Paper Example on Racial Identity and South African Music

Introduction

Racial identity refers to an individual's sense of having their distinctiveness described by being part of a particular race. Such distinctiveness is based on the extent to which the individual has internalized deeply the social-economic, political and other factors that lie within that setup/group (Cornel & Quayle 556). Racial identity has been an issue in African societies since the advent of colonialism. Its impact is very evident in South Africa via apartheid (Clark &Worger 20). Racial identity is significant because it breaks a link between an individual and a stranger. Every individual also has a unique racial identity that they identify with their environment and the structure of their family. This paper aims at critically analyzing South African music in relation to racial identity. However, much caution should be taken not to use racial identity as the root of racial discrimination.

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The apartheid government in South Africa discriminated Africans into Indian, Black, Colored and white whereas Blacks occupied the lowest position. Music genres that have been recorded in African states have played the role of determining the racial identity (Denis 15). The following is a compilation of an album of African Music that responds to the theme of racial identities. Much emphasis has been put on South African music.

Inkululeko Album

Inkululeko is an Xhosa and Zulu term for freedom (Stouwe 57). This album comprises of South African songs that were written, composed and recorded during the time of freedom struggle in South Africa. The theme was also very relevant to other African states since they shared common social, political and economic challenges. Lucky Dube, Miriam Makeba, Lady Smith Black Mambazo, Hugh Masekela, and Leleti Khumalo (Sarafina) are the artists analyzed

The Playlist

Together as One - Lucky Dube

This song was released under the album ''captured live'' in 1990 by Paradox Label. The album consists of the songs-Together as one, The Hand That Giveth, Slave, Truth in the World, Born To Suffer and Prisoner. The song ''Together as one talks about racial identity''. It's a plea to all the races in Africa to live "together as one'' (Mensah, Agyem, & Osei 60). The song belongs to the reggae genre where the artist cries for peaceful co-existence and unity in a world that is full of hate.

My Brother My Enemy

Lucky Dube released this song in 1995 under the label of the Trinity album. In this song, Lucky Dube 's soothing vocals float throughout the CD, carrying along the message of identity. He rebukes the vice of apartheid. The chorus "Not every black man is my brother, not every white man is my enemy, I've got no place in your world, and I've never been where you've been" champions for racial unity.

Soweto Blues - Miriam Makeba

Casablanca Records released this song in 1977 from the album Welela. Hugh Masekela wrote the song. Stanley Todd and Hugh Masekela produced the song. It's a protest song concerning the Soweto uprising in 1976 when the apartheid government wanted to implement Afrikaans as a language of instruction in South African schools (Dario 29). Up to around 8700 people were killed in the protest. The song was recorded at ICP Studios, Brussels in Belgium. It's a genre of International pop/Rock.

Aluta Continua - Miriam Makeba

This song was also released under the Welela album under the Casablanca Records at ICP Studios in Belgium under the label PolyGram Records. Makeba was in political exile and was refused re-admittance to her country. It's a tribute to the people of Mozambique in their struggle to find identity and freedom in the face of colonial oppression (Helweg 890). It's a song classified under jazz, Funk, soul and country music.

World in Union - Lady Smith Black Mambazo

Lady Smith Black Mambazo is a group of South African males who sing in the vocal style of acapella. World in Union is a song that the group featured PJ Powers and was released in 1998. It's a song of racial identity where they envision a world that is united as one, devoid of racial discrimination where every color, mind, and heart are joined together, never apart. Charlie Skarbek, Gustav Holst, and Joseph Shabalala wrote the song while Charlie Skarbek produced it under the label PolyGram. It's an African style song under the genre of Folk, world and country music. This was the official theme song for the World Cup Rugby 1995

Khawuleza - Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba

This song is classified under Classic/Jazz music. It talks about constant raids by the police in the townships of Soweto slums in South Africa. Khawuleza simply means- Mama, hide the booze. The police are coming. The song points out the brutal treatment that typical Africans received from their colonial masters. Dorothy Masuka composed the song while Hugh Masekela played the flugelhorn. The song was released with Back to the Future album under Columbia label and was released in 1997.

Leleti Khumalo Songs

This is the major character in the play-Sarafina which is a story about the role of the students in the struggle for independence. Leleti Khumalo acts as Sarafina in the play. Several songs that touch the theme of racial identity and political freedom are performed in the song by Sarafina. These are Safa Saphel Isizwe (The black nation is dying), Freedom is Coming Tomorrow, among others. Siwelele Mama explains a weeping nation where the males have been taken away, and women and babies are left alone. These songs tackle the issues that affected Africa during this period. Hugh Masekela, Stanley Myers, Miriam Makeba and Mbongeni Ngema composed the music in this movie. The movie was released on 11th May 1992 in rance.

Thina Sizwe

This is a traditional South African song. SABC choir recorded the song from the Amandla album and was released in 2003. The song is a cry for a country which was taken away by the whites. African children are crying for their country.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important to note that music played a vital role in the struggle for freedom which formed the basis for racial identity by the African nations. Through music, Africans were able to express their dissatisfaction with the political structures and need for a struggle to achieve freedom. Music, therefore, plays a vital role in the social and cultural life of individuals as it has been seen in the playlist above. Music is used to promote political mobilization, to make a cultural identity to be stronger and to make bonds of identity to be stronger.

Work Cited

Clark, Nancy L., and William H. Worger. South Africa: The rise and fall of apartheid. Routledge, 2016.Hellweg, Joseph. "Same-Gender Desire, Religion, and Homophobia: Challenges, Complexities, and Progress for LGBTIQ Liberation in Africa." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 83.4 (2015): 887-896.

Martin, Denis. Sounding the Cape: Music, identity and politics in South Africa. African Books Collective, 2013.Martinelli, Dario. "Songs of Social Protest and Context." Give Peace a Chant. Springer, Cham, 2017. 17-31.Mensah, Emmanuel, Joe Adu-Agyem, and Ruby Osei-Barnieh. "Teaching Sculpture at the Senior High School Level Using Non-conventional Materials." (2013).

Vander Stouwe, Chris. "A phonetic and phonological report on the Xhosa language." Unpublished final project. Retrieved 8 (2013).

Verwey, Cornel, and Michael Quayle. "Whiteness, racism, and Afrikaner identity in post-apartheid South Africa." African Affairs 111.445 (2012): 551-575.