Cut from the same cloth

Are Kwaito music and Hardcore Punk really polar opposites? Or are they just magnets of the same pole forcing each other to repel? Think about it...take Kwaito for instance. Kwaito rose from the ashes of social change. It was the voice of a post-apartheid generation. A generation that influenced culture, fashion, speech and South African attitudes in a way that the West would never understand! Kwaito lyrics are hard-hitting and often rock the boat, in fact they tip the boat and slash the life jackets! These artists deal with social and political issues that are decaying our society. Seeing any similarities between Kwaito and Hardcore Punk yet? Okay, let’s continue. Kwaito is a form of escape for many. ‘A cupboard to Narnia’ if you will, where expression is the word of the day and freedom of speech comes with the territory. The style is defined by its drum and bass beat as well as the spoken, almost ‘shouted’ vocal melodies, generally sung in one of the native African languages. In many ways it’s our cultural counterpart to the generations of screaming parents echoing, “Turn that rubbish down!” Finally, to tie up the common thread running through the two genre's of Kwaito and Hardcore Punk, 'kwaai' in afrikaans directly translated means angry! You must see that these genres are branches of the same tree? Can you see the leaves that they share at least?