KWAICORE VOTE OF THANKS

Kgaugelo Mokgehle
Copywriter for The Kwaicore Revolution

Hello hello hello!

Just thought I should express my utmost gratitude to everyone who contributed to the movement of The Kwaicore Revolution over the past 4 weeks. Spending time submerging myself in the various pools of music, behind the scenes and otherwise, has given me a whole different perspective on what music really is, what it means to people and why.

I think I got so caught up in the hype of trends, that I had almost forgotten that there's passion behind the force that drives music. That is, the force comprising producers and artists I would never have discovered had it not been for this project. These are people who did not necessarily study music in the traditional sense, but who rather developed their talents on a DIY basis. Thembelani Gumede, Loyiso Ngcala, Ozias Macebele and Junior... all of whom were the most instrumental in the execution of this project, mainly with regard to the inception of Kwaicore.

In fact I must say I was pleasantly surprised by some of their own personally produced music- easily better than many House Music and Kwaito tracks I've heard in the longest time! Not only are they well informed and hella skilled on the subject, but they are exceptional because they play from a place within. They don't just know music but they feel it and know their way around it. Some artists argue that just like the seduction of dance, musicians need to make love to their music to fully exploit it's potential for greatness. Indeed, the Kwaicore Team has disclosed that it is that very approach that equips them with the skills required, to improvise in any situation that demands their expertise in urgency. Especially in terms of handling last minute stage performances.

So yeah guys, for me, this has definitely proven to be a worthwhile experience! If I've learned anything, it's that stepping out of your comfort zone teaches you some of the most unexpectedly inspiring lessons. To be quite honest I didn't think I'd be able to pull this off, but in a matter of 4 weeks I'd say I haven't done too shabby. The Kwaicore Revolution has extended to a larger audience than I had anticipated, so thanks to all of you I've achieved most of my objectives.

In case you haven't read my previous posts, Kwaicore is a fictitious music genre that I was supposed to make a reality. I had to create my own facts and arguments around various issues regarding the downfall of Kwaito, and the possibility of a collaboration with Hardcore Punk in order to revive it. It was neither an easy concept to initiate nor execute... at all! Especially considering my inexperience in blogging. So I really appreciate all the support, insight, comments and the interest taken in my blog. It was highly motivating, needless to say it was fun feeling like the Copywriter I want to be someday.

Thank you!
xx

KWAICORE: THE FINALE

Kwaicore artist, Thembelani
Gumede aka Goomza

The Revolution HAS Been Televised!!!!

Well, I did promise an attempt at combining Kwaito and Hardcore Punk so finally, the moment we've all been waiting for: a short documentary on baby Kwaicore's first step, not only in Goomza's studio but in the world!

Written and performed by Thembelani Gumede aka Goomza, the song is entitled Kwaicore. Have a look...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUMM9fG22PM

NOTE: The video clip consists of an interview, the making of Kwaicore and the actual song.

For Kwaicore, the song without the video clip, check out the free download on Media Fire.

http://www.mediafire.com/?likydiqh25ts10l

KWAICORE: MNTANESKOLO, THE SONG.

Hello everyone!

So here's a little secret: I've actually never tried blogging before this assignment... 

The man behind Kwaicore

I had been trying to find ways to upload some music from Thembelani (aka "Goomza") Gumede's  album, Mntaneskolo, so that you have a feel of his style, but to no avail. However this afternoon he came up with a solution to my problem through Media Fire. So if you'd like to have a listen to the very first Kwaito track in his music career, entitled Mntaneskolo, you are most welcome to visit the link for a free download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?qj15bwre3u0z4sq

and then TOMORROW...

We learn more about this very talented artist and music producer, when we start documenting Baby Kwaicore's first steps in his studio!! He's already come up with a few beats so there's an interesting start, but if you want to hear a BLACK man attempting KWAITO together with HARDCORE PUNK... be sure to look out for the next and final post:

KWAICORE: THE FINALE

THE YFM KWAITO DEBATE!!!!!

So a good friend of mine referred me to a show dedicated to Kwaito on Yfm this morning, which pretty much reiterated what I have highlighted in my first post:

http://thekwaicorerevolution.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-kwaicore-revolution.html

The radio station centered its discussion around the fact that the fall of Kwaito has become so much of a pressing issue, that people think Kwaito artists need to address it urgently. Failing which the genre will surely die out. Most artists have taken up residence in Hip Hop and House music, leaving no one to carry the culture of Kwaito and all that it represented.

By that I mean the symbolism behind Arthur Mafokate's hit single "Kaffir" which expressed the political liberation of Black people when Former President Nelson Mandela took office as the first democratically elected President of South Africa. Known as the King of Kwaito, Arthur Mafokate's contribution to the music industry in that regard became that of a very sentimental nature. Something that a fellow listener on Yfm attested to before going onto suggest that Black people have lost pride in their culture. They've gone onto idolizing other genres, leaving the roots of Black culture in their own backyards to malnourish while other genres thrive!

The King of Kwaito

Some people would even go as far as to say Black people have turned their backs on their culture (Kwaito) arguable as a result of shame, especially when considering the development of the White man and his success as an alleged result of past wealth. It is this constant reference to the past, coupled with insecurity that's had Black people believing that walking in the White man's shoes somehow guarantees them a more superior standing in the economy (which in this case is why they choose to produce music in English). That without the White man, the Black man amounts to nothing. Mind you, that these are the very people who claim to oppose oppression yet here they stand voluntarily subjecting themselves to the control of the White man.

Perhaps this should never have been about culture or race or any of that. Perhaps the Black man should leave the White man's shoes alone, stop imposing blame on young Black people or how they've neglected culture, and perhaps acknowledge that maybe Kwaito really just hasn't progressed because the respective artists have failed to be innovative in their fields of expertise. That... is nothing to be proud of. Just as Hip Hop has accommodated our various native languages, maybe Kwaito should also accommodate other non-Black languages i.e.with Hardcore Punk, in an attempt to revive itself while maintaining the spirit of a rainbow nation.

KWAICORE: KWAITO VS HARDCORE

From Kwaito to Kwaicore

A few weeks ago, there was no squeak of such a music genre (Kwaicore) and suddenly there's this outburst of Kwaicore EVERYWHERE... I mean jeepers it was even trending on freaking Twitter for Kwaicore's sake! So sure, I suppose some confusion is warranted on your part as to why everyone suddenly wants to khumbaya with Kwaito and Hardcore? Well...

Perhaps it's because THAT many people believe in Kwaicore as the new kid on the block and everyone wants a share in the returns when it becomes a success?
Perhaps it's an existing music genre that no one's consciously noticed until Creative Director Alex Sudheim coined the term?
Perhaps you're being sold a dream that I'm trying to make a reality to corroborate this fictitious Kwaicore story? *raises eyebrow*

For those not sure...

Kwaito is the fusion of house music with African sounds and a series of percussive loop samples, deep basslines and repetitive vocals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBRqt7hJ9xI

Whereas Hardcore comprises the screams, chants, fast beats and drop tempos of a drum, accompanied by a series of octave leads, grooves and the distorted and amplified sound of guitar soloists in their element.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sv9BT0xyrg

If you've borne witness to neither, this merely a feel so that you have an idea of what to expect in our upcoming Kwaicore Documentary on baby Kwaicore's first steps!

WHY KWAICORE?

                  

     Kwaito                   

     and...

  Hardcore Punk                  

   KWAICORE?

     Musicians have become so comfortable settling within the confines of musical genre, that very few have bothered to challenge these confines in order to explore the possibility of producing something greater than what's been done.

       On the other side of the fence we have a nation of aspiring musicians. People who struggle to make a breakthrough in this unrelenting industry, because they try to perfect what already exists instead of taking the initiative to create a new sound. Something innovative, something eccentric, something unorthodox, and perhaps even a little controversial. A sound that transforms with time, just as technology has developed with the touchscreen, or like communication has progressed through social media. In that very way, so should music evolve in order to maintain the interest of future generations. 

Inspiration for Kwaicore:
M Jackson, The Moonwalk.

      In many ways Kwaicore is an attempt at exactly that... innovation. It is the simple dare to mesh two unspeakable worlds
 just because we can. From the
traditional whistles or fluit of 
'Amapantsula' in Kwaito,
to the insanely boisterous vibes of an electric guitar in Hardcore Punk. Sure, it sounds like a crazy idea, but so was walking on the moon- until Neil Armstrong became the first person to do it... and those who couldn't, became legendary stars who created signature dance moves in that regard.

       Essentially, this is what music producer, Thembelani Gumede aka "Goomza", currently aims to achieve through his contribution to music. With a bit of guidance and grooming from his mentor DJ Otis Fraser aka "The Flow", Goomza managed to get his music playlisted on up to 18 community radio stations throughout South Africa.  His album, Mntaneskolo, is predominantly Kwaito, offering his fans the occasional fix of Hip Hop through collaborations with other young and rising artists. These include the likes of Blak Suga and Ifani but to name a few. 

http://t.co/pe655DiT90

When asked to consider producing something a little more Kwaicore, Goomza along with some members from his crew, decided to take up the challenge and make an attempt at whipping up a li'l somethin' somethin' for us to chew and spit out... OR preferably, something in which we can all hopelessly indulge!

Feel free to join The Kwaicore Revolution as we document more on Kwaicore and Goomza for the next 4 weeks, when South African music finally takes a massive leap into the unknown!

KWAIT A STRETCH?

KWAICORE! KWAICORE! KWAICORE!

So how much really, can one say it would take for any random person (or people) to develop an idea, and transform it into something of commercial substance? While some may argue that education is an economic imperative, others go onto insist that all it really takes is vision and the drive to execute that vision. The latter, being an approach that many musicians dare to take on! Musicians like Thembelani Gumede aka Goomza. Noted, Kwaicore is somehwat of a daring move but as a producer, it's one of many small steps that could prove to be surprisingly lucrative for Goomza's business in the long run. A catalyst if you will. After all, Tudor Bismark did say that "being a millionaire is very easy if you do small things consistently!"

At the moment, we're currently trying to exploit the hell out of FREE publicity (because we're Black and it's what we do *shrugs*), but at the same time it would be really interesting to see how far ambition and drive can REALLY take you. Well... in two weeks. As an optimist I'd like to believe a lot of good could actually come from Kwaicore if we take it seriously. So good, in fact, that Kwaicore could become something of a much needed revamp for the music industry as some have said. Not only that but, I'm sure we've all noticed the rapid decline of Kwaito broadcasts on radio and television, yes? My thoughts? Well Kwaito was initially created to serve the interests of Black people. Indian people don't listen to it. White people don't listen to it. Coloured people don't listen to it, and I'm pretty certain neither do Asians and "Others". Even Black people have become too westernized for Kwaito! Essentially, it really has no audience.

On the other hand Hardcore Punk is no Hip Hop either, but say it was slightly more profitable a music genre than Kwaito, could it then be argued that Kwaito is the washed-up musician whose career Hardcore Punk could probably revive? In turn, imagine how many Black people would then take note of Hardcore Punk... and possibly even like it... converting what's left of Kwaito's audience, as well as that of Hardcore Punk, into an even bigger, more receptive audience. Kwait a stretch? I think not! If anything, I think this could turn out to be the start of a very mutually beneficial relationship... and if you'd like to bare witness to baby Kwaicore's first steps, look out for my post this coming week because...

THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED!!