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Bruce Ndlovu Showbiz Correspondent
FOR years kwaito music fans have mourned the genre’s slow and painful withdrawal from the limelight. Once the mainstay of the Southern African music scene in the 90s, the genre has fallen on hard times in the last few years. Like other popular youth musical artforms, the genre took over all aspects of the lives of its followers, as it influenced their tastes from the way they carry themselves to their choice in fashion.

Perhaps more than others in the region, Bulawayo youths were also caught by the kwaito craze with the city’s parties reverberating to the sounds of the likes of Trompies, Mdu and Zola, while fans walked the streets wearing the latest fashion gear that their idols donned in their music videos. The city also managed to unearth its larger than life kwaito stars in the form of GO Boyz and Achuzzi.

However, despite this strong kwaito fever that had swept across Southern Africa, the genre seemed to lose favour gradually with youths as other genres seemed to tickle their fancy. While house music and hip hop had always been present during kwaito’s reign, the two genres seemed to find fresh impetus in the mid-2000s while the genre stagnated.

Over the years, the two have outpaced the genre and kwaito no longer seems to eat at the musical high table. The genre seems to have gone from royalty to mere pauper as it now occupies the lower rungs of the music genre hierarchy.

While the likes of Brickz, Spikiri, Professor and Big Nuz have tried to keep the genre’s flame shining in its hour of darkness, gone are the days when the genre’s acolytes would dominate award lists, as instead that honour is now reserved for the genre’s rivals. At the forthcoming Channel O awards, the genre has nominees in its category only, while hip hop, house and Nigerian artistes dominate throughout almost all categories. Kwaito, one would think, is for all intents and purposes dead and if it not, it’s breathing its last breath in the intensive care unit.

However, close inspection would suggest that this is no longer the case. It seems as if the fallen giant on the African music scene was merely in a coma and has resurrected, albeit under the umbrella of one of the genres responsible for its demise.

Over the past year, hip hop artistes have used yesteryear kwaito hits and styles to create earth shaking hits that have seen them go from wannabes to superstars. Kwaito hits that sent people scurrying to dancefloors in yesteryears have been repackaged and given a fresh angle to make them appealing to today’s youths. Unnoticed by many, hip hop has undergone a transformation this year, as artistes have adopted a music style that is hard to distinguish from the kwaito of a decade and a half ago.

The strategy seems to be paying dividends as it has been embraced warmly by music lovers. The year’s biggest chart toppers, which include Caracara, Tsiki Tsiki and Doc Shebeleza are heavily kwaito influenced and although they still go under the umbrella of hip hop, there is no denying who the likes of KO, Cassper Nyovest and Duncan owe their success to. While the genre’s lyrics are still hip hop, the beat styles and melodies have heavily borrowed from kwaito.

The revival of kwaito through hip hop has not stopped with music. Typical kwaito apparel that might have been shunned by hip hop listeners in yesteryears seems to have also made a comeback. The streets of Bulawayo can bear testament to this resurgence as all-stars, usually worn together with shin high socks, and bucket hats have made a comeback. The bucket hat, or ispoti, has made a particularly strong comeback as it has suddenly gone from a hat that only shady characters wear to a fashion accessory that can be worn by anyone.

Many reasons can be cited for this sudden return of kwaito. The simple explanation is that music lovers identify more with the genre because it is perceived to be more original than American influenced hip hop. Young artistes, it seems, have only now wised up to that fact.

The other explanation is that the melodies in kwaito are catchy and hence more relatable to the average listener and this mixed together with hip hop lyrics makes for an enticing mix. What is certain, however, is that the latest trend has given fresh legs to hip hop while also keeping kwaito music, fashion and style well alive.

However, despite the overwhelming presence of kwaito influenced content on the airwaves, what has been worrying is how the genre’s own exponents are still nowhere to be seen. It seems as if, with the help of kwaito, hip hop artistes have firmly seized the steering wheel and are not willing to vacate the driving seat while kwaito stars are conspicuous by their absence.

The recent trend has not be met without criticism. Hip hop purists believe that the adoption of a distinctly kwaito style is evidence of the genre selling out. Some have found the sudden adoption of a style from the “enemy” camp to be a betrayal of the ideals that define hip hop. One of the harshest critics of this latest merger between the two genres is rapper POY.

“I think the trend just shows the lack of creativity that dominates South African hip hop as a whole. Most of these rappers lack originality and if they had the creativity they would be creating fresh songs with new concepts which they are not doing,” he said.

Questions remain on how long this latest trend can last and how far it can go. What is not in doubt however, is that kwaito has found a new lease of life and the latest fashion trends and music choice on the streets of Bulawayo bear testimony to this.