South African House

 

During my semester abroad in South Africa last fall I had the opportunity to encounter a lot of different cultural expressive art forms. The most pervasive was definitely "house." South African House is a bit different than what I had experienced here in the states. Rather than a more techo-electronica vibe, I noticed more elements rooted in hip hop beats--especially in appropriation of hip hop dress and style.

The following are three songs/videos that were HUGE (think when Kanye or Jay Z drop something new on the radio) for the timebeing that I was there.

The first is by DJ Cleo. Most House artists still in fact identity with the "DJ" title. Though these three videos have the DJ's front a center, lots of the songs are simply instrumentals, with a drum loop in the back--rather than a chance for the DJ to express his MC skills. "Facebook" is DJ Cleo's anthem to, well, Facebook. Rather than give him your number, he'd rather you hit him up on Facebook later. Poke him. Message him. Whatever.

The second video also features Dj Cleo, as well as a host of other DJs (dubbed "The Teddy Bears"). If I can remember correctly, "impempe" translates roughly into "whistle." You can see how...

My personal favorite is DJ Sbu's "Lengoma." Here is a prime example of a House artist at work. The backing for the song is Zahara's acoustic ballad "Lengoma." Sbu laid a house beat over the top, mixed it a bit, and it became a massive hit--giving also fame to Zahara who wasn't widely known prior to the song. I find it really interesting how DJ Sbu is the main focus of the song. Though it's 90% a Zahara song, she's barely featured in the video at all--always somehow fading away as the camera pans to her singing.

Notice that all the videos above actively feature dance. Dance in SA is a major part of their tradition--spanning across different cultures and languages. Like in the U.S., a lot of videos/songs will have accompanying dance routines that listeners can learn and follow. Also notice the bravado in a lot of these performers: the dress, the style, how one presents oneself.

The backgrounds of each video are also really different. Facebook takes place in a hyper-produced "video" environment while "Impempe" takes place in a township, and "Lengoma" is set in what I think are the streets of Johannesburg.