African Hip Hop - South Africa

South Africa

Although the history of hip hop in Cape Town can be tracked back to the early 1980s, cultural exchange between the Black United States, the West Indies, and Black South Africa was widespread since the 19th century. Black South African artists were influenced by minstrelsy and swing to bebop and beyond, which was partly in response to British imperialism. The political history of Africa plays a predominant role in South African music. In the late 19th century gold was discovered in Johannesburg, and people from different tribes began to migrate to the Johannesburg area. As a result of the rich diversity of various South African tribes, traditional music of South Africa mixed with European music led to the development of a different sound. The musical and social movement of hip hop in South Africa has grown exponentially in the last two decades, most notoriously in the form of home-grown Kwaito, which is actually a distinct musical genre in itself.

Much of hip hop and Kwaito in South Africa is derived from western beats and tunes mixed with localized rhythms and accents.

Lyrically, South African hip hop is largely reliant on the political landscape from which the country has only recently emerged. If the explicit mention of Apartheid is not offered, lyrics will often revolve around the residue of the political system; such as the prevalence of HIV and AIDS, violence in the major cities, and what it means to be South African.

On the other hand, Kwaito has been seen as more devoted to "positive imagery", taking listeners away from the harsher realities of township life, where it originated. Currently, South African hip hop is beginning to diverge and acquire its own musical style. As individual provinces are developing their own styles of hip hop.

As much as hip hop has grown in South Africa it is still in its infancy in terms of recognition and artists rarely sell well. Differences in styles and approaches to the art have led to the South African market being split into sectors, for example: Cape Town has long been termed South African hip hops birthground with its more politically charged and socially conscious artists.

Tracing its origins in South Africa, the youth embraced hip hop and its culture from the United States including its break dancing and graffiti aspects. These styles of expression were the predecessors to involvement in the music, due to the high cost and difficulty in finding music. Economic and political sanctions made finding American music extremely difficult. U.S. hip hop albums were seldom imported, but rather sent by relatives outside the country. The audience was not totally approving however. Many were not happy with the links US hip hop had to the "structures that were largely responsible for the devastating conditions in the Third World countries." The young people took hip hop and its anger, passion, and style in order to express themselves. They localized the music to express culture, frustration, and hope in order to tell their own stories. The older population used that anger and passion to pass messages against the occurring apartheid, and also to connect with the youth. The music was perfect for the time because it was able to take the language of the underprivileged, parade it, and make it attractive to the point where people took pride in their "style" of music.

Some South African hip hop artists include;Tuks Senganga, Die Antwoord, Ben Sharpa, Prophets of Da City, 2 and a Half Secondz, Zola, Pro Kid, Trusenz, Proverb, Cashless Society, Sake Of Skill(S.O.S), Mothipa, Last Days Fam, The Original BackpackerZ and RASHID. Afrolution are one of the pioneers of African Hip hop online and run African Hip Hop TV. One of South Africa's oldest hip hop portals AfricasGateway were instrumental in laying the foundations for South African hip hop culture to grow. Menzi Zama sings hardcore kwaito with more than a million fans across the world.