“People want to see them, people want to be like them.”
We are in Qumana village
Writing about legacy acts in the streaming era poses many problems. What it reveals is that the catalog of legacy acts tends to lag behind important releases.
Such is the case with Boom Shaka, who kicked down the door protesting for the right to rave, telling us it’s time we pay attention to the new thang coming in the Summer of 1993-to-1994. With releases such as 1998’s Ain’t No Stoppin’ (Us Now) and Boom Shaka’s (1999) self-titled Words of Wisdom, they stuck out like strong colors against a muted background.
On & On
Theo Nhlengethwa and Lebo Mathosa were the first to appear in the L&T quartet.
Seete shared his origins in a Kaya FM interview last year.
“L&T was Lebo and Thembi, before Boom Shaka. It was the only thing we came to keep ourselves busy after school.
He says he imitates artists he likes.
“When I finally met Lebo, it was the beginning of my life. I couldn’t believe that there was such a person, with such strength, talent and passion. It’s a good thing that you will see on TV and hear on the radio. It’s rare to meet such a strong person that’s it.”
Oscar Mdlongwa, who we now know as Oskido, and who was called Oscar wa Rona in the early 1990s club days, is the mastermind of the quartet at Club Arena in the center of Joburg.
Sokhela has been a member of Prophets of da City and Nhlengethwa is a Tevin Campbell-esque figure for the 1990s R&B generation. Oskido is a pioneer in seeing the importance of a group of individuals who are not afraid to be brave and sexy.
Out of the funk, groove, edginess and rawness of club culture came one of the biggest outfits to rule in Mzansi post-94. The end of an era announced itself through the news of Mathosa’s death after a car accident on Monday morning, October 26, 2006. Kwaito music, club tradition, glam – all taken from the generation that came of age in the 1990s.
In his Kaya FM interview, Seete revealed that Mathosa and Nhlengethwa have been in a relationship for seven years, and as individual members go solo, the impact of the group as a whole continues.
If You Love Boom
Hindsight offers clarity on who Boom Shaka was, and what he was called. They go dancing and looking fly, do not give sex and embrace eternal youth. But this is an observation from one perspective, which reflects a lot of what was said about the nature of kwaito and iSgubhu that can be thrown away in the 1990s, but also in the current era of amapiano.
Boom Shaka embodies the consciousness of club music through his choice of lyrics. Songs like Kwere-Kwere only started to make sense when hate was revealed as a violent attack on dark-skinned South Africans and African immigrants in 2008, while others like Lerato and Don’t Be Ashamed talked about embracing yourself. without fear, to champion yourself because no one can catch you in the same thing.
(Mathosa is known as a queer woman, and is not shy about living the truth, while Nhlengethwa is rumored to be one of the first transgender people in the country to be a public figure.)
Nkosi Sikelela, the unofficial B-side to the national anthem, broke the rules and angered authority figures, from parents to the government. So Free was self-care before the style, the license for the center of self, but also places that embraces in the community more than boundless love.
In the process of writing this article, I reached out to the most passionate and ardent fans to share their best memories and what they tell me is that Mathosa is inimitable, one of a kind, a rare find that can never be recreated or duplicated. . It is necessary to see this as an endorsement of his presence, which is important for the group, and cemented his pursuit of a solo career, but also states that his elevated status does not exceed what the collective represents.
Style, Flair, Grace
“I have an aunt who is eight years older than me. I got a lot of my early introduction to kwaito music through him – he was still in high school at the time.
“Each era has its own vibe; the first is related to its appearance. My aunt was a teenager, she also liked to cut her hair. I guess that’s where my relationship with braids comes from,” said vocalist, songwriter and producer Nonku Phiri.
“From Boom Shaka’s perspective, he’s just the whole package. He’s accessible – yes, he feels older, but not in a way that excludes me. I’m very into the song, it’s very unique.
“We always had Aba Shantes, but Boom Shaka had his own charm. Nobody can deny that Lebo had a very different voice and I don’t think anyone was doing it like him at the time.
“He gave us the whole Hollywood package before it was a thing here. And he always had an air of innovation but also sultry. He came to command attention; he didn’t ask for it.
About Damn Time
“My favorite memory is from the power of It’s About Time – it speaks to many moments from high school – it was a song we just sang.
“I remember when I was very young, putting my stomach in, turning my shirt into shorts, jiving with my parents because I was too big to party. [around me] and Lebo is one of those people in the house,” says Monthati Masebe, who is a composer and music researcher, as well as an actor.
“My mother had me when I was young and she was an elder brother in Lebo’s life. She would come to decompress from the wild life but still be wild herself. She dressed liberally, which was very cool. It was like she was saying, ‘Kea phapha (I go ahead), and I know you’re judging me, but I don’t care.’
“It’s Boom Shaka – legendary!” Masebe beam.
“There’s a lot of forward thinking [Lebo] just manifest and don’t have to say it out loud; kind of free which I needed to feel safe in a non-conventional way of life. They just don’t care!
“[She gave us permission to] cut off our clothes and dance to inappropriate songs. It’s about fun and dance and freedom and just embracing everything that has to do with you. We need as black women, that liberation.
So it’s Free
Rhea Blek, a Durban-based vocalist and songwriter with a dangerous pipe, who can exorcise demons and inject the kwaito tradition into a new generation of freedom-seekers, is also a mega-fan.
“Boom Shaka was the first alternative black music that I was exposed to. He really influenced me to be an artist who is not afraid to experiment, who is not afraid to express himself, and I am very happy with how it turned out in such a transformational period for South Africa.
“[Their music] it’s about happiness, it’s about expressing ourselves, expressing our youth, just being black. They don’t focus on the comments on the negative side of blackness, and it’s horrible that comes with our blackness, all the time.
“It’s really good for [experience] black happiness and black freedom in that way. I just thought it was cool – and he really didn’t like it.
The Way I Feel
Sakumzi Qumana, who used to dress as Johnny Cradle, remembers meeting his brother while out on the town in East London in the early 1990s.
“This shit comes and we’re like, ‘Hayibo, what is this?’ Then came the stereotype, ‘Yo, it’s international!’
“It sounds like South Africa if you listen to it now, but I still have that thing. After that, will see the music video and then rah-rah about Boom Shaka.
He added that he was the first big star of his generation.
“People want to see them, people want to be like them.”
Phiri concludes by describing how Boom Shaka influenced him during various phases of his life.
“They are just icons, they are mavericks. No one can duplicate them. They made it very easy to hold two queens in their reputation; it is very clear who is organizing the event. For me, Boom Shaka has always been fearless, he has always been a pioneer. “
He continued: “To be able to approach music in that way, at that time, [and] to still be relevant now, I always hold a soft spot when it comes [to them].
“I think they all have a part of them that wishes they had Lebo Mathosa alive at this time, as a guide, a mentor or just to witness what he is going to do now. He is a mystic.
“I am very grateful to have witnessed all of that. For me, Boom Shaka has always been an incredible pioneering collective that just did bad things and left a wonderful legacy of female artists that weren’t meant to be. [grouped with] gospel singer or pop singer.
“They can carve out a place where it’s just the complete package — the dancing, the singing, the aesthetic — the girls are there, man.”
At a time when we talk about diversity and not seeing the world in a binary way, Boom Shaka – and the team at Kalawa Jazmee Records – give us an inclusive group that embraces individuality, openly being who you are and your sexuality. you love and what you identify as, can add talent, not take away from it.
But the real reason Boom Shaka is worth celebrating 30 years in is that they prove the best part about ourselves, as a nation and a continent – that even if we can be labeled close-minded and prejudiced, we have the capacity to open our hearts and love those without fear of loving ourselves and we are more advanced than we think.
Boom Shaka is not only true but prophetic – it’s time for us to stand out, be bold and fearless.
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