Down memory lane with kwaito kingpins
THE good old kwaito days could soon come back if some of the genre’s kingpins are to be successful in their effort to resuscitate the 1990s sound. In a move that could be interpreted as a desperate mouth-tomouth resuscitation, kwaito legends, including Mapaputsi, Sbu Maloya, Tsekeleke and Picat from Alaska have lined up tours to different townships around the country. The Strictly Kwaito Tour will start from end of September all the way to December and will also feature new talent from the kwaito scene. The tour was set to start in Soweto, Joburg, and move to different townships in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West and Free State. These grand plans were unveiled by the fathers of kwaito at Disoufeng in Dobsonville, Soweto, this week.
Mapaputsi, real name Sandile Ngwenya, said the tour would prove that kwaito was still alive and kicking.
The Kleva hitmaker said the genre formed part of Mzansi’s heritage that would never die.
Kwaito is Ubuntu. It’s culture and we are proudly South Africans,” Mapaputsi said.
The Izinja star said fans should expect a heatwave of hits from him.
My music is timeless, even when I do Izinja, people still love it,” he said.
He also said he would perform his new single Shooting Star, available for download, on the upcoming tour.
Former TKZee member Sbu Maloya said it was about time kwaito s presence was felt.
The tour is momentous to the kwaito movement,” he said. Kwaito liberated the young people of today. As you can see, a lot of hiphop artists are now sampling our songs.”
The Monate Fela hitmaker encouraged the younger generations to embrace the genre, which originated on the streets of Soweto.
This tour will bring light at the end of the tunnel; the young blood don’t know about their musical history,” Sbu Maloya said.
I have realised that a lot of people look at things from the surface. We want to change that. And it is important to stress that we are not reviving kwaito, we are continuing.” Kwaito bad boy Sipho Brickz” Ndlovu said the tour is very necessary”.
Our kids and everyone who is making music today needs to know what is happening. They need to know what Mdu Masilela stands for ... what Arthur Mafokate stands for,” said Brickz, popular for his smash hit song Sweety My Baby. Kwaito is not where it is suppose to be, but that is where we are headed.”