Review: Die Antwoord live in Belgium – ZEFFING HOT!
On the way to watch Die Antwoord last night all healthy eating habits were broken as we chowed down at our local fastfood outlet to get to the show on time. Behind us two young women in their early 20s were perched at a window booth doing that annoying noughties thing, playing music on their cellphone at full volume. It was a depressing set of soppy badly-produced RnB and as my partner-in-crime put it so aptly, there’s no worse ‘bad RnB’ than French RnB. The girls loved it though and sang along to every lyric mimicking the sadness, the heartbreak, the ecstasy of whichever madamoiselle’s mediocre voice was blaring out. I was on the brink of heartburn from the sheer painfulness of it all until they suddenly switched stations and I sat back enraptured. The RnB turned into a Bollywood hitsong, the girls jumped giddily up during the opening notes and began to act out a choreographed dance routine while singing every word of the song. The point is, they certainly didn’t look or sound Indian and yet they knew the lyrics by heart. You see, they’d bought into the package deal of the Bollywood song, they clearly loved the exotic melody, the high-pitched rise-and-fall singing style; and their clean dance moves showed they’d spent hours imitating the music video. They loved it so much that they’d learnt the words, every single one of them, while more than likely not understanding a single one. Little did I realise that I would experience this same feeling of awe times one million a little over an hour later, as I listened to hundreds of European fans singing along to Die Antwoord’s mishmashed South African lyrics in a beautifully rof yet finely perfected South African accent. So much of naas. I just couldn’t get the grin off my face throughout the performance, and looking back, nor could most of the audience. It was absolutely thrilling – Die Antwoord is the modern-day antidote to boring live music performances. I’m no music fundi but I am certainly a music lover and I can attest that throughout my lifespan and certainly way before that, English language songs, largely from UK and USA based artists, have dominated both the global music charts and the mainstream ones in South Africa. For how long have South Africans complained about the rest of the world not knowing about our music, about how much we hope to enter the international music scene, about how we dream of people knowing more of our artists than the legends Johnny Clegg and Miriam Makeba. From Rock to Kwaito to Folk to Soul to...
Check out Morafe’s sweet new video
Check out Morafe’s brand new spanking music video (one of Jozi’s hardest working bands we know and lurve – see their MySpace here). It’s called Lekwalo to Motswako (Letter to Motswako). We love it! It’s really catchy and grows on you – especially the bridge. Awesome Jozi backgrounds – nice styles boyz! KG always loving your soulful sweet voice, Towdee – gooi’ing the Afrikaans ne… “rhymesnyer!”. And Khuli… as smooth and sexy as always. We’re still watching your rising naledi (star!) bafethu! Maybe a SAMA next year and maybe in the right category 😉 ? Proud of you and behind you and looking forward to the next exciting stage. Just one thing, who’s the 4th dude ? Watch Lekwalo to Motswako below: [youtube]GM0tALpFWKI[/youtube] Some background from Tonight : The music video showcases the whole Matswako family such as HHP, Mo’Molemi, Tuks Senganga, etc. This reunion communicates that they are driven by the same values, moving towards the same direction and stand as a unity. Says Khulani, “The aim of this music video is to show Morafe at work, in studio, in the corporate world. Morafe is here and it’s a family affair!” Morafe is a Hip Hop group that fuses vernacular rap with a twist of soul and R&B. The group has three members, namely; Kgaugelo (aka Kay-G), Khulani (aka Khuli) and Lerothodi (aka Towdee). The group has gone for a Vintage look and feel but the Morafe image is still maintained — stylishly calm with brilliant taste . The music video is for their track titled Lekwalo to Motswako (Letter to Motswako) sampled from Letta Mbuli’s song. This will be one of the few music video’s shot on film in South Africa. Says Towdee, “This video symbolizes the unity within Motswako City. It’s a letter to our fans, our followers, letting them know that we are individuals, therefore there will be issues, but we are all cool.” Says Kay G “This video is a message to all supporters of South African music, vernacular music in particular, we are here and we are not going anywhere. It’s a pledge to our supporters: as long as they keep supporting, we will keep the good stuff...
We will be back!
