This Time we decided to bring you information about South African Hip-Hop. It took A lot of research but here you have it. enjoy!!!
-South Africa
Although the history of hip hop in Cape Town can be tracked back to the early 1980s, the cultural exchange between the Black United States, the West Indies, and Black South Africa was widespread since the 1800s. Black South African artists were influenced by minstrelsy to swing to bebop and beyond, which was partly in response to British imperialism.[14][15] The political history of Africa plays a predominant role in South African music. It all began in the early 1800s when gold was discovered in Johannesburg. People from different tribes began to migrate to Johannesburg. As a result of the rich diversity of various South African tribes, traditional music of South Africa mixed with European music lead to the development of a different sound. As laws were imposed to isolate each tribe, creating an apartheid, music was different in each tribe. However, one particularly interesting genre of music was mbaqanga which later developed into "bubblegum", which is a mix of African-American and traditional mbaqanga beat. This caused the first wave of political oppression music and anti-apartheid lyrics.[16] As a result, a form of music, named kwaito, developed first in 1995 which allowed artists to express themselves and talk about the many problems in everyday life.[17] The musical and social movement of hip hop in South Africa has grown exponentially in the last two decades, most notoriously in the form of home-grown Kwaito, which is actually a distinct musical genre in itself.
Much of hip hop and Kwaito in South Africa is derived from western beats and tunes mixed with localized rhythms and accents.
Lyrically, South African hip hop is largely reliant on the political landscape from which the country has only recently emerged. If the explicit mention of Apartheid is not offered, lyrics will often revolve around the residue of the political system; such as the prevalence of HIV and AIDS, violence in the major cities, and what it means to be South African.
On the other hand, Kwaito has been seen as more devoted to "positive imagery", taking listeners away from the harsher realities of township life, where it originated. Currently, South African hip hop is beginning to acquire its own musical style. At the same time, individual provinces are developing their own styles of hip hop.
As much as hip hop has grown in South Africa it is still in its infancy in terms of recognition and artists rarely sell well. Differences in styles and approaches to the art have led to the South African market being split into sectors, for example: Cape Town has long been termed South African hip hops birthground with its more politically charged and socially conscious artists, however, in recent years Johannesburgs control of the already small buying market has led to differences between the two areas.
Tracing back to its origins in this country, the youth embraced hip hop and its culture from the United States including its break dancing and graffiti aspects.[18] These styles of expression were the predecessors to the full involvement of music. This was due to the high cost or difficulty in finding music. Economic and political sanctions made finding American music extremely difficult. As one of the major influences on Kwaito, U.S. hip hop albums were seldom imported, but rather sent from relatives outside the country.[19] The embracement of the influence was not all respect however. Many were not happy with the links it had to the "structures the [were] largely responsible for the devastating conditions in the Third World countries."[14] The young people took hip hop and its anger, passion, and style in order to express themselves. They localized the music to express culture, frustration, and hope in order to tell their own stories.[20] When embraced by the older population, that anger and passion was used not only to pass messages against the occurring apartheid, but also to connect with the youth. The music was perfect for this time because it was able to take the language of the underprivileged, parade it, and make it attractive to the point where people took pride in their "style" of music.[14]
Some South African hip hop artists include; Ben Sharpa, Prophets of Da City, Zola, Pro Kid, Trusenz, Proverb and RASHID. Also check out the South African company Afrolution who are one of the pioneers of African Hip hop online and run African Hip Hop TV and African Hip Hop shop. In addition one of South Africa's oldest hip hop portals AfricasGateway were instrumental in laying the foundation for South African hip hop culture to grow.
Info by: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_hip_hop#South_Africa
Two Videos Of the Hottest MC's From South Africa
Proverb with his single "Heart"
Ben Sharpa brings you "Hegemony"
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