Boom Shaka - Group History

Group History

South African music producer, Don Laka set up his own record label in order to evolve the South African music scene beyond the genre of Bubblegum. He then put together a group, containing a DJ, Junior Sokhela, Theo Nhlengethwa, and Prophets of Da City. By manufacturing this group, an early version of Boom Shaka, Don Laka helped form the genre of kwaito.

Boom Shaka's leader, Junior Dread, was heavily influenced by Jamaican music through his uncle, who would play Jamaican music loudly and refuse to listen to anything else. In her article, "Mapping of Black Atlantic Performance Geographies: From Slave Ship to Ghetto," Stanley-Niaah draws parallels between Kwaito, pioneered by Boom Shaka, and Jamaican dancehall, stating the similarities are "political, musical, social, and cultural."

Boom Shaka, being the first kwaito group and with the nature of the music they created, was able to unleash amongst young black consumers an explosive desire to disengage from the long years of oppression and political protest of the apartheid era. With the seemingly apolitical nature of their music, it allowed the black youth of South Africa to no longer feel restrained by the need to comment on racial injustice and political freedom because the apartheid was over, and they no longer needed or wanted to.

As the first kwaito group, Boom Shaka contributed greatly to the early trends within this musical style. Part of kwaito’s appeal comes from its unique dance moves which were popularized by Boom Shaka. This group created dance moves such as “Chop di grass,” a dance which was designed to honor the men who cut grass while highways are bein constructed. Boom Shaka traces kwaito’s dance style back to traditional African dancing, specifically from the Kwasa Kwasa, an urban dance from in Zaire. This dance style has been seen as controversial and over sexualized by some, but it is undoubtedly a large part of kwaito’s success.

After Boom Shaka left their record label in 1998, the kwaito-oriented Kalawa Records because of controversy surrounding the creative ownership of material and disputes over their record royalties, the group sought a new recording contract that would invest in their vision and work to promote them internationally. When they could not find what they were looking for, they decided to do it themselves and signed only a one-album, 12-month publishing deal with PolyGram Records and hired their own management. In the process they have emerged as the only South African musicians outside of the country's biggest-selling artist, gospel star Rebecca Malope, to own 75% of their master recordings and 100% copyright on their new material. Boom Shaka was again ground-breaking and set a precedent in an industry that was known for taking unfair advantage of their recording artists.

Although Boom Shaka was seen as apolitical in comparison to music of the apartheid era, they were still able to stir controversy in other ways. In 1997, the group caused controversy by creating and performing a kwaito version of the South African national anthem Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika at the South African Music Awards. Some viewed this as a prostitution of African culture for commercial purposes but the group saw it in a different way:

It's a little bit of a misunderstanding. We're not dissing anything, this is our own version; one for the young people," said band leader Junior this week. "Our parents know the lyrics to that song, but a lot of kids don't, even though they stand at school and hear it sung every morning. Young people's reaction to our version of the song has been incredible, they love it. And this way they'll learn the lyrics too.

In addition, Lebo Mathosa’s dance routine and revealing short skirts caused often controversy and offended many who were shocked that a teenager could be so daring.

Despite their success, the group broke up after one of their lead singers, Lebo Mathosa decided to start her own solo career in 2000. She achieved great success until she was killed in a car accident in 2006 at the age of 29.