Kwaito Kingdom

King of Kwaito

THERE are few more captivating music personalities in South Africa than Arthur Mafokate.

A musician, singer, producer, performer, songwriter and television personality, Arthur (or Mr Vuvuzela as he’s also known) is undeniably one of the country’s most loved individuals: At the FNB South African Music Awards, Arthur scooped the rest of the music industry to take home the award for Song of the Year. A new category, Song of the Year is voted for by the South African music listening public and the success of Arthur’s song, Oyi Oyi, in a year when the competition was strong is indicative of his enduring appeal for his hundreds of thousands of fans.

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Queen of Kwaito

Mshoza The Queen Of kwaito

http://www.justcurious.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/mshoza.jpg

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Nomasonto Maswanganyi AKA Mshoza. Anyone not familiar with the name Mshoza needs to listen to her latest release and they’ll realise that she is both Kwaito star and pantsula artist extraordinaire.

Bulldawgz Records which had brought the country hit-making, charismatic kiddie stars Mzambiya and Msawawa introduced the country to a female vocalist named Mshoza with her debut album “Bulldawgz First Lady”… Mshoza is arguably THE female Kwaito artist!

Mshoza was first discovered on the youth variety show “Jam Alley” (SABC1). She burst onto the scene with the hit single “Kortes” which she featured Kwaito kid sensation Mzambiya. In 2003 she released her follow up album called “Bhoza”. This album spawned the hits “Piti”, “My Angel” and “UMshoza yiBhoza”.

What is Kwaito?

Kwaito

Kwaito is a form of South African music and lifestyle. It developed in the early 1990s in the townships of Johannesburg. It is popular all over southern africa--Namibia, Lesotho, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania. Kwaito can mean "ferocious", "hot tempered", and "awesome."

Kwaito is marked by programmed beats, call and response pattern, and repetitive lyrics. Early kwaito was apolitical (devoid of any political message), a break from the older generation, which featured much politically laced lyrics. Lyrically, Kwaito became post-Apartheid, new, and youthful. It has gotten a lot of controversal press for being lyrically misogynistic, use of excessive profanity, materialism, and violence. It is sang in tsotsitaal, a mix language of street slang, Afrikaaner, Sotho, Zulu, and Xhosa. Tsotsi means thug in Afrikaaner. Taal means language.

Kwaito had its beginning in the early 1990s. Djs in Johannesburg began to experiment with electronic music, techno, house, hip-hop, and ragga. They began to give it a South African feel. Township Dj's began to add the melodies, harmonies, and rhythm patterns of Bubblegum(South African disco), Mbaqanga, Mpantsula, and South African gospel creatiing a distinct sound. The music became part of the youth underground. Artist sold their music on the streets and via independent record labels. It became a lifestyle, a way of dress, and talk, rooted in the poor townships--the lowest order of South African society.

Examples of KWAITO ART, STYLE, MUSIC AND ENVIROMENT

Digital age, visual culture and virtual reality

Thematising the ugly side of sublime technological development: Sonzero’s Pulse (2006) as an inadvertent critique of the ‘technocentrism’ of postmodernity

Thematising the ugly side of sublime technological development: 

Sonzero’s Pulse (2006) as an inadvertent critique of the 

‘ technocentrism’ of postmodernity

Brief summary

This article deals with the impact of technocentricism on our society, the manner in which the technological world has affected us as humans our communities, communication and relations.

The articles also deals with the aspects that makes us human, our relations with each other even going to the extreme of our souls being tampered with by this modern society and its culture of technological system.

Aspects of capitalism and socialism are addressed as they are detrimental factors in our lifetime. 

Modernism and Postmodernism

The United colors of Benetton

http://livinginworld.wordpress.com/brands/united-colors-of-benetton/

http://mondomolly.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/magazine-madness-andor-mania-seventeen-september-1988/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/7388786859553909/

http://livinginworld.wordpress.com/brands/united-colors-of-benetton/

http://livinginworld.wordpress.com/brands/united-colors-of-benetton/

http://livinginworld.wordpress.com/brands/united-colors-of-benetton/

The United colors of Benetton campaign moves with the era and times, the brand is contraversial and they play on the issue of race creating images of contrast through photography.

The clothes and the style may change through the years but the idea remains the same.

South African Conceptual Design

http://10and5.com/2012/02/28/new-brandhouse-drive-dry-campaign/

http://10and5.com/2012/02/28/new-brandhouse-drive-dry-campaign/

http://10and5.com/2012/02/28/new-brandhouse-drive-dry-campaign/

• The Drive Dry Campaign is addressing the issue of drinking and driving in South Africa with thought provocking images.
• The campaign promotes the idea that your actions have deadly Consequences, dealing with differnt scenarios, from death in an accident, being the victim of an accodent and so on.
• The viewer is being made aware of the dangers of alcahole abuse.
• Since commercial and conceptual Design have simialar traits as they are in similar fields  and while the other may be purely ideaa based,  its important to possess both as they deal with different genres of design.

The Importance of a manifesto

The Importance of a manifesto

The First things First manifesto 2000 highlights the do's and the don'ts of design through first hand experiances. There are areas that are encouraged and those that are discouraged and some that are left to the readers own discretion. There is also insight on common , helpful methods which can improve the quality of ones work and that is the area i found most interesting.

Other Manifesto's of interest

• 100+years of design manifestos-http://backspace.com/notes/2009/07/design-manifestos.php
• 1000 Words: A Manifesto for Sustainability in DesignBy Allan Chochinov- http://www.core77.com/reactor/04.07_chochinov.asp

The Importance of formulating a manifesto

A manifesto can be defined as a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate. It makes clear the yearnings and ideas of the individual or group and states the issue or subject that they stand for. A manifesto questions society engages them and causes and sets in motion a thought, `the type of thought depends on the manifesto and its ideas. Manifestos creat individuality and enable one to bring up a subject that perhaps.