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Music for the Masses: Kwaito (Audio)
In this broadcast, host Neva Wartell takes listeners on a journey back in time to the 1990s in South Africa. The years of oppression and fear are coming to an end, and with the new post-apartheid generation emerges a joyful, upbeat new musical groove called kwaito. Born in the streets of Soweto, kwaito has taken over the dance clubs of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Capetown, and beyond. With influences as diverse as hip-hop, rap, house music, as well as R&B, plus incorporating languages and musical markers of different tribal and regional groups across South Africa, kwaito has a sound that can unite people across racial, cultural, class, and even generational lines. Warning: Two hours of non-stop dancing straight ahead!
"Music for the Masses" invites you on an excursion of sound and rhythm. Discover the music of established and emerging artists, both signed and unsigned, on the international music scene. For the avid globe-hopper and armchair traveler alike. You might want to pack a map and a sandwich. Catskill resident "DJ Neva" is an ethnomusicologist, producer, and long-time cultural activist, specializing in music from the entire African continent, as well as the Caribbean and Latin America, the Maghreb and Middle East, and the Roma (Gypsy) diaspora. Formerly the producer of "Continental Drift" on WBAI-FM and New York International on Haitian community station Radio Soleil in NYC. The show is broadcast live from Catskill, NY.