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.

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!!