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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMBAQANGAThe dance music of the black townships of South Africa, emerging in the '30s and still popular. A stomping music with a powerful bass part underpinning the guitars, it drew on a number of earlier forms to emerge as a new pop style. The South African music industry remains the most highly developed in Africa; the first Bantu recordings were made '12, with the first recording studio established '31 by Eric Gallo. Most of the music is derived from the collision of Zulu/Sotho music with Afro-American styles; out of this has grown township jazz, pennywhistle kwela and shebeen-inspired marabi. Mbaqanga drew on all of these, and when the record companies recorded the bands and gave them airplay, the music grew rapidly in popularity. The term itself is derived from the word for a quickly made steamed mealie bread, and was apparently first used in connection with music by Mike Xaba to mean quick money; it is also used today to mean something like 'jive' for all the township musics. Mbaqanga bands today usually have a modern electric lineup with drums, bass, vocals, guitars, perhaps brass; they are characterized by guitars, vocals and brass entering at different points, providing a unique dance rhythm. Good compilations incl. two vols of Zulu Jive on Earthworks, Rhythms Of Resistance on Shan, Soweto Street Music: The Definitive Collection on Zensor. The '80s saw mbaqanga/punk fusion with the Soul Brothers and Hugh Masekela album Technobush on Jive USA; see also Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens' Mbaqanga on VerveWorld USA and Izintombi Zasi Manje Manje and the Boyoyo Boys' Back In Town on Rounder. |