Stiff Pap’s Ayeema Problem comes to a simple conclusion. “People can call us whatever they want, future-kwaito, gqom-trap or whatever. As long as they listen to the music, it’s cool.”
When kwaito went to Durban
“Never in my wildest dreams did I expect any of this to happen,” says Durban kwaito king DJ Tira. “It’s like if you ask the guys who started gqom, they’ll tell you they didn’t expect it to become what it currently is. The same goes for Durban kwaito. None of us had any idea.”
When he started Afrotainment in 2007, Tira had no grand plans to take Durban kwaito into the mainstream, but by speeding up the subdued nature of early kwaito, the fast-paced Durban sound connected with audiences immediately. Big Nuz’s Umlilo, a mix of piercing synths and repetitive lyrics, became a club anthem.
“I had no lofty ambitions [when I started Afrotainment],” continues Tira. “DJ Cndo and Big Nuz were among the first artists I signed. Cndo’s album went gold and Big Nuz... well, you know how that turned out.”
Tira struck kwaito gold again in 2014 with Duncan’s Tsiki Tsiki. The song sampled kwaito legend Mdu Masilela’s song of the same name, and eventually spawned a popular remix featuring AKA, Mampintsha and Professor. But Tira refuses to take the credit for the genre’s success.
“I don’t want to be framed as the guy who single-handedly created Durban kwaito," he says. "That’s not how it happened. It’s all down to the talent behind the mic. There are guys like Tzozo and Professor, Big Nuz, Lvovo, Cndo. The key to the genre’s success has been the artists’ hard work. All the guys I’ve mentioned basically live in the studio. I could call them at three in the morning and they’re ready to record.”
Kwaito will never die
In late 2017, rapper Riky Rick tweeted that "kwaito will never die" to his 700,000-plus followers. It would appear that he was spot on, too. Just like GP Gangsta rapped on 2009's iKwaito Lifile: “They say kwaito is dead? Never! Kwaito’s from the hood".
Rick speaks the truth. The bucket hats and American workwear worn by kwaito's original disciples might be gone, replaced by high-top sneakers, knee-high socks and vests, but kwaito is alive and kicking.
Just ask Kid X. In early 2018, after dropping his hit single Aunty, he proudly declared: “I’m a kwaito artist.” No suffixes, no caveats. Just plain old kwaito. It looks like it's here to stay, after all.