Editorials

5 SA Musicians Who Sound Too ‘Western’

The truth we can never run away from is that America is the most influential country in the whole wide world especially when it comes to the entertainment industry. The western culture has wormed it’s way to every tribes across the world and has brainwashed a number of people. There are few times where people or a particular decides to deviate themselves from the western norms that have dictated the lives of many people. It takes a weak person to be convinced that imitating another person’s style is cool. The years of colonization have long past, nowadays people have a choice to live how they please, it might be mistaken for imitation when it is just inspiration, there’s no telling.

In South Africa we have a number of music genres, that exist nowhere else. Those genres are underrated by the same people who are meant to embrace and appreciate it. In one of the interviews Rapper Riky Rick mentioned that most SA musicians make songs that only South Africans can understand which he seemed to be against as he further explained that SA artists should make songs that will accomodate the whole world. “In South Africa, we don’t make songs for the world you know. We literally make songs for our neighborhood and our culture which is like good for South African people as a tradition but it’s bad because a lot of people outside never get to understand. So it takes a while for it to build,” he explained in an interview with UK’s publication Pause Magazine.

Most people included Afro pop star Ringo Madlingozi complained how SA broadcasting platforms failed to promote local stars and how African people have been brainwashed by the Western music. “I’m in South Africa. We need to play our own music, black or white. We have our own music, don’t we? And for the fact that the advertisers are the ones who decide that we need to have Beyonce or whatever playing, for me, I believe that we need to love ourselves more,” he said in an interview with Gareth Cliff on CliffCentral.

Most artists have succumbed to imitating the western style because they want their songs to sell, as much as it is passion driving it is also business. Acting and sounding American seem like the coolest thing nowadays so much it has led a number of people to think good music is the only one they make in the US.

Below are 5 talented musicians who sound great and whose music we love but can mistake for American musicians.There is no limit or rules as to how South Africans should sound or make their music, this is just a reference to songs that most people if they don’t know would swear are sang by Americans.

Nasty C

Shekinah

Blackbyrd

Yung Swiss

Toya Delayze

 

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