Todo Mundo - March Radio: Identity Heft, South Africa

This month's playlist is curated by Todomundo's Music Coordinator, Jasper Berg, who recently visited his family in Cape Town, South Africa.

While there isn’t much genre continuity, this month’s playlist represents an overall paradigm shift in popular music produced in South Africa. 

Perhaps the reason why South African musicians have had little success in ‘the West’ is because there has been an expectation that it all needs to sound… you know… African. There had been a period where it seemed as though musicians were fascinated by the success of artists overseas, and looked to create music that would cater specifically to Western audiences. I couldn’t help but notice that in following that school of thought, the music suffered, and unfortunately, that particular model for success didn’t seem to work.

A few months ago, when I made my semi-annual visit to Cape Town to see my parents and extended family, I quickly developed a keen excitement for the general direction South African music seemed to be headed. The music sounded unique; all to its own.  South African bands such as BEACH PARTY, producers like Thor Rixon, and rappers like Okmalumkoolkat appear to be making music FOR South Africans.  The music celebrates who they are as a people, as South Africans, with melodies, rhythms, and lyrics unique to that corner of the world. The desire for overseas success appears to have disappeared.

Young South Africans seem to be realizing it’s not America for whom they need to make music, but for South Africa—a young nation, still evolving. The musicians are using music to navigate the incredibly rough waters of a country still very-much figuring out what it is. This gives me all the more reason to share some selections from my latest trip, because I find the music and the heart behind it all so much more captivating than music being forced out to cater to a world not willing to even give it a chance. Except for Die Antwoord. They’ve done very well. 

I’d love to thank my cousin Tourmaline and her brilliant colleagues at naasMUSIC for their suggestions and eager helping hand in acquiring some of these admittedly, hard-to-acquire tracks.  

– Jasper Berg