Kwaito Music: A Look at Kwaito’s History and Notable Artists

Kwaito music is a style of popular music that originated in South Africa during the 1990s. The genre draws upon several Western music styles, including electronic dance music and hip-hop, for its unique combination of house beats, looped samples, and spoken/shouted vocals.

Kwaito also echoes hip-hop’s cultural connection to its listeners; its songs address the lives of Black people in townships like Soweto and cities like Johannesburg in a mixture of regional languages and slang from popular cultures.

The history of kwaito music begins in the South African township of Soweto during the early 1990s:

• Origins: Kwaito’s emergence coincided with the end of the apartheid era and the beginning of Nelson Mandela’s presidency in 1994. Long-standing political, cultural, and economic sanctions impacted life in South Africa in many ways, including the youth culture’s music preferences. Music from other cultures flooded into South Africa, including hip-hop from the United States, and house music from England and the US. These two music styles formed the foundations of kwaito.
• First recordings: Two DJs in Johannesburg, Oscar “Oskido” Mdlongwa and Christos Katsaitis, earned a positive response from clubgoers when they slowed down house beats to approximately 110 beats per minute (BPM). Inspired by the reaction, they began writing lyrics to accompany the music. The duo added looped samples of older forms of South African music, including the jazz-influenced music known as mbaqanga and a synth-driven form of South African pop called bubblegum.
• Naming the sound: Lyrics spoken in Tsotsitaal—an amalgam of Afrikaans, township slang, and regional languages—directly referenced daily life in South Africa’s cities and towns and gave the music a name: kwaito, or “hot,” as in hot-tempered or angry.
• Hits: By 1995, South Africa had its first kwaito hit “Kaffir,” in which singer Arthur Mafokate—often called the king of kwaito—warns a thoughtless boss about calling him by the title word, a derogatory racial slur in Afrikaans. Other kwaito artists followed in his wake, including the all-female kwaito group Boom Shaka with “Gcwala” and vocalist M’Du with “Tsiki Tsiki”. The kwaito music scene soon spread to other provinces in South Africa, like Cape Town and Durban, which produced their own homegrown kwaito artists.
• New sounds: New kwaito artists emerged in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, including the group TKZee, which generated a pair of chart-topping hits with “Phalafala” and “Shibobo” in 1997 and 1998, and singer Mandoza, whose album Nkalakatha reached a multiplatinum status in 2000. During this period, female kwaito artists also emerged, notably South African musician veteran Brenda Fassie and ex–Boom Shaka singer Lebo Mathosa, who drew criticism for her sexually suggestive lyrics and stage presence. However, Mathosa’s take on kwaito was soon the standard for other performers. The musical style drifted away from its socially conscious roots and moved closer to a glammed-up, status-conscious form of South African hip-hop.
• Today: Kwaito remains popular in South Africa and regularly produces new hit-making artists. Like Western music, kwaito has given some musicians a direct line into the mainstream. Vocalist Zola parlayed his music success into careers as an actor, talk show host, and television presenter, while Boom Shaka’s fanbase extends beyond the borders of South Africa. Some new artists, like the group Trompies, have revived the socially conscious side of kwaito in their music. Others have leaned hard into the music’s dance roots, resulting in several South African house offshoots like kwaito house, Bacardi house, and gqom.

Several notable characteristics define the sound of kwaito. They include:

1. 1. Language: Like hip-hop, kwaito has its own language, which draws from different ethnic groups, neighborhoods, and demographics. Singers first performed kwaito in Tsotsitaal, a mix of Afrikaans and regional languages like Sesotho, a Southern Bantu language. Singers now perform in a mix of Afrikaans, Zulu, English, and a slang-based vernacular called Isicamtho.
2. 2. Lyrics: Early kwaito songs referenced the world around its artists: the highs and lows of life in the townships, the dreams of its residents, and pride in their efforts to improve their lives. In the 2000s, kwaito drifted into party music, celebrating good times and pleasures of all types, often using explicit language.
3. 3. Sound: Kwaito grew from several different musical styles. The style’s originators slowed down house music to approximately 110 beats per minute (BPM) and added looped samples from other forms of South African music. Funk and R&B–fueled basslines lend a hazy bounce, not unlike reggae, to some kwaito songs. Kwaito vocalists are more rappers than singers, speaking or shouting lyrics, though some kwaito frontpeople adopt an R&B–styled delivery.

There are several notable kwaito artists. Some of the most popular and acclaimed performers include:

1. 1. Arthur Mafokate: The son of Olympic equestrian Enos Mafokate, Arthur Mafokate was a backing dancer for singers like Brenda Fassie before releasing his 1995 hit single, “Kaffir.” The politically charged song set the tone for early kwaito hits and opened the doors for kwaito artists to speak their minds after decades of government restriction. Mafokate’s contributions to kwaito and South African popular culture, both as a performer and head of his own label, 999 Records, have received numerous honors from the country’s music industry.
2. 2. Bongo Maffin: Composed of Zimbabwe-born DJ Appleseed and vocalists Stoan and Thandi, the group lends a global perspective to the kwaito sound by folding in elements of house, reggae, dancehall, and techno. Since their debut in 1996, Bongo Maffin has grown from a South African powerhouse to a global favorite. They signed with Sony Music in 2000 and have performed worldwide, including stops in the United States and Europe.
3. 3. Brenda Fassie: Nicknamed the Queen of African pop, singer Brenda Fassie rocked a bold stage presence and socially conscious songs for more than two decades. A professional singer from the age of five, Fassie earned her first hit with 1983’s bubblegum song, “Weekend Special.” Kwaito spurred her to tackle more hard-hitting subjects in songs like “Sum’ Bulala,” which called for a truce in violent clashes between township taxi drivers. Fassie passed away in 2004 due to complications from a severe asthma attack.
4. 4. M’du: Mduduzi Masilela, who performs as M’du, became a foundational figure in kwaito music with the 1990 release of his debut album, LA Beat, which was among the first South African records to feature the genre’s signature mix of propulsive African and European sounds. A talented producer who has overseen all of his numerous solo albums releases, M’du has also produced hits for many recent top kwaito artists, including Brown Dash and Mzekezeke.

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