By Yonela Gebengu – the post Tuning into Tunes: The Music Tastes of SA Youth appeared first on Karibu – A Working Class News.
As we have just concluded Heritage Month, which is celebrated in September, we delve into music preferences of South African youth, which genres resonate with them and what draws them into specific tunes. Music serves as an emotional outlet allowing individuals to connect with melodies that reflect their emotions, experiences, and how they feel at a specific time. South Africa is a diverse country with a wide range of sounds and its music has a rainbow of different styles.
In this article, the present writer engages with musicians and poets to explore the motivations behind the music they produce and what inspires them to produce their unique sounds, he also engages with listeners about what kind of benefit or any connection they feel towards the content and art of particular music style and how it contributes to their personal growth.
Simphiwe Sim Mabuya, a ‘Jazz-Hop’ artist said that his music is a mix of jazz and hip-hop that blends together and fits with boom-baap hip hop flow. This in turn best compliments his music and content which is relevant to our times and involves content about what’s taking place on the ground, in communities we live in, and also issues that arise daily, so they can towards included in his music to create a more historical experience which invites every individual to reflect on the story and feel part of it.
Mabuya notices that there is a mixing of young and older people who relate to his music and love the content he produces because they are also touched. Mabuya also explained that his writings are inspired by issues reported on the news, as well as community surroundings and also listening to other artists.
Meanwhile, a maskandi guitarist who asked not to be mentioned said, “The majority of my support comes from Zulu listeners’ hence they understand more of the content and it also blends more with their culture,” and he likes to sing more about stories from around his community and also what is currently trending in the view of young people – for example, what they like to talk about and what’s currently trending at the moment.
Grade 12 learners from Jeppe High School also gave views in terms of what music they tend to listen to.
“I like music which speaks about current affairs, music from the past that talks about our history and where we come from,” said Athini Dlamini, while Emihle Hlanjwa said he listens to any kind of music that just reflects what he’s feeling at the certain moment when he might be feeling down or happy then chooses music that will uplift his mood.
