The fresh scent of freedom still hung in the air. The echoes of the guttural Imilonji KaNtu Choral Society singing uMandela usilethel’ubungcono (Mandela has made things easy) still reverberated in many corners of the land.
The new national anthem was a tongue twister, especially the Afrikaans part (it still is for many others), as the national reconciliation and unity project got off the ground. The days of Mandela magic and the neon bright rainbow nation colours in all its glory dazzled the world.
How it was that a nation just a few years earlier was tearing itself apart fighting the monster called apartheid had reached a negotiated settlement without descending into a ful- scale civil war as has been the case in most African transitions to democracy? We dodged the bullet of the third force that was linked to political murders and skirmishes that claimed dozens of lives notoriously in Katlehong and Thokoza on the blood-stained Khumalo street.
The country was a darling of the world and in our international travels we proudly brandished our passports as curious customs officials and locals asked: ‘Ah, you’re from South Africa? Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Lucky Dube, Miriam Makeba, Desmond Tutu, Bafana Bafana...’ and flashed a welcome smile.
The air was thick with promise as the world marvelled at the magic of SA. The glow from the celebrations of the watershed 1994 general elections was the kind no money could buy. Lucky Dube’s anthemic Different Colours, One Nation galvanised a people ready to build from the ruins and devastation of hate, oppression and privilege for a select few.
It was as if the horses had bolted from the stables in the entertainment front with the mushrooming of new bands, new dance styles, sounds, fashion and independent music labels. Everybody expressed themselves, pushed boundaries and challenged the status quo.
The Boom Shaka girls, Lebo Mathosa and Thembi Seete, gyrating wildly to It’s About Time left many blushing and set many more teenage hormones raging. They, together with bandmates Theo Nhlengethwa and Junior, claimed their time and freed young black boys and girls from townships, villages and farms of SA to seize the day and make their presence felt, for it was about time.
Their court controversy when they took the national anthem, added a few thumping beats and breathed new life, resulting in a kwaito-fied version and an outrage ensued after they performed it at the South African Music Awards(Samas) of 1998 in skimpy outfits and signature wild gyrating. Sacrilege. They were accused of being disrespectful of this sacred hymn composed by Enoch Sontonga born out of a need to pray for Africa as it faced the challenges of colonialism and foreign invasion.
The fiery Lebo Mathosa with her colourful contact lenses already showed signs of the "next big thing". There was excitement, if not obsession, about her in the media, but in reality the shy young woman from Daveyton on the East Rand guarded her life. Thembi Seete was always the sweet dimpled rapper who later in life transitioned from music to carve a successful acting career.
The flag bearers of the kwaito movement out of Soweto were out in full force. Arthur Mafokate’s Kaffir disrupted the "relatively peaceful transition of the rainbow nation" narrative when he brought to the surface the lived experiences of black people in the urban centres, villages and farms of SA who were still called by the abhorrent K-word.
It was a reminder that the reconciliation everybody preached was nothing but a band-aid while the wound festered underneath. There were forces of white supremacy that sought to sabotage the nation- building exercise. Mafokate, whose claim to fame was as Mr Soweto at some point, ventured into business with the launch of his label 999Music, which became the cradle for the careers of stars like Abashante, Queen Sesoko, Zombo and Lira.
Mdu Masilela was another voice from Soweto that added to the burgeoning kwaito repertoire. His was a different flavour with releases like Ipompe, Tsiki Tsiki, Y U 4 Me and Is Fokol Is Niks. While he shied away from controversial lyrics, he ensured that the party scene was never short of hits. He worked with Mashamplani, a four-piece boy band that also delivered some memorable hits such as Ratlala and Bangiphethe.
Kalawa Jazmee Records, one of the biggest hit factories in the country, also opened their doors and a deluge of musicians was unleashed. Bongo Maffin, Boom Shaka, Brothers of Peace and Mafikizolo revived the power of the 70s super-groups. The sound was hip and cool and provided a blueprint for today’s gqom and amapiano bands. Bangers like Thathisighubu, Makeba, Sigiya Ngengoma, Traffic Cop, Manyonyoba, O Kae Molao and Thati Mpahlayakho defined an era. They burst with energy and put kwaito and dance on a path to greatness.
Thebe is worth a mention with albums such as Tempy Life, Top Dawg and The Vibe Continues and hit singles Philly, Ungawa Kum, Bhek'Indaba Zakho.
After being in the doldrums and struggling to find back her groove, Brenda Fassie reloaded and made one of history’s most memorable comebacks with a wedding song. Vulindlela became another lease of life after some dark episodes in her life. The song went on to break records as the old favourite resurfaced and reminded all who is boss.
MarcAlex, a duo of Rantseli brothers from Soweto, was the personification of hip and cool. With their S-curls, striped shirts and dazzling smiles they infused a new energy in the industry with their brand of pop music. The song Quick Quick, released in 1989, became a crossover hit that cemented their place in the pop songbook of SA. They were played with the same fervour on 5FM as they were on Metro FM. More fun came with tracks like Boys Be Boys, Treat U Right and the smouldering ballad My Live, My Love, My Everything.
A Cape Town vocalist named Vicky Sampson belted a song titled My African Dream. It was inspiring, rousing and easy to sing along to. In no time the song became an anthem that would galvanise the cause of the Pan-African agenda. The song became a must-play at government and corporate functions.
Another independent recording stable that contributed to the youth expression was Ghetto Ruff headed by the charismatic Lance Stehr. The Cape Town group Prophets of the City was their biggest attraction and international export famous for the hit Excellent Black President, until the likes of Ishmael, Skeem, Ashaan, Oda Meesta and Amu came on the scene. Skeem's Waar Was Jy deserves a national monument as the song that paid tribute to local music as a throwback to the past and it got so big that it entered the everyday lexicon. Today, Waar was jy? is a conversation starter.
Ishmael was effectively the midwife who ushered in the year 2000 with the celebratory song Unity (The New Millennium) easing our fears of the Y2K phenomenon that seemingly threatened to cripple the systems of the world. The following year he got us twisting our hips and waistlines to the fun Roba Letheka and calmed us down with the soothing gospel tune Avulekile Amasango.
Bula Music played their part in the gospel scene releasing Lundi Tyamara, Kholeka, Sfiso and Veliswa.
Elsewhere, exhausted with the American twang that dominated local hip hop, the Motswako sound started taking root. The clarion call was 'Ga se mo States mo' (This is not the United States) in an attempt to be more authentic to the African experience. A group of young men in Mafikeng thought it fashionable to rap in Setswana and that caught fire.
Crowded Crew, a group of four, invented their own township lingo mixed with Setswana on songs like Inna Di Placa while HHP ventured out as the rapper who sings Pantsula in Setswana. In later years came Morafe, famous for The Whole Thang. These efforts gave the industry big names like KB Motsilanyane, Khuli Chana and Towdee Mac who are still making great music.
Along with the intensity and passion of the 1995 Rugby World Cup was the rousing soundtrack of the rendition of World in Union by PJ Powers and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was the turn of TKZee in 1998 to rally the nation around Bafana Bafana’s efforts at the France soccer World Cup with Shibobo featuring Benny McCarthy.
With such booming talent in the 90s, the music industry gathered at the Alberton Civic Centre in 1995 for the first-ever SA Music Awards (SAMA). The awards didn't immediately embrace the new kwaito sound. It had been criticised for having one-line lyrical content.
The winners came from jazz and white pop genres. The SAMA brand grew exponentially over the years, attracting corporate sponsorship and with the industry buy-in became a red carpet weekend extravaganza at Sun City that it had become known for before the Covid-19 pandemic. While at the Superbowl of the Sun City, the tour-de-force that is TKZee would make history, walking away with four trophies in one night.
The clarion call was 'Ga se mo States mo' (This is not the United States) in an attempt to be more authentic to the African experience.
They lived fast, partied hard and were enormously talented. The three-piece boy band of Tokollo Tshabalala, Kabelo Mabalane and Zwai Bala made the coolest kwaito music they even named it Guz subgenre. They were smart, St. Stithians-educated young men who spoke English through the nose, and Bala was from the prestigious Drakensberg Boys Choir.
From their first single Palafala, it was clear that the trio was cut from a different cloth. Hits like Dlala Mapantsula and We Love This Place are some of their finest compositions that show off their sophistication and finesse. There was something crispy fresh about them. A flavour unknown. They seemed to attract controversy at every turn. If it wasn’t rumours of drug abuse, it was a deadly high speed car chase in Botswana that claimed the life of a Motswana woman.
The group expanded with the introduction of TKZee Family and recorded some of the most controversial songs, some like Izinja Zam attacking the media and others like Mr & Mrs Fake too provocative as they took cheap shots at a kwaito power couple, but the delightfully riotous Fiasco made up for all the tension and awkwardness.
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