‘Drum, bang, hit’ (Zulu). 

Other names: Qgom, Igqom, Gqomu

Laptops, often cracked versions of FL Studio; dissemination often via African file-sharing sites like Kasimp3 and DataFileHost.

Kwaito, house, hip hop, Sgxumseni.

Sgubhu – A blend of gqom and conventional house music.

Gqom emerged in the early 2000s – not coincidentally – with the proliferation of cheap mobile phones and increased internet accessibility in South Africa (Durban in particular), which had obvious massive ramifications for the way people produced and consumed music. Stylistically, gqom – which has been described as ‘body’ music, not ‘mental music,’ ¹ most likely due to its frequent absence of lyrics and melodic elements – is characteristically low-tech, minimalist and electronic music. Gqom is characterized by a broken two or three step beat, the absence of a bassline apart from the sub kicks, limited instrumentation apart from percussion, sparse use of drone-like synths, and a Kwaito-evoking Zulu chanting lyrical style …or as Frok Collin describes:

“Moody drones surge below the percussion as one-note semaphore riffs signal hypnotically and barely identifiable snatches of voice are pitched down or distorted until they sound like the frantic yelping of a hound or the growling of a lion. Claves chatter dementedly while tom-toms cascade downward” ².  

Though the true originator of gqom is debated, there is no doubt that the genre began and proliferated in the townships of Durban before it made to the mainstream music industry. Gqom is a low-fi, low-budget production, a quality that has helped forged its characteristically gritty and minimalist style. Most gqom tracks are made in Fruity Loops, which was made accessible to a wider demographic when cracked versions of the software appeared online. Since the music was primarily sequenced and instrumental, with little to no recorded material, the technical bar for producing music was in turn drastically lowered – meaning that gqom could be created on relatively inexpensive computers without the need for complex, pricey hardware or audio interfaces.

Following production, gqom was compressed and shared online, such that the total volume of independent gqom producers and available tracks quickly approached massive and unrelenting proportions. Gqom (like Tsonga electro) also achieved widespread popularity as a viral phenomenon due to a combination of taxi promotion, YouTube and online file sharing. Durban taxi companies in particular helped accelerate interest in the genre when drivers were encouraged to play the music from their mini buses to compete against other taxi drivers for business among young Durban party-goers ³. The combination of these factors meant that gqom was another South African genre, like marabi and Tsonga electro, to achieve widespread popularity and reach before reaching commercial recording studios or even the radio. In fact, gqom basically didn’t make it into recording studios until an Italian label called Gqom Oh! contracted South African artists and helped spread the music globally ^2,4.

Rudeboyz ft TD Snax – “Mercedes Song” (2015):

Babes Wodumo – Wololo (2016) – An example of sgubhu (characterized by the four-on-the-floor kick layered on top of the otherwise gqom broken beat pattern); this song helped move gqom into the mainstream scene:

(Fact) Gqom: A deeper look at South Africa’s new generation of house ¹

Red Bull Music Academy Festival: Gqom and Patrick Adams (Pareles 2017) ⁴

Wowza Taxi (film) ³

Rietveld, Hillegonda C. 2015. “Breaking the Electronic Sprawl.” Keep It Simple, Make It Fast! (KISMIF): Crossing Borders of Underground Music Scenes. 211-214. Print. ²