The new "K" word !!

There used to be a commonly used word in old South Africa ... Starting with "k"... We all know what it is and most of us hate it ... So lets get rid of the infamous "k" word ... Let the new "K" word be kwaicore !!! Because this is the new South Africa and no1 gives a shit about the apartheid era! Don't be left behind, let kwaicore be the most used "K" word !!!

Pantsula, that kwaito steez!

Arthur Mafokate - Kaffir

This is believed to be the first Kwaito song ever made. What a name ("Kaffir") to start a revolution of music in South Africa. It just is perfect to sum up what Kwaito stands for. There is no video available, but just listen !

Run DMC - It's Like That

This is a video of Run DMC performing the first Hardcore Hip Hop song ever "It's like That". A great look at old school tunes that created a base for everything that came after them. Just enjoy!

Not So Different

So as you can see, Kwaito and Hardcore share a few aspects considering how they were born and what they preach. Both born out of poverty and hardship, and both telling the stories of these lifestyles. Although very similar in concept the sound and rhythms are very different. Kwaito being mainly based on a house beat with most of the tracks slow paced, and Hardcore obviously based on a Hip Hop beat with a very rough and raw sound. 

With the introduction of Kwaicore, brings the introduction of a common ground, a bilingual page that embraces both genres and both cultures. Kwaicore is the jump to the next level, intertwining 2 different stories along with 2 totally different beats to form a genre that not only gives out eargasm's for fun but creates a monster story that intrigues just about everyone. 

Hardcore Hip Hop...

Hardcore Hip Hop started showing its face in the east coast of America in the 1980's. At the time Hip Hop had already been established and loved by many. Rappers were making money by talking about women, money and fame in their songs and it was getting too repetitive. Hardcore made its name through lyrics about real life situations. It changed the Hip Hop game forever, branching away from the regular boasting rappers did. Hardcore told stories about the street. Real life stories by rappers living in the ghetto. They shared their anger and experiences in a bullshit-free way, which helped grow its popularity. 

Run DMC, an American group featuring Run Simmons, D.M.C. and Jam Master Jay are believed to be the pioneers of hardcore. They are also widely known as the most influential group in Hip Hop history. Schoolly D, Spoonie Gee, Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy and Kool G Rap are also some of the forefathers of this great genre that has now grown to be probably the biggest genre in music history after Rock n' Roll. 

Kwaito....

So... What is Kwaito ? 

Firstly, the word "kwaito" derives from the Afrikaans word "kwaai" which means angry but in more modern translation means "cool". Kwaito started to break into the music scene in the 90's townships of South Africa when the country was going through a massively historic change. Local DJ's were mixing different ages of South African music and poetry together with International House music. This gave Kwaito a broad listenership and was jammed by many South Africans. What made Kwaito unique was that it made use of many different languages including English and Afrikaans, which was unexpected. This actually led to the invention of a new "slanguage" called Isicamtho. It’s ironic because it’s believed that Afrikaans is the skeleton of this language which was spoken mainly by the “whites” who ran the apartheid government. This just showed the power of music, that they could stand above and look beyond the horrible situation placed upon them and just make music for the love of it. Kwaito is a language of the townships in South Africa, understanding the townships and living the townships, townships that were made by the apartheid government who gave them practically nothing.

Kwaito is a true representative of the power of music because through hard times and anger a genre was born that united the people and brought a temporary escape route from the sadness.