SKOMLINE - KWALANGA

Retail Capital Langa Run for Freedom; it’s game on!

By THANDISIZWE MGUDLWA

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April 26, 2022

Retail Capital Langa Run

CAPE TOWN: More than 1600 runners from Athletic Cubs across the Cape Town and surrounds, traffic cops, SAPS, patrol safety, media, sponsors, residents lining the streets and cheering runners on and much more will form part of the festivities in the first ever ‘Retail Capital Langa Run for Freedom’.

Hosted by the Langa Athletics Club, the event will kick off at the Langa Sports Stadium in Bitterhout Avenue at 7.15am, on Wednesday, April 27.

In South Africa this day is known as Freedom Day, after the first democratic elections took place in the country on April 27 in 1994.

The running route will pass some of the township’s landmarks, such as late South African Pop Queen Brenda Fassie’s home on Makana Circle.

Langa is the oldest surburb in Cape Town established in the 1920s and community has produced many internationally acclaimed sports athletes, artists and other professionals.

The Langa Athletics Club was establieshed in 2015 with the aim to support and encourage participation in youth development programmes.

The club focuses on athletics and promoting and encouraging a healthy lifestyle in Langa and surrounding areas.

Aubrey Isaacs, Race organiser and chairperson of the Langa Athletics Club, said the race was going to be a one of a kind experience.

“The idea behind this event is to bring together runners from across the city in the spirit of peace and togetherness, to celebrate Freedom Day and all that it represents,” he said.

Isaacs added: “We encourage runners to bring along friends and families to support them and to soak up the township vibe on the day. We know that, for many, this will be their first township experience and we hope it will be the first of many.”

Isaacs, who was instrumental in establishing the Langa Athletics Club, said the event was a dream come true.

“We started the club with 20 members, and over the years we have grown it to 350 members, some of whom reside in Langa and others in nearby suburbs like Bonteheuwel and Hanover Park.”

The race is open to runners of all fitness levels and includes a 10km run for participating clubs and professional athletes.

In addition, there will be a 6km option for non-professional runners who want to test their fitness and soak up the township experience.

Isaacs believes the timing is right to launch the Run for Freedom.

“Many people don’t know that sport and fitness are big in this township. We have open-air gyms popping up everywhere recently,” noted Isaacs.

Isaacs further remarked: “From an administration and organisational perspective, the club is ready.

“We are working closely with the traffic department and have roped in our local community policing forum to safeguard the route. We intend to establish it as Langa’s flagship running event.”

Entrants can register to participate on https://entryninja.co.za until Monday or at the venue on race day from 5am to 7am.

Entry fees range from R50 to R120 for the 10km run and from R20 to R30 for the 6km run.

The proceeds from the event will be invested back into the athletics club.

So if you are not yet sure of a way to spend the Freedom Day public holiday, then you should be making your way to Langa and be part of making history.

OLDEST KASI IN CAPE TOWN RISING HIGHER!

Langa shows South Africa how to make a difference in our most vulnerable communities

By THANDISIZWE MGUDLWA

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April 29, 2022

South Africa

CAPE TOWN: iKhaya Le Langa uses people, planet, profit (PPP) principles and sustainable business tourism to regenerate the region.

As a host city to YPO EDGE, Cape Town, South Africa, was the recipient of much of this generosity, some of it in the form of a donation to iKhaya Le Langa, a movement to sustainably uplift Cape Town’s oldest township, which is Langa.

In recent years, Langa had undergone a considerable revival, in particular, the Langa Quarter which hosted 13 streets, 500 homes and 7000 people.

Now, it is a hub of cultural activity, jazz, street art, dance, and a top-rated place to stay for tourists and locals alike. The Langa Quarter is one of SA’s foremost success stories so far, forming part of the greater iKhaya Le Langa (the house of sun) not-for-profit (NPO), which aims to revitalise the region as a social enterprise precinct and cleaner, greener, safer area of the township.

The NPO has accomplished much to date, showing how powerful community-NPO partnerships can be.

Founded by Tony Elvin, of Tony Elvin Associates SA , iKhaya Le Langa uses people, planet, profit (PPP) principles and sustainable business tourism to regenerate region, with the ambition to create a multi-racial social destination.

The most recent development for the NPO is InSTED: The Institute for Sustainable Township Enterprise Development.

This initiative will operate from converted containers donated by YPO, following the recent YPO EDGE.

At the 2019 YPO EDGE Anthony Ginsberg, Managing Director of GinsGlobal Index Fund and Chairman of YPO Financial Services Network, said a common trait of leaders, which is evident in the 2019 Global Leadership survey conducted by YPO (‪YPO.org) among the CEOs, is a strong desire to give back and positively impact society.

Each year, business leaders from around the world gather for the YPO EDGE, the organisation’s premier visionary showcase of thought leadership and innovation.

For two days, members, convene with world-renowned thought leaders to address key issues in business, politics, science, technology, philanthropy and the humanities. The event, hosted on a different continent each year, offers exceptional educational opportunities for attendees while helping the global leaders of today shape the world of tomorrow.

Paul Berman, Host City Chair of YPO EDGE says, “Collaborating with Tony on the INSTED project is a way to sustainably entrench the inspiration, hope and energy of YPO EDGE in a way that will bring lasting benefits to the community of Langa and South Africa as a whole. We believe that as a research and development facility, InSTED will promote the partnerships and insights that could create real solutions to the deep problems perpetuating from poverty. Langa Quarter is an excellent example of how much can be achieved when we all work together.”

InSTED will be an important way to communicate and implement all the NPO’s learnings from the last ten years, including: developing Langa Quarter into a prototype Social Enterprise Precinct through: proactively zoning homes for hospitality; organizing the Langa Quarter neighbourhood watch for a cleaner, greener, safer area; running the Ambassador Program, which assists community members with job readiness and personal development, to help divert unemployed youth away from gangs, into full-time training and community-building activities.

Other focus areas include: Continuing Community-based Tourism (CBT) Innovation by: developing the Langa Quarter Homestay Hotel, which is a 40-bed ‘homestay’ hotel consisting of 18 homes, with Airbnb endorsement for accelerated growth; and running the Inter Community Tourism Agency, which advocates for tourism in a township, not township tourism.

Additionally, InSTED will house the Academic Partnership Centre, as a resource centre for interns, researchers and students, and it will become a tech innovation hub, supporting Project UBU, which looks at digital currency opportunities; YeboFresh, which assists with low-cost township home food delivery; Micro Investing, which seeks opportunities to use blockchain as a way to invest in Africa; and Quantum Economics, which applies quantum physics principles to
economics.

The take out from this success story is that South African townships have all the potential to become social enterprise precinct hubs of industry and activity. This requires strong private-public partnerships, with continued community buy-in.

Elvin says, “The tipping-point principle applies here. If we can create cleaner, greener, safer neighbourhoods, with vibrant art and music that celebrates the history and culture of our communities, we can catalyse ongoing job creation through sustained tourism. Partnering with Airbnb has helped bring credibility to accelerate the growth of our Homestay Hotel. Working with community ambassadors has been critical to making Langa safer. Joining forces with the Inter Community Tourism Agency has been essential to making sure tourism is ‘done’ respectfully and sustainably.”

And the big lesson is that, it is going to take all of us collectively joining hands to really make a sustainable difference to our country and its most vulnerable communities.

EZIKO POWER

Eziko empowers jobless by teaching them how to take heat in the kitchen

Sbongiseni Tshazi and Sandile Sayedwa enjoy a drink at Eziko Restaurant in Langa. | HANNES THIART

Published Oct 5, 2021

Written by

Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

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It has a training arm where even non-matriculants can learn to become top chefs

CAPE TOWN - Eziko restaurant, one of the Cape’s top eateries, showcases Africa’s offerings to the world including home cooked traditional food.

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This 80 seater facility offers a wide variety of traditional African food as well as Western cuisine.

Located in the heart of Langa Township just 15km from the centre of Cape Town, Eziko also prides itself for its educational and training arm, the Eziko Cooking and Catering School.

The school was established in 1996 by former Langa High School teacher and resident, Victor Mguqulwa.

This entrepreneur’s on a mission to address the high unemployment rate blighting township communities, which according to Mguqulwa, cannot be solved by formal education alone.

Mguqulwa says a community can only develop if its people start taking responsibility for their problems and their future.

He attests to the approach that you must, 'teach people how to fish rather than catch the fish for them'.

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And so Eziko school is dedicated to providing people with life and career-oriented skills in cooking and catering, and to “empower” them to find employment so they can provide for themselves and their families.

Students are taught in a spacious room with tables and chairs for theory, and a kitchen for practicals. Eziko has produced many accomplished chefs over the years, one of them being Ntlalo Jordan, the chef and owner of Jordan Ways of Cooking in Langa.

Students are carefully selected and begin their training at the Eziko Cooking and Catering Training Centre where they gain some basic experience in the Eziko Restaurant.

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They are then placed in one of Eziko’s sponsoring catering establishments for an intensive 6-month programme.

The business's motto of 'come share the taste of Africa! - Eziko Restaurant', has proven to be a testament to its ability to offer best in African cuisine.

Eziko has won numerous awards and one of the highlights of this 25 year old institution, was when former president Nelson Mandela gave Eziko a certificate of appreciation in 2000. It is an accolade that rightfully holds pride of place for the restaurant.

Jordan speaks highly of the experience he gained after his training at Eziko, and how it enabled him to open his own restaurant. “I did my three-months internship at Cape Town International Convention Centre. After that, I have worked in different places gaining experience. I even went as far as Liberia in 2018. And on my return, I decided to open my own restaurant.”

Eziko doesn't require its students to have passed matric, as many children from the townships drop out of high school for various reasons.

This is rooted in the belief that: “Not having matric does not mean someone cannot pursue his or her desired career. That is why we don’t focus on academic results. And besides, not everybody can be an academic. That is why there are vocational studies like a chef.”

“We are happy to be here, we are here to compete, to win,” says Eziko Cooking and Catering Training Centre director, Eugene Roxo.

Cape Times

A LEGACY

Iconic Timmy Kwebulana, A legacy shaping African film 

 

By News Ghana

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January 21, 2022

-THANDISIZWE MGUDLWA

Timmy Kwebulana continues to shape the African world of entertainment.

Born in Cape Town in 1941, “Bra Timmy” became involved in theatre and film as a result of his early passion for music.

After touring and recording with Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) in 1977, he was hired as an actor by the Space Theatre.

Bra Timmy, who hails from Langa, Cape Town, worked also with legendary South African writer, playwright and director Barney Simon, at the Market Theatre in the 1980s.

Bra Timmy started acting in The Question.

In 1975, Bra Timmy went to London with the musical KwaZulu where they showcased African culture in its best form.

Bra Timmy performed in Zakes Mda’s plays Dead End, We Shall Sing for the Fatherland and Holy Moses and All That Jazz at the Market Theatre.

He also did The Mighty Gents and Call Me Woman. Earlier in the 1970s, Bra Timmy had worked for The Space, performing in Lysistrata S.A., A Flea in her Ear, Nongogo, Patty Hearst and Three Courteline Comedies.

He went on to work with Barney Simon at the Market Theatre in the 1980s, helping to create and performing in Born in the RSA (1985).

Bra Timmy appeared in the Little Theatre’s production of Somewhere on the Border in 1987.

His film and TV experience includes The First Time Settlers, Drome van Gruis, Westgate II, 1922 and Nag van Vrees.

Bra Timmy has appeared in Kwasindwezama, Abakwazidenge, Ingqumbo Yeminyanya, Unyana Womntu, Uthando Lwethu, Shooting Stars, Forced Love and Isikizi among others.

And From 2007 to 2010, he portrayed Bra Vic Tau, the founder of Shooting Stars F.C., on the e.tv drama series Shooting Stars.

Bra Timmy also appeared as a guest star in an episode of Mzansi Magic’s Chandies in 2012.

The Namibian newspaper in its March 12, 1999 article Seen On The Pot Of Kin, says of Bra Timmy, “HIS contrite expression has become a household phenomenon on Namibian television as the shebeen owner serving a local beer to Namibian sporting heroes, Harry Simon and Elifas Shivute.

He is none other than the South African veteran actor, Timmy Kwebulana, currently on location with the cast of Kin. This is the Cape Town-based actor’s fourth visit to the country, which he considered as his adopted land.

Timmy is playing the supporting role of a straight policeman, Nangola who protects the wildlife in the north of Namibia against poachers. The only thing which bothers him at the moment is the grueling sun in the Namib desert.

Previous visits to Namibia include acting in movies that were shot all over the country to as far as Grootfontein. These movies are; “On the Road”, “Red Elephant” and “Heart of the Matter.”

Kwebulana admits that the stage is his preference because he started off his rich and varied career as a stage actor in Johannesburg. His first big break came when he got a part in the hit-play, “Meropa” from the pen of Louis Burke and Joan Brickhill. The play became a cult and was staged for eight months at the Tricycle Theatre in London. From there is was taken to the world famous theatre festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was the actor’s first overseas visit.

The film was written by Elaine Procter from London and is produced by Bard Entertainment from the UK.

At a time when stage work was very scarce for most Black actors, television was introduced in South Africa. Suddenly opportunities blossomed. Like many other struggling actors at the time, Kwebulana auditioned and got his first part on the black box in the series, “Back to Back”. This new found career rocketed him to fame in other television series, sitcoms and dramas such as “Seventh Street,” dealing with the fashion world and “Double Shift” in which he played a defense lawyer to a man who killed his wife.

Timmy also did radio and television commercials for the South African and Namibian markets and played cameo parts in the many international movies that were shot in Johannesburg. His first big movie part was in the original King Solomon’s Mines, not the revised one with Richard Chamberlain in it, he is quick to add.’

Due to the ever rising crime-rate in Johannesburg, the legendary actor and father of four children, packed up and permanently moved to Cape Town. He also runs a theatre company and on his return from Namibia he is organising an international theatre festival for community groups from all over Africa,” reported The Namibian.

In the sitcom Scoop Schoombie, Kwebulana played TJ Mthembu, The Bystander’s spineless, golf-addicted editor who represents the greatest of white fears: that there is an emergent, black manager-class of office buskers who would rather be outside playing sport than inside doing work.

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Phandulwazi advances Collaborative Learning & Development for people to “Reach Their Dreams” Revamp and relaunch marked for 2023

• Ndokwa Reporters
• 30 November 2022
• Education, News, World News

By Thandisizwe MGUDLWA

CAPE TOWN/South Africa: Phandulwazi Educational & Development Centre in Langa, Cape Town is mobilising stakeholders to to advance Collabarative Learning & Development.

According to Phandulwazi, Collaborative Learning will foster collaborative planning and development.

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Since its inception in 1988, Phandulwazi Educational & Development Center has given birth to Ulwazi Youth Centre, Phandulwazi Educare Centre and another branch in Mthatha, Eastern Cape province among other developments.

At its inception, the founder Zora Mehlomakulu was driven by a desire to see people reach their full potential in life.

Previously called Phandulwazi Workers Skills Development Project, the organisation is situated on 13 Johnson Ngwevela Street in Langa (ZONE 5 (opposite Zone 16) Cape Town, South Africa.

The Phandulwazi (Searching for Knowledge) concept, which is a skills’ development and multipurpose centre, is really based on promoting Collaborative Learning & Development through partnerships and cooperation with mostly like minded groups.

The sharing of information, resources and ideas greatly influences the Collaborative Learning & Development model.

Phandulwazi (Searching for Knowledge) exists to develop, nurture and train people, youth and children, families, enterprises to become economically self reliant, to build communities and impart to others, skills, knowledge, information, resources and a user friendly networking nerve group for the intellectual, spiritual, emotional and socio-economic development of all people, so that we can all live happy, healthy, fulfilling, prosperous lives and achieve our full potential in this great life.

Phandulwazi has been addressing challenges like unemployment, skills shortages, crime, underdevelopment, poverty among other societal ills plainly due to the partnerships in has forged over the years.

This has been done with the collaboration and cooperation with stakeholders & shareholders including government departments to bring about a peaceful and prosperous society. Some of the independent groups Phandulwazi has worked with over the years include Ikamva Labantu a charitable Trust that has helped millions of people across South Africa. Ikamva promotes sustainable socio-economic change in the most vulnerable communities.

Another group,Ilitha Labantu provides services for women and children affect by violence in South Africa.

Some of the milestones for Phandulwazi include “kulula.com plants 1 250 trees in Western Cape in celebration of Youth Day” in 2011; 67 minutes spent with children by the Early Learning Resource Unit (Elru) in 2016; Reach Your Dream programme; Afternoon classes for bead making; Lungelo Health Care Centre Community Development and many other programmes.

The 34 year old organisation has been looking at a number of projects, programmes and campaigns in addressing the challenges we face in our country; and especially Cape Town with the special focus being on the under-served communities, these are clearly areas that suffer the most from everyday hardships of urban & rural lifestyle due to historical and current imbalances.

For example, over the years we have positively impacted, equipped and empowered more than 1000 people through multiple programmes with our partners on various artisan skills, business and entrepreneurship programmmes to mention but a few. And our work has resulted in the creation of jobs.

The organization was born out of a need at a time when there was unemployment and generally a skills crisis, which by the way still confronts the country.

The organization further targets different organs of society including the media, civil society, business, labour and governments to promote collaboration and communication on issues affecting various sectors and to further lobby for the government’s support in promoting the interest of stakeholders and attending to the needs of the communities accordingly.

Phandulwazi media blogs further express and reflect the work, vision and mission of the organisation with a viewership of more than 400 000. The blogs are Africa Biz (http://africa-biz.blogspot.co.za); The African Recorder (http://theafricanrecorder.blogspot.co.za); Choose n Grow (https://choosengrow.blogspot.com); & TM Publishers (https://tm-publishers.myshopify.com).

Phandulwazi is big on enterprise and skills development and the transfer of skills, information, knowledge and resources, promoting networking, participation & involvement and boosting of capacity building for the business and the private sector broadly.

As it is approaching its 35th Anniversary in 2023, moves are in place to revamp and relaunch this proud and glorious institution to be more relevant and in line with the modern challenges facing communities in South Africa and elsewhere.

On this front, we can list the Ikamva Youth Alumni | Facebook … 2022 organized by the Phandulwazi Educational & Development Centre in Langa, … “Support them on their journey to reach their academic potential.”

The current main operations are Outreach programmes including, children’s workshops by Encounters, youth groups, Afterschool programmes (Equal Education Foundation), and business workshops, to name a few.

Other organisations have a working relationship with Phandulwazi and community structures from youth & women groups, the elderly, etc.

The revamp of Phandulwazi includes the partnership Space Academy and Business Exploration Company (PTY) Ltd with a mission to provide research-focused interventions to bridge the performance gap, directed by legendary Pule Keswa.

Space Academy and Business Exploration Company (PTY) Ltd milestones include creating, implementing and evaluating a programme to establish and run a Youth organisation in Noupoort (Northern Cape); Preparing a tertiary directorate for a Strategy Review session ( UCT Human Resource Directorate); Setting up an organizational mechanism for 8 Cooperative working under Township Patterns and Conducting strategy planning workshops for Think Twice organisation.

These are serve to further support the Collaborative Learning & Development model.

Phandulwazi is one of the early enterprises in South Africa to be formed on the basis of the Black economic empowerment (BEE) programme.

On this front we call on investors, businesses, and industries to partner with groups like Phandulwazi for mutual benefit and to create jobs for locals while these enterprises stand to thrive, an example here is the retail giant, Boxer.

And community ownership should be around 49 – 51% agreement, subject to negotiations.

Phandulwazi’s association with Kwaito music, through our Kwaito Star programme is inspired by our love for the youth. We believe Kwaito has succeeded in reflecting the good, the bad and the untidy sides of South African ghetto life.

Kwaito is a weapon against the status quo. It also seeks to promote initiatives and entrepreneurship rather than depending on other people or the government for empowerment.

Kwaito has entertained and inspired millions of youths and elders in South Africa and abroad to seek to do good, be good and do better in life among its many achievements.

People and the youth especially, can now engage and empower themselves through our Kwaito Star app: https://soundcloud.com/discover

YouthsCareer.com which is, is another partner Phandulwazi is now working with to achieve our aims and objectives. YouthsCareer.com is an informative online portal, The portal hosts Job Opportunities, Scholarships, Internships, Volunteering and Tenders all in one place.

Rainbow Talent Agency has also joined in: https://www.rainbowtalent.co.za/.eduweb.africa has also come on board as another valuable future partner for Phandulwazi. eduweb.africa is the only comprehensive online platform to offer educational resources for parents, schools, students, school suppliers and teachers by creating a central informative digital space.

Phandulwazi is currently engaging with more possible partners.

Phandulwazi’s committee of Phandulwazi reaches out to the public as we love everybody.

We strongly believe that every human being matters, everybody has a story to tell and everybody must be supported to fulfil their God-given purposes.

That is why we encourage people, organisations, institutions, industries, and sectors to engage and interact with us through advice, suggestions, partnerships, donations, proposals, business plans etc, on how to rebuild our society for the benefit of everybody. You can connect with Phandulwazi through our page Phandulwazi KwaLanga on Facebook.

Thandisizwe Mgudlwa is the Director at Phandulwazi, an award-winning journalist, and bestselling author of the children’s book, Kiddies World. He holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship from the Regenesys Business School.

Multiple Award Winning Artist SeaBee is Kwaitofabulous

I Wanda Why Album Stills Motivates Millions Of People

• Ndokwa Reporters
• 6 November 2022
• Entertainment, News

Sibi Motloung

By Thandisizwe MGUDLWA

JOHANNESBURG/ South Africa: He’s debut album, I Wanda Why, in the early 1990s will go down as the hit that propelled Kwaito to become the global brand it has become. That’s the one and only, SeaBee. Real name, Sibi Motloung.

Be it at home, shebeens, taverns, radio stations, TV stations, taxi ranks, hostels, train stations, nightclubs, parties and other celebrations I Wanda Why has continued to receive overwhelming from the millions of people who are been touched by the South African classic.

The man some have proudly duped as ‘Sebokeng’s Finest’, turned the world of South African music around forever, especially the new music genre Kwaito, with that legendary and unforgettable album, I Wanda Why, album.

It has also been stated by others that the key to the album’s success what the magic touch of “Spokes H”, who composed, produced, and arranged all tracks.

The iconic album consisted of six songs: I Wanda Why, Stoppa, Slowdown, People’s Party, Thiba and the favorite for many people, Homeboy.

Till this day, I Wanda Why album stills motivates millions of people. Back then, while the political leaders were ‘scratching their heads as to what to provide the youth with, SeaBee, Spokes H, Chilly Bite and the rest of the Kwaito pioneers gave the Mzansi youth direction and leadership.

The success of Kwaito is proof that fact. Hitting the airwaves in South Africa in 1993 on the Mighty Good Sounds imprint, according to Rush Hour, “Sea Bee’s debut album was a hit in the earliest days of kwaito, the house-infused soundtrack of a newly democratic nation.While it may have been Sea Bee’s release, key to the album’s success was the magic touch of Spokes H, who composed, produced and arranged all the tracks. Sea Bee would soon disappear off the radar, while Spokes remained an influential and popular figure in SA until his untimely death in 2013.

The latest release on DJ Okapi’s Afrosynth Records removes two tracks from the original six-track album, keeping four of the choicest downtempo dancefloor bombs – ‘Home Boy’, ‘I Wanda Why’, ‘Thiba’ and ‘Stoppa – all heavy on the bass, with uplifting vocals and unique lyrics guaranteed to not let any discerning (or aspiring) DJ down – ever!”

The real story behind, I Wanda Why’s success is that it inspired a generation and others to follow about what is marvelous, fantastic and greatness that can come from the Ghettos.

Although it was originally released in 1993, I Wanda Why continues to be enjoyed by all and sundry in South Africa and elsewhere. Thank you to our legends. Kwaito Stars.

 

 

You are here

South Africa’s Kwaito Music: New Language Of The Youth

Thandisizwe Mgudlwa March 10,2022

 

Photo: Twitter

30 years on since Kwaito hit the streets of Soweto before spreading rapidly throughout South Africa, the music genre is sure to be the 'talk of town' for many years and decades to come.

Like all great and blossoming genres throughout history, the Kwaito industry would do well to welcome the wide variety of perspectives on its originality, its purpose or what it is about and the good, the bad and the untidy, learn and improve from these.

The Kwaito industry has been growing fast. Indeed Kwaito is becoming increasingly competitive.

Expert opinion is that the newfound freedom gave South African musicians easier access to international works and a greater ability to freely express themselves.

And as a result, Kwaito has also been known as the expression of this 'new freedom', and many anti-apartheid chants have been used as lyrics for Kwaito songs.

Kwaito has also been called the music that defines the generation who came of age after apartheid. Its pulsing dance beat evolved from styles such as mbaqanga and dancehall, as well as house and disco.

Schools in the townships were unable to fund programs such as music classes to enhance the learning experience of their students. As Kwaito did not require a formal knowledge of music theory, large spaces to rehearse, and expensive instruments, it was easily accessible to individuals in these downtrodden communities.

Moreover, Kwaito stars in South Africa are seen as celebrities who influence the culture, language, and economy of the nation in ways that were impossible during the years of governmentally imposed segregation.

TS, Ghetto Ruff, Kalawa Jazmee, and Bulldogs are the main recording companies that have discovered Kwaito musicians.

Jam Alley was a South African talent show that has been a venue for many young Kwaito artists like Mandoza, Mzambiya, and Zola, as well as other pop stars. Some Kwaito artists have even transcended a musical career. Zola, for instance, hosted a talk show called Zola 7 on SABC1.

Interestingly to know, is that the commonalities between dancehall and Kwaito are in fact rooted in a deeper relationship between South Africa and Jamaican music.

African Reggae artists like Côte d'Ivoire's Alpha Blondy and South Africa's own Lucky Dube were popular throughout the continent during apartheid.

And Alpha helped shed a negative light on the oppressive regime when he compared apartheid to Nazism.

Many currently renowned Kwaito musicians grew up listening to Jamaican music, and Stoan, a member of Bongo Maffin, explained in an interview just how necessary an outlet this kind of music was: the representations of Black people imported into the country during apartheid were singularly negative ones, and Jamaican music was one of the few imported forms that celebrated Blackness and gave ghettoized Black youth in South Africa something to embrace and identify with.

As he describes it, "If we had to look at any other example of Black people off the continent who have found their essence, it's Jamaicans. For us, for South Africans after the curtain was lifted, after we could see other things besides what was presented to us on television which was Blacksploitation movies and stuff like that, buffoons, you know the picture of us. Any other picture of a successful Blackman was him behaving like a caricature of himself. Jamaicans brought another element to a picture we had of us as an out of body experience. Yeah, so I think you'll find that a lot of people, you know, have been touched by the culture, in South Africa, within 10 years."

It is also important to incorporate the attitude that Kwaito musicians have. Many critics have a very biased and Western point of view on the genre. Kwaito rose from a ghetto culture, and most critics always look at Kwaito in a cultural-studies context rather than looking at the ethnomusicology side.

What makes Kwaito stick out is the fact that the music is always associated with a cultural context that brings out some extra meanings and messages. Furthermore, Kwaito is considered by some critics as aggressive township music.

In South Africa, some Kwaito music producers say that the genre is comparable to hip hop; it is only comparable because it has become more than just a genre of music but rather a movement in which people can create their own identities with their own values.

As Thokozani Mhlambi states in his article Kwaitofabulous, "In Kwaito music, the emphasis lies not in the poetic essence of the lyrics but rather in the instrumental arrangement and the 'danceability' of the composition. Therefore I disagree with writers such as Maria McCloy, the author of ‘'Kwaito: Its history and where it’s at now, who criticize Kwaito, claiming that very little time and effort is put into Kwaito production.... This criticism overlooks the music’s multiple social contexts such as parties, street bashes, and clubs. These are social venues where people are more in pursuit of leisure than engaging in intellectual discourse."

Not only does Kwaito resist a sense of Western based oppression by remaining apolitical, but it also resists trends and Western influence in and of itself via mode of production. Kwaito, as Mhlambi affirms, has remained the music of its people, which is the music of the South African youth after the struggle who wish to pursue rest and relaxation as opposed to dwelling on the past. The term Kwaito is a clear sign that oppression is not something to be, or that will be forgotten. The danceability and poetry inherent to Kwaito, however, shows a reversion to better times—to cultural integrity.

Through kwaito music, artists and youths collaborate to create, through music and dance, a realm where the struggle does not exist.