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?
