This dissertation explores some of the ways in which listening to South African popular music enables individuals to engage imaginatively with others in South Africa, and thereby negotiate their place in the social landscape. For this reason, the majority of my interview questions focused on eliciting perceptions of the connection between “race” and music. The result is that in the sections discussing the discourses on South African rock and South African jazz, some of the comments quoted are about music that sounds distinctive.
The Dissemination, Interpretation, and Internalisation of Dominant Discourses of Music and 'Race' in South Africa
Many of the research participants mentioned the role of other forms of media that ill .. perpetuate stereotypes about musical tastes of racial groups in South Africa. It seems clear that an individual's interpretation of the dominant discourses linking musical genre to racial group depends on the social contexts in which the music has been experienced. She developed a fondness for the South African rock artists whose CDs her friend owned.
Examining the Discourses of Kwaito
Finally, ideas of the relative unimportance of sophisticated technological production for the aesthetics of an authentic 'African sound'. In this way, his interpretation of the motivation of black South Africans to listen to kwaito indicates his own feeling that he is different from them. Those who chose the first explanation felt that the 'blackness' of kwaito lies in the 'race' (or the racial experiences) of the artist, and thus Mandoza's 'whitened' kwaito is a result of the 'race' from its manufacturer.
Examining the Discourses of South African Jazz
Certain discourses seem to apply more to certain types of South African jazz than to others. For example, the discourse of South African jazz as 'musician's music' was only evident in discussions of the song Marcus Wyatt. A slightly different approach to explaining the love of South African jazz is illustrated by Linda's comments.
Examining the Discourses of South African Rock
She speculated that older people would listen to it, in line with her previously discussed thoughts about South African jazz listeners being part of the 'older generation'. Where the former applies, I have used the term 'South African rock' to indicate the narrower focus of the discussion. For research participants like Linda and Khaya, legitimizing their choice to listen to rock involved a critique of the criteria on which they felt most South Africans based their listening choices.
I was looking for depth in the lyrics, and the poetry behind them, and the beauty of the music, and all those kinds of things, and that's when I started listening to rock. He emphasized that he chose to listen to rock because the aesthetics of the genre appealed to him. For these research participants (all three classified themselves as Indian), the fact that rock is defined as 'white music', and that they are therefore excluded from the dominant definition of rock listeners in South Africa, is precisely the source of the music's attraction.
She explained how choosing to listen to rock music was part of an overall process of discovering that the people she identified with were not necessarily of the same racial classification as her own. In the discussion above, I have attempted to illustrate the various ways in which individuals excluded from prevailing definitions of rock's 'ideal audience' justified their choice to listen to the genre. Both Khaya and Linda added that it's not just the individual musical features of rock that appeal to them, but the aesthetic of the genre as a whole.
Adequate listening can be said to occur when a listener listens to a particular type of music “according to the predominant sociocultural conventions of the subculture to which the music belongs” (ibid.).
The Role of South African Popular Music in Imagining a National Identity
Shashi agreed that the unique sound of South African jazz is an important part of why she enjoys the music. Do you think there is something about South African jazz that makes it distinctively South African? As was clear in the discussion of South African jazz, research participants had difficulty explaining how musical characteristics reflected specific national experiences.
We live in the new South African now, things have changed..that's why we are South Africans, because we have a diversity of cultures. Jamiel agreed that a distinctive South African sound was irrelevant to his enjoyment of local rock. It's always nice to see a South African name up there with, you know, the rest of the world.
Nosipho felt that 'mixing' was a descriptive characteristic of South African popular culture at present. In this interpretation, kwaito is claimed as 'South African' rather than 'black', as the languages of the lyrics are understood to represent the diversity of the nation as a whole. Kwaito was not the only type of South African music involved in exploring the tension between sameness and difference in South Africa.
She felt that this maintenance of diversity was important, as it was the defining quality of a South African national identity.
The Role of Music in Social Change in South Africa
Although attempts to separate aesthetic evaluations from social identities are problematic (see pages 86–91), conceptualizing the formation of music taste in this way allowed research participants like Linda to explain the racial divisions in music preferences. The opposite poles of the continuum discussed above may each involve a contrasting interpretation of the role of music in social change. At this point it is possible to demonstrate these divergent interpretations of the relationship between music and social transformation.
These interviewees felt that radio constituted an important part of the environment in which individuals were socialized, and in which the roots of racial division in musical taste were anchored. Janine expressed a similar view of the dual role of individual choice and social environment in changing social identities. On the other hand, she also felt that changes in one's musical environment could lead to social change beyond the control of the individual.
The following example illustrates the connection between the various 'folk theories' that a person has in terms of perceptions of the role of music in social change. An additional factor important to consider in understanding the perception of music's role in social change is the degree of independent causal power attributed to music by research participants. In this interpretation, a love for the same music is imagined as a symbol for both parties of a deeper personal affinity.
Tina provides a further example of the role of music in developing this relational way of thinking about difference.
Conclusion
My understanding of the concept is informed by Rubinstein's discussion of scholars such as Wittgenstein and Charles Taylor. Following these ideas, it seems that it is in the act of translating the 'rules' of the relationship between music and 'race' from the realm of the abstract to specific social contexts that the listener's agency is extended. However, the interplay between dominant discursive constructions and individual interpretations of the relationship between racial identity and music does not occur in a vacuum.
In this case, the limitations placed on the individual's experience of music in South Africa result in a situation in which he/she cannot use alternative applications of the 'rules' of music listening with which to critique more reductive discourses. . A second way in which individuals can exercise agency exists in the case of certain genres where the dominant construction of their audience demographics is unclear. This constitutes the third possible way in which listeners can assert a degree of freedom over the music's imagination.
The various interpretations of the role of language in shaping the meanings of the word kwaito discussed in Chapter 3 are an example of this. He explained the racial divide in musical preferences in terms of the prevalence of South Africans growing up in an environment where the boundaries between 'race', place and music coincide. He expresses an active hatred of kwait and uses his criticism of the music to justify it.
They are not freely chosen, but arise in the context of various social discourses, each of which in its own way influence the development of an individual's self-image.
Appendix A
George: a white, 24-year-old, English-speaking man who grew up in Bloemfontein but now lives in Durban. Tina: a black, 22-year-old, Xhosa-speaking woman. She is from Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape. She has no religious beliefs and comes from a middle class background. He is a Christian from a relatively deprived background, but has received sponsorship from a local priest to attend a private Catholic school.
Appendix B
He played with well-known South African jazz artists such as Abdullah Ibrahim, McCoy Mrubata and Winston 'Mankunku' Ngozi, as well as with Dutch bassist Eric van der Westen. http://www.artsmart.co.za/music/archivel168.html. He is best known for his solo jazz piano, but also for his collaborations with musicians such as Archie Shepp, Max Roach and the South African multi-instrumentalist Johnny Dyani. Makeba, Miriam: This famous South African jazz singer, born in 1952, started her career singing with the Manhattan Brothers.
A South African jazz saxophonist, born in Cape Town in 1943, who names John Coltrane as his own. Masekela, Hugh: Born in 1939, jazz trumpeter Masekela is one of the most recognized names in South African jazz, both at home and abroad. Rabbitt: Arguably the most successful South African rock band of their time, Rabbitt formed in 1968 under the name Conglomeration.
Senyaka: A South African kwaito artist, Senyaka made his debut on the local music scene in the early 1990s with his album Fuquza. TKZee: A South African kwaito group, consisting of members Zwai Bala, Kabelo Mabelane, Tokollo Tshabalala. He has played with many of the big names on the South African scene including Winston Mankunku, Vusi Mah1asela and Jimmy D1ud1u.
Zola (real name Bonginkosi Dlamini): One of South Africa's most popular contemporary kwaito stars.
Works Cited
34;Talking About Good and Bad Music." Paper præsenteret i Montreal til 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music. 34;Looking for the Message: Kwaito Music and the Post-Apartheid Politics of Sound." Upubliceret afhandling (RA. Honours - Music).
Select Discography
