Indigenous patterns of music discovery: Khwe Bushmen and hip-hop in Platfontein, South Africa

ABSTRACT

Hip-hop has become a platform for young Khwe Bushmen to negotiate restrictive urban spaces following the tribe’s resettlement near the city of Kimberley in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Previous studies on music discovery tend to ignore the plight of indigenous and rural youth who struggle to keep up with the pace of global trends. Using qualitative data obtained through participatory observation, interviews, and focus group discussions, I argue that class remains a significant factor in the discovery of music. In many African indigenous communities, a few persons with higher socioeconomic status play a significant role in the acculturation and distribution of digital music and music cultures.

Acknowledgment

This research is drawn from the dissertation for a Master of Social Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, under the supervision of Prof. Ruth Teer-Tomaselli (2014).

Funding

Many thanks to Prof. Keyan Tomaselli, whose Rethinking Indigeneity project funded the research (see Tomaselli, 2005).

Notes

¹ For instance, Tepper and Hargittai’s (2009) study focused on the various digital media platforms that university students use to find new music.

² According to Huawei, one of Africa’s leading Information and Communications Technology firms, the lack of mobile technology in many remote places in the continent results from the sparse population and geographical location of these areas. Providing telecommunication services in such places meant low returns on investment for service providers (see http://www.huawei.com/za/about-huawei/corporate-citizenship/bridging-digital-divide/).

³ Since there currently is no international legal or even academic agreement on what constitutes indigeneity, such identification remains an issue today (see Pelican & Maruyama, 2015; Ndahinda, 2011).

⁴ Cultural Survival is an organization that advocates for Indigenous Peoples rights and supports Indigenous communities worldwide. See http://www.culturalsurvival.org/who-are-indigenous-peoples

⁵ Controversies surround the use of the names “Bushman,” “San,” “Khoi San,” and so forth. I consistently use the name “Bushman” or the plural “Bushmen” in this article because they are much preferred by my respondents.

⁶ This figure was found on the “Meerkat Kalahari Project” (2013) website.

⁷ The !Xun Bushmen live interdependently with the Khwe in the Platfontein. Both groups share a similar history of relocation, upheaval and displacement since their joint enlistment into the army in the 1970s. The present study was carried out in the Khwe community.

⁸ The Khwe have more exposure to modern technologies compared to many of their indigenous counterparts in the Kalahari Desert.

⁹ See Richard Vokes (2012) for details on the use of photography in African ethnography.

¹⁰ These opinion leaders include ex-soldiers and retirees, teachers, radio station staff members, pastors, and traditional elders.

¹¹ Rap, often referred to as hip-hop music, is a form of rhymed storytelling accompanied by highly rhythmic, electronically based musical accompaniment. Other components of hip-hop includes breakdancing, graffiti, DJing, and fashion (see Rose, 1994).

¹² XK FM is a community radio station under the control of the South African national public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The station was established in 1999 to provide better social services to both the Khwe and !Xun that would alleviate poverty, facilitate successful citizenship, and promote development (Hart, 2011).

¹³ Khwedam is the language of the Khwe people.

¹⁴ Although hip-hop can be localized to reflect socio-cultural and economic struggles, it brings with it the complexity of a popular youth culture entrenched in deviance and delinquency, violence, crime, and drug-taking (see O’Brien, 1996). In the Khwe community, hip-hop was said to have influenced many of the DRAP JJ stars to drop out of school and become involved with drugs (Interview, June 14, 2014).

¹⁵ Shebeens are informal drinking places popular in South African informal settlements. The Shebeen in Platfontein provides music and dancing, allowing residents to express themselves.

¹⁶ The author observed that Khwee youths with unlimited access to digital technologies speak English language more fluently than others with limited or no access. The Khwe are non-English language speakers. Hence, in a way, listening to American hip-hop has helped improved the spoken English of the youths. This phenomenon underscores Riia Milovanov’s (2009) study of music as a cognitive resource for learning new languages.

¹⁷ Concepts such as “African humanism,” “traditional collectivism,” and Nyerere’s “ujamaa” all indicate the absence of social classes in precolonial African culture

¹⁸ South Africa has been regarded as the most unequal country in the world, with the city of Johannesburg believed to be the most unequal major city (with a Gini co-efficient of 0.75) (UN HABITAT 2010, p. 73, 193).

¹⁹ Townships represents the very heart of where the struggle for freedom was waged and where many of today’s leaders, including politicians, artists, and figures in business and sportsmen were born and grew up (see Mayekiso, 1996).

²⁰ More than 90% of the Khwe Bushmen are dependent on the social grant scheme. Unemployment remains the community’s major problem.

²¹ The majority of the Khwe don’t have bank accounts, as there are no banks in the community to encourage saving. Hence, the money from the social grant scheme is quickly expended (Bodunrin, 2014a).

Additional information

Funding

Many thanks to Prof. Keyan Tomaselli, whose Rethinking Indigeneity project funded the research (see Tomaselli, 2005).