South African Popular Music (Genre: A 33 1/3 Series)

''From the storied ache of mbube harmonies of the '40s to the electronic boom of kwaito and the amapiano and house explosion of the '00s, this book explores vignettes taken from across South Africa’s popular music history. There are moments in time where music can be a mighty weapon in the fight for freedom. Disguised in a danceable hook or shouted for the world to hear, artists have used songs to deliver important truths and bring listeners together in the face of a segregated reality. In the grip of the brutal apartheid era, South Africa crafted its own idiosyncratic popular musical vernacular that operated both as sociopolitical tool and realm of escape. In a country with 11 official languages, music had the power to unite South Africans in protest. Artists bloomed a new idyll from the branches of countless storied musical traditions, and in turn found themselves banned or exiled-the profound epiphany that music can exist both within the pleasure of itself and for serving a far greater purpose.''-- Site de l'éditeur Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 9 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction: Simunye: We Are One 14 1 The Lion Sleeps, the Evening Bird Sings 20 2 Bantu Radio and Shebeen Jazz 30 3 The Rebel Flute 44 4 They Cannot Say Qongothwane 58 5 Separate Development and Exile 70 6 Grace, the Land, and Graceland 84 7 The White Zulu 102 8 Sun City, Bubblegum, and Shifting Afrikaans 118 9 Free Nelson Mandela 132 10 Creating the New: Mzansi Fo Sho 146 11 Our House 160 Essential Tracks 176 Notes 178