Exact origin seems unknown; possible origins include:

‘Kwaai’ (Afrikaans) – meaning edgy, wicked, angry i.e. hip ^1,2.

‘Amakwaitos’ – the name of a legendary 1950’s era Soweto gang; Kwaito superstar Arthur Mafokate backs up this translation  ^2,3.

Other names: D’Gong, S’Ghubu, ‘Local’

Synthesizers, drum machines, turntables.

Mbaqanqa, bubblegum, township jazz, Afro-pop as well as American R&B, Chicago and UK house, hip-hop, jungle, and drum ‘n’ bass ⁴.

‘Future kwaito’ – draws on kwaito’s pacing, chanting and chorus style,  but with updated drums and synths.

‘Durban kwaito’ – kwaito that leans more towards house music stylistically with a faster pace (closer to 120 BPM vs kwaito’s typical ~100 BPM) and brighter synth sounds.

Kwaito was the first type of popular music to take shape following the repeal of apartheid in the early 1990s. It was also arguably one of the first varieties of popular South African music to emerge as an emphatically apolitical form of dance music, as symbolically implied in the name ‘kwaito,’ which by many accounts seems to take its meaning from the Afrikaans word for ‘angry’ (though this has been a topic of discussion – may also be a reference to the 1950s Sophiatown gang, the AmaKwaito). Regardless, the term ‘kwaito’ seems to imply a sense defiance or resistance to authority  ⁵. The repeal of apartheid was initiated in 1990 with the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and the subsequent unbanning of the ANC; following that in 1994, the first democratic elections in South Africa led to a majority win for the ANC and election of Mandela as president ⁶. Around this time, interest in the South African bubblegum phenomenon seemed to be fading, while American RnB and rap was growing in popularity among the young black South African demographic that comprised a massive 80% of the country’s population at that time ². Kwaito seemed to emerge naturally as the grassroots successor to 1980s bubblegum, as many kwaito producers were influenced by Brenda Fassie. Young black clubbers who flocked to the street kwaito parties known as ‘bashes’ also helped popularize the driving rhythms and local languages of Kwaito, including Zulu, Sesotho and iscamtho or tsotsitaal that would drive the stylistic foundation of the genre ^4,7.

Kwaito is easily recognizable for its relaxed four on the floor 808 rhythm; rumor has it that a DJ accidentally played a house record at a slowed-down tempo to a positive audience reception, inspiring kwaito’s use of slowed-down house rhythms. Early kwaito in particular made use of slowed-down (from 128 to roughly 90 beats-per-minute) Chicago house grooves; later on the style moved toward a UK house influence with heavier basslines and use of dark orchestral synths  ⁵. Kwaito instrumentals are entirely synthesized, with the exception of samples with could include everything from Zulu guitar to African jazz and classical music, reggae, ragga music, soul, isicathamiya, bubblegum, mbaqanga, and kwela. Instrumentals were played as pre-recorded backing tracks during live performance, making kwaito, like bubblegum, a type of music cultivated in the studio as opposed to in the shebeens or via street culture, with the exception of the infamous kwaito street bashes that played a role in making the music accessible to and engrained in street culture  ^1,2.

Kwaito lyrics utilized street-inspired vocals, usually in Sotho or tsotsitaal but also in Afrikaans (which is often incorporated into tsotsitaal in an ‘ironic” sense)  ², Zulu, Pedi, and Xhosa ⁵ and English – but English was significantly the least common language used  ². This sudden and marked departure from using mainly English lyrics (as was the case in bubblegum music, kwaito’s predecessor) to the popularization of South African regional languages (in addition to references and slang associated with young black urban culture) was significant because, as Swartz describes:

“The language of kwaito makes white people feel uncomfortable, out of place and perhaps even second  rate citizens at a township bash. They know neither the moves, dress code nor the (street) language that is kwaito. It’s an ironic reversal from apartheid days” ². 

Lyrics were repetitive and cyclical; like other precedent types of South African music, kwaito relied on a call and response format wherein a line might be repeated with the intention of the listener supplying the repeated ‘response line,’ making kwaito songs easy to memorize and providing an interactive platform for audience engagement during live performances  ⁸. The pervasiveness of the call and response format and ‘shouting’ or ‘chanting’ style of kwaito bears some resemblance to the apartheid resistance-era slogans echoed during rallies and marches – perhaps this chanting and call and response style might have been influenced by kwaito’s innovators’ memories of the freedom song chants and ‘toyi toying’ of their parents generation fighting in the apartheid resistance movement  ^2,8.

Kwaito received substantial public criticism from its initial inception, mainly from the generation of 30-and-older whose children comprised kwaito’s main fan demographic (not to mention close to 80% of the country’s population at that time). The main focal point of this criticism centered on kwaito’s ‘apolitical materialism’ as well as for use of explicit languages and references, portraying women in a demeaning light, and lack of musical originality and artistic credibility  ⁹. However, in addition to being highly subjective, each of these points is debatable in objective accuracy depending on context and interpretation – the exception to this being the sexual portrayal and objectification of women, which is difficult to ignore though as women have pointed out, this was less so emblematic of kwaito in particular as it was symbolic of an overall misogynistic attitude that permeated South African (and really global) culture at this time. Nevertheless, the admission of kwaito as aggressively ‘apolitical’ music that, in contrast to precedent pop music like Brenda Fassie’s hits of the late 80s (“Black President”) that took an important stance on political and social issues of the time, is based chiefly on the lack of direct lyrical content referencing such issues. Instead, most kwaito songs focus on material wealth tokens, partying, and women as sex symbols, though this notably changed over the course of the genre’s popularity as kwaito expanded to encompass a range of styles and manifestations. An alternate way of considering the lack of substantive lyrical content addressing social issues is to first acknowledge that kwaito emerged as a form of dance music, not political music, and that the lyrics serve more as catchy phrases that serve their purpose as dance music elements  ³. Additionally, kwaito emerged at a time when political participation and activism had become part of the status quo such that the act of refusing participation in political activism had become the new condition of rebellion to authority and tradition, and therefore in a sense kwaito can be thought of as representing “a radically new politics that negates politics,” and therefore “so-called apolitical kwaito, then, is music that represents the refusal of politics”  ³. Another criticism of kwaito is its excessive use of indecent references and explicit language, which is an argument mostly made by non-Xhosa speaking critics – whereas native Xhosa speakers (including kwaito proponents and artists, obviously) and linguistics have argued that this reputation emerged due to inaccurate translations into English from Xhosa lyrics and contextual misinterpretations that stripped critical nuances in language and tone  ⁸. For example, the Xhosa word “umqundu” is not regarded as an inappropriate word in Xhosa, but when translated to English or taken out of context becomes derogatory, like the difference between “bum” and “a**hole” in English, with the former being an innocuous descriptor and the latter being considered an obscenity  ⁸. Lastly, kwaito is often criticized for lacking originality and true expressions of musicianship in its traditional sense. This particular criticism seems consistent among almost all South African pop music genres particularly during their inception – bubblegum pop was similarly dismissed for its pithy lyrical content, while prior to that kwela, mbaqanga and marabi were often criticized for being simplistic and overly repetitive, primarily when compared to imported Western jazz music. On this point, it is important again to note that kwaito from its beginnings was intended to be dance music – which, like marabi, gave it social power by making music and its enjoyment accessible to a wider community, including people who enjoy music (whether in the form of listening or dancing) regardless of formal musical training. In other words, “is (kwaito) original? Not technically, but since meaning is constructed and produced it can be argued that kwaito has an unique meaning and role in the lives of young black South Africans, indeed for all South Africans, since it re-arranges the hierarchy of dominance, by including those who have been previously excluded and by shifting the balance of economic power”  ².

While on the subject of kwaito’s contextualization as a form of media and social past time within 1990s South African black youth culture, another important discussion point on the genre is how kwaito does and does not relate to American hip hop, which was experiencing a similar wave of popularity and progress amongst America’s black youth at the same time. Kwaito is often miscategorized or labeled as ‘South African rap music’ based on superficial shared musical aesthetics. Though this might seem like a trivial semantic issue, it is significant given the separate geographical cultural narratives of kwaito and hip hop, their inherent underlying structural differences, and the fact that South Africa does have its own hip hop scene that is wholly separate from kwaito. Perhaps most importantly, the originators of kwaito are quick to point out that while American hip hop (like South African bubblegum and other regional styles) has certainly played an important influential role, it is completely separate from kwaito. From a standpoint of recognizing influence, groups like NWA and Public Enemy certainly achieved wide popularity among young black South Africans in the late 80s and early 90s, who related to the economic and social plight of African Americans. Prophets of Da City is one popular example of a hip hop group that emerged around this time in Cape Town. Junior Sokhela of Prophets of Da City would later collaborate with Don Laka (successful bubblegum producer) to create Boom Shaka  ⁷. Like American hip hop, the kwaito movement is more than just a musical style – it encompasses a whole culture and way of being ¹⁰ – furthermore, “like hip hop, kwaito has also been harnessed as edutainment (i.e. education presented as entertainment) in the service of social interventions against violence, AIDS, rape and substance abuse by groups like Bongo Maffin, TKZee and Trompies”  ². However, kwaito notably departs from hip hop in critical stylistic elements, though ‘aggressive’ lyrical delivery and use of pounding 808s can give kwaito a superficial sonic aesthetic as a ‘progressive’ or experimental South African take on American rap  ³. Kwaito lyrics weren’t so much rapped or rhymed as they were chanted, often cyclically, because while “rhythmically spoken lyrics were inspired by rap, vocal delivery tended to be much slower in kwaito, and the lyrics consisted of a few of the latest catch phrases repeated and played against each other.” – Lara Allen  ¹¹. Furthermore, Kwaito lyrics do not directly glorify violence as much as American hip hop lyrics do, “perhaps because life for the average young black South African is much more dangerous than it is for the average young black American, songs glorifying murder do not sell well… The threat of violence in South Africa is omnipresent. People do not like to be reminded of it”  ⁹.    

Critiques and opinions of kwaito’s stylistic merit and origin aside, the effect of kwaito’s on South Africa’s black commercial music and entertainment industry cannot be ignored. The timing of kwaito’s emergence with the removal of oppressive apartheid media censorship protocols in addition to increased economic freedom for blacks meant that grassroots black music suddenly actually had a fighting chance of reaching major musical outlets. This, coupled with the technological innovations for digitally recorded and produced music meant that the industry was suddenly accessible to a much wider range of producers and consumers than ever before – notably, it meant that you didn’t necessarily have to have formal musical training or even access to a professional recording studio to make music, particularly in the case of kwaito, as well as for music elsewhere in the world  ⁷. By the 2000s, the kwaito music industry had become a $130 million annual-grossing industry comprised of and owned almost all black artists, producers and production companies, record labels, clubs and other commercial media entities, as well as black radio stations like Yfm and tv series like Yizo Yizo, an industry that persists to this day thanks largely in part to the kwaito boom of the 1990s and 2000s. Radio notably played an important part in the dissemination of kwaito – following the first national democratic elections of 1994, one major milestone for black music culture was the release of radio airwaves from apartheid gov control and the creation of the Independent Broadcast Authority, which helped give radio airtime opportunities to previously oppressed and heavily censored types of music  ⁸. In 1994, the IBA declared that public radio stations had to set aside a minimum of 20% of airtime to local music, regardless of genre – a niche vacancy that kwaito quickly filled ⁸, and which was significant at a time when roughly 60% of all music heard on South African radio was from outside the country  ⁵. The fact that kwaito, with its dark and gritty electronic stylings, managed to override imported pop music in the young mainstream music domain sent a signal to young black youth that assimilated the “self aggrandizing consumerism of the children of the middle class with the gritty, unapologetic bravado of the youth of the township streets”  ¹. Kwaito was the first South African musical movement to inspire trends manifested in street culture (dress, slang, etc), as opposed to only mirroring it ¹ – these trends included elements like iscathmo and tsotsitaal, subversive fashion elements like the spotti, which was a floppy sun hat that carried some ironic value because it was originally a cricket fielding hat (symbolic of British colonization and the white South African elite class), as well as three-fives – “All Stars”, cheap canvas shoes that are imitations of Converse All Stars and which caught on in popularity in South Africa before they did in the states  ².

In summary, kwaito created a lasting legacy for South Africa’s musical and cultural narrative as both a radical stylistic departure from precedent styles, and originator of cultural and economic artifacts, and for its symbolic meaning and implications for a new generation of black youth on a quest to find their own identity in a society newly freed of an apartheid regime  ². The explicit and in your face nature of kwaito music, dance and its associated entertainers was not just a reaction to the oppression of the recently lifted apartheid regime, but controversially to the elders of the previous generation and their morally conservative values and their “painfully passe politicized ideology of social sacrifice”  ¹. Many of kwaito’s fans were township youth (teenagers), which meant that they did not participate in or relate to the resistance movement in the same way as their parents did, and in fact may have resented participation in the political sphere for having an association with parental authority. Nevertheless, though kwaito might be considered “hedonistic, misogynist and morally degenerate”  ⁷, it is also considered the first historically black-controlled form of commercial music in South Africa, since all of the major music distribution outlets – radio, TV, concerts, etc – and therefore, any potential for commercial success – were controlled by whites until the lifting of apartheid in 1994. Kwaito has arguably also been responsible for the “a (re)claiming of an inclusive black cultural identity, asserted for the first time via popular culture” ⁸. Kwaito has provided a medium for different South African cultures to learn about and develop familiarity with each others language and ways of life, by way of expression of slang and lifestyle imagery through lyrics language – considering that groups like Xhosa, Zulu and Sotho were forced apart under apartheid rule under the “separate development” agenda that attempted to restrict cultural mixing, since kwaito promoted the integration of African languages (like Xhosa) into a form of popular music – contrasting to bubblegum (mostly in English) and western imports, which had been the main music of choice among township youth prior to kwaito ⁸. Furthermore, the success of kwaito stars spurred an image or dream for young black South Africans that musical notoriety could produce an opportunity for upward mobility in the absence of educational or economic opportunity – “There’s ownership of the music, I think that’s the key thing. It originates out of the townships. It’s township music. There’s nothing like it anywhere in the world. It’s owned by Langa, it’s owned by Gugulethu, it’s owned by Soweto, it’s owned by the townships, and I think people are very proud of it, the youth especially” ⁸.

Boom Shaka – “It’s About Time” (1993) – Though this song doesn’t really fit into the true kwaito style, Boom Shaka rose to popularity initially through this song before going on to produce a number of kwaito hits that experienced widespread commercial popularity ¹:

Brenda Fassie – “Vuli Ndlela” (1997) – An example of the stylistic gray area between bubblegum and Kwaito; features a mbaqanga-esque melody line; this song played an important role in transitioning popular interest from bubblegum to kwaito ⁴:

Mandoza – “Nkalakatha” (2000) – One of the greatest Kwaito hits of all time that also exemplifies the style of the genre, and was a frequent anthem at South African sporting events:

Big Nuz – “Umlilo” (2009) – An example of ‘Durban kwaito’:

Stiff Pap – “Dlala” (2018) – An example of ‘future kwaito’:

Blaklez ft. Cassper Nyovest “Saka Nyuka” (2018) – An example of a more recent kwaito-influenced track:

Bosch, Tanja. 2008. “Kwaito on Community Radio: The Case of Bush Radio in Cape Town, South Africa.” The World of Music 50.2: 75-89. Print. ⁸

Bynoe, Yvonne. 2002. “Getting Real About Global Hip Hop.” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs 3:1: 77-84. Print. ⁵

Coplan, David. In Township Tonight! South Africa’s Black City Music and Theatre, 2nd Edition. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2008. Print. p.327 ¹¹, 328-332 ¹

Impey, Angela. 2001. “Resurrecting the Flesh? Reflections on Women in Kwaito.” Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity 49: 44-50. Print. ⁷

Martin, Denis-Constant. Sounding the Cape: Music, Identity and Politics in South Africa. Cape Town: African Minds, 2013. Print. ⁶

Steingo, Gavin. 2007. “The Politicization of ‘Kwaito’: From the ‘Party Politic’ to Party Politics.” Black Music Research Journal 27.1: 23-44. Print. ³

Steingo, Gavin. 2008. “Producing Kwaito: ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’ After Apartheid.” The World of Music 50.2: 103-120. Print. ¹⁰

Swartz, Sharlene Gale. 2008. “Is Kwaito South African Hip-hop? Why the Answer Matters and Who It Matters To.” World of Music 50.2: 15-33. Print. ²

Viljoen, Martina. 2008. “On the Margins of Kwaito.” The World of Music 50.2: 51-73. Print. ⁴

Economist. 2000. One way to get rich in Soweto. The Economist. ⁹