The Melody Web what each genre heard, and what it passed on

heard passed on Click or tap a node to recenter. Use a connecting line, or Influence, for the story.

Heard

House genre · 1984–

Kwaito takes house’s four-on-the-floor machine and recodes it slower, with chanted township hooks, for a post-1994 Johannesburg floor.

Influence
Mbaqanga genre · 1960–

Kwaito takes mbaqanga’s township vocal-and-bounce job and recodes it on a slowed house machine: chanted hooks, dance floor, Johannesburg after 1994.

Influence
South African bubblegum genre · 1980–1994

Kwaito takes South African bubblegum’s township pop-vocal job — sung hooks, synth sheen, radio dance — and recodes it as chanted Tsotsitaal/Zulu over a slowed house bed.

Influence

Kwaito

genre · 1993–

1990s Johannesburg township house-rap: slowed house pulse, chanted Zulu/Tsotsitaal hooks, and a post-apartheid dance floor (Boom Shaka, Arthur Mafokate). It hears Mbaqanga for the township vocal-and-bounce job recoded on a house machine, House for the four-on-the-floor recoded slow, and South African bubblegum for the 1980s township pop-vocal recoded as chant. It already gives Gqom the township chant-and-bounce Durban recodes as broken club. Empty extra hops are historically checked. Hip-hop leftover as a neighboring chant color, not a parent. US Bubblegum leftover as a homonym. Amapiano leftover as a later Johannesburg piano-house neighbor, not a child here.

Listen

  1. Kaffir Arthur Mafokate (1995) YouTube
  2. Scamtho Boom Shaka (1990s)
  3. Nkalakatha Mandoza (2000) YouTube · Spotify
  4. Back to the Kwaito TKZee (1990s) YouTube
  5. It's About Time Boom Shaka (1993) YouTube · Spotify

Passed on

Gqom genre · 2010–

Gqom takes kwaito’s township chant-and-bounce job and recodes it as a darker, broken Durban club pulse.

Influence

House → Kwaito

meter and groovetimbre and productionfunction and contextstrength: highscholarly consensus1993–2000recordingdanceradio

Mechanism

Kwaito takes house’s four-on-the-floor machine and recodes it slower, with chanted township hooks, for a post-1994 Johannesburg floor. Strength high. Mbaqanga leftover as the vocal-and-bounce parent (other edge). Hip-hop leftover as a neighboring chant color, not this pulse hop.

Evidence

Early-1990s Johannesburg DJs slowing house 12-inches; Boom Shaka and Mafokate as named kwaito (Grove; Starr).

Debate

Whether kwaito simply is house. The machine four is house’s; the named township vocal job is the recoding.

Mediators

community: Johannesburg township DJs; artist: Boom Shaka

Mbaqanga → Kwaito

meter and grooveperformance practicefunction and contextstrength: mediumscholarly consensus1993–2000recordingdance

Mechanism

Kwaito takes mbaqanga’s township vocal-and-bounce job and recodes it on a slowed house machine: chanted hooks, dance floor, Johannesburg after 1994. Strength medium. House leftover as a neighboring club parent not drawn on this edge. Worldbeat leftover as an export hearing of mbaqanga, not a parent of kwaito.

Evidence

Early-1990s Johannesburg kwaito (Boom Shaka, Mafokate) keeping township language and bounce under house tempo (Grove).

Debate

Whether kwaito is already house. The machine pulse is house’s; the named township vocal job is the recoding that still hears mbaqanga.

Mediators

artist: Boom Shaka; artist: Arthur Mafokate

South African bubblegum → Kwaito

melodyfunction and contexttimbre and productionstrength: mediumscholarly consensus1993–2000recordingradiodance

Mechanism

Kwaito takes South African bubblegum’s township pop-vocal job — sung hooks, synth sheen, radio dance — and recodes it as chanted Tsotsitaal/Zulu over a slowed house bed. Strength medium. US Bubblegum leftover as a homonym, not this parent. Mbaqanga leftover as an older jive parent (other edge).

Evidence

Fassie/Chaka Chaka-era township pop into early kwaito radio (Grove).

Debate

Whether kwaito simply is slowed bubblegum. The 1980s sung pop single is bubblegum’s; the named house-rap township school is the recoding.

Mediators

artist: Arthur Mafokate; community: Johannesburg township pop studios

Kwaito → Gqom

meter and groovefunction and contexttimbre and productionstrength: mediumscholarly consensus2010–2016recordingdanceoral

Mechanism

Gqom takes kwaito’s township chant-and-bounce job and recodes it as a darker, broken Durban club pulse. Strength medium. House leftover as a neighboring club parent not drawn on this edge. Amapiano leftover as a later Johannesburg piano-house neighbor, not this child.

Evidence

Early-2010s Durban tapes and mid-decade hits keeping township language and bounce under broken kicks (Grove).

Debate

Whether gqom simply is kwaito with a harder kick. The named 1990s township house-rap is kwaito’s; the named Durban broken-house is the recoding.

Mediators

community: Durban bedroom producers; artist: DJ Lag