The City Of Kwaicore
As the sun begins to set over the city, the familiar lightning blue sky becomes a soon to be revisited memory. A peachy orange hue overpowers its opposite colour. Like a virus would eat away at its host, it feasts until its total dominance is clear. Knowing its time is limited; the sunset coloured sky grabs the attention of all who lay beneath.
Man-made structures that claim to scrape this natural canvas, stand tall and proud below, as symbols of human achievement. These are symbols of the great city, symbols of life and opportunity. From a distance they appear to be perfect geometrical shapes cut-out of the stunning flame orange backdrop. Up close and personal it’s a far more intriguing and detailed. Standing at the heart of this concrete body, you realise how powerful this beast is. From a distance it appears as many different entities, but get a little closer and you are engulfed by a monster. A concrete and glass Frankenstein engineered by humanity.
Constantly working, this beast grows in power as the ever-present stars begin to show-off alongside the moon. It is powered by a cardiovascular system similar to that of the human body, possessing many human traits. The CBD at the centre is the powerful engine known as our heart. It is the driving force, the reason for the cities existence. Connected to the heart are numerous vital arteries in the form of tarred streets. Just like blood uses the arteries as a pathway to and from the heart, the streets are an avenue for people flowing in and out of the city, providing countless nutrients that protect, build and energise the unstoppable monster.
These ever-changing city streets are more than just a pathway for car-driving, suit-wearing blood cells, these streets hold the most crucial part of the body – the brain. The brain is where a beings perception of life sprouts. This is where we form our world through creativity and education. Our most valuable and unique aspect as animals on this planet is our creativity. It has allowed us to advance and pleasure our lives at a stupendous rate instead of a constant jaw-stretching pace.
With this unparalleled seed of creativity, a tree has risen. A tree we can truly call our own, going beyond physical engagement; it caresses our mental state of mind. We call it Art. From this brain massaging timber, different fruit have sprouted like painting, crafting and more importantly music.
So here right in the middle of these veiny city streets stands a massive growing fruit. Within this musical fruit there is a genre that is different to the rest; a segment juicier than the rest, a segment more truthful of its origin. Most genres will tell tales of a beautiful world forgetting the pain that exists. This genre doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the beauty that gave birth to it. This genre tells you a raw story about beast that forged it. It doesn’t hide anything; it does not shy away from the bloody images it grew up with. Because as beautiful and inspiring as the city may come across as, there is always a dark side, a dark alley way in the form of a deadly disease in the concrete monster. A disease created by humans and ignored by humans. So when the rock stars are talking about their trip to the moon on the purple haze train or the pop stars are complaining about their old lovers, this genre is speaking a violent, cruel language, a language that doesn’t avoid cussing or giving detailed descriptions of murder and crime. This is because this genre was born in the middle of these happenings, no avoiding it, no looking away. This is your life.
So now you’re asking yourself, what city is this? Where is this city? What genre can be so beautifully bitter?
Well there’s only 2 places that posses the raw, undisguised soil fit for this seed to grow; Johannesburg and New York – the respective birthplace of Kwaito and Hardcore Hip Hop.
