Rocking Out to Afro-Pop Music!

Musings from Mothershiester: When I was living in Johannesburg, six years ago, my appreciation for music from the continent was born. Even though I grew up listening to music from Kenya, I associated that music with my parents and a country that I didn't want to be connected to. Now that I djay music for other people, I really want to share my love of the various beats that make my continent so hot. Case in point, the South African band that made my knees weak with energy when I first heard them--Mafikizolo . Their music is a blend of Afro-pop, kwela (a genre of southern african music that sounds sort of jazzy and is characterized by the pennywhistle--a six-holed wood wind whistle), marabi (indigenous to South Africa, and also has a jazzy sound like kwela but includes the use of the organs). Mafikizola's style is definitely a blend of the traditional with the new pop beats that we are so accustomed to. If I'm ever on the run, from the law or fighting to survive the apocalypse, I hope to have my Mafikizolo tape in tact....Hell, I'm already fighting to survive the apocalypse.

Here's a video of one of my fav songs by them. Keep an eye for the butch that is representing for us gender and sexual variants.

Hey, get out of your chair and dance!