Abstract
This article explores the influence of the musician Obed Ngobeni (1954–2002) and his backing singers the Kurhula Sisters. It catalogues his significance as a pioneer of Xitsonga disco that helped shape South Africa’s ‘township bubblegum’ sound of the ’80s. The author argues that Ngobeni defied apartheid’s social engineering in an attempt to foster and affirm African cultural values. This form of resistance is exemplified by the influential 1983 track Ku Hluvukile eka ‘Zete’ (There is Progress at ZZ2), later entitled Kazet which has become a recognisable classic and anthem. Veteran musicians such as Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, Harry Belafonte and several deejays have recorded versions of Kazet and toured the world, thus extending its reach beyond racial and ethnic confines – placing it on the continent and world music circuit. Ngobeni’s music serves as an example of excellence emanating from the so-called backward and ‘unbookish’ pockets of our country. Hence, the author argues that music on the periphery is central in shaping critical perspectives, cultural affirmation and conscientising people around the issues of labour exploitation, cultural and historical marginalisation. Through the song Ku Hluvukile eka ‘Zete’, Ngobeni reimagined a new, humane and egalitarian society way back in the ’80s before the advent of liberation and democracy in South Africa. Through oral testimonies and interviews of men and women who worked on the ZZ2 farms as well as musical archives and other phenomenological approaches, the story of Ngobeni is revealed with sensitivity to the factors that foregrounded his music.Contribution: This article records, preserves, popularises and studies the role of resistance music through Ngobeni’s song Ku Hluvukile eka ‘Zete’ within the multidisciplinary fields of social sciences, using, in the main, oral history techniques to document the untold rural story of an unheralded artist.
Highlights
Introduction and personal background of ObedNgobeniAccording to Afrosynth Records (2019), Obed Ngobeni and his backing singers the Kurhula Sisters were amongst the originators of Shangaan disco, a genre that helped shape South Africa’s burgeoning ‘bubblegum’ sound of the ’80s.Ngobeni came to prominence in the early 1980s, with his 1983 hit Ku Hluvukile ka ‘Zete’
Simon Nkabinde (1937–1999) – the groaning lion of Soweto and king of mbaqanga better known as Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens released his version as Kazet in the album Paris –Soweto (Gallo Record Company:1987), the venerable West Nkosi as producer
Civil rights activist and humanitarian Harry Belafonte from the United States of America versioned it as Paradise in Gazankulu in 1988
Summary
This is a qualitative study conducted in the rural villages of N’wa-Xinyamani and Bungeni in the Vhembe district, as well as the city of Polokwane, Capricorn district, in Limpopo province. Growing up in Soweto, Ngobeni walked through the streets of the eclectic township and cosmopolitan Johannesburg and heard the sounds of jazz, marabi, blues, American jazz and American disco He heard traditional Xitsonga sounds by MD Shirinda and Gaza Sisters (Modjadji) – the first Mutsonga artist to incorporate and infuse women as backing vocalists; Xinengani xa N’wampfundla by Mthombeni – the first Mutsonga artist from N’wa-Xinyamani to play in England in 2005; and Nyoresh by Thomas Chauke, the first Mutsonga artist to be conferred with an honorary doctorate by a university. Comm., 18 February 2021) from ka Bungeni, is a land rights activist with massive experience in restitution, redistribution, tenure reform and labour practices He argues that Ku Hluvukile eka ‘Zete’ celebrates the visible changes in the lives of farmworkers and dwellers at the ZZ2 tomato farms. Wegerif, Russel and Grundling (2005:7) postulate that the black people living on farms in South Africa remain amongst the most vulnerable people in the society
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