The South African music scene includes both popular (jive) and folk forms like Zulu isicathamiya singing and harmonic mbaqanga. Other popular genres are marabi, kwaito,house music, pop music, isicathamiya, gqom, rock music, hip hop and amapiano.
The Tswana are a bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011.
Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1980s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of house music and often contains catchy melodic and percussive loop samples, deep bass lines, and vocals. Despite its similarities to hip hop music, kwaito has a distinctive manner in which the lyrics are sung, rapped and shouted.
The music of Malawi has historically been influenced by its triple cultural heritage of British, African, and American music. Malawians, known for their history as travelers and migrant workers, have contributed to the spread of their music across the African continent, blending it with various musical forms. A significant factor in this musical amalgamation was World War II, during which soldiers transported music to distant lands and brought it back, leading to the popularity of guitar and banjo duos as dance bands by the war's end. Both instruments were imported. Additionally, Malawians working in mines in South Africa and Mozambique influenced the fusion of music styles, giving rise to genres such as Kwela.
The marímbula is a plucked box musical instrument of the Caribbean. In Cuba it is common in the changüí genre, as well as old styles of son. In Mexico, where it is known as marimbol is played in son jarocho; in the Dominican Republic, where it is known as marimba, it is played in merengue típico, and in Jamaica it is known as rumba box and played in mento.
The music of Namibia includes a number of folk styles, as well as pop, rock, reggae, jazz, house and hip hop.
African popular music, like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with Western popular music. Many genres of popular music like blues, jazz, salsa, zouk, and rumba derive to varying degrees on musical traditions from Africa, taken to the Americas by enslaved Africans. These rhythms and sounds have subsequently been adapted by newer genres like rock, and rhythm and blues. Likewise, African popular music has adopted elements, particularly the musical instruments and recording studio techniques of the Western music industry. The term does not refer to a specific style or sound but is used as a general term for African popular music.
Kwassa kwassa is a dance created by Jeanora, a mechanic in Kinshasa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that started in the 1980s, where the hips move back and forth while the hands move to follow the hips. It was very popular in Africa.
Besides referring to the language of the dominant people groups in Botswana, Setswana is the adjective used to describe the rich cultural traditions of the Batswana - whether construed as members of the Setswana ethnic groups or of all citizens of Botswana. the Batswana believe in the rich culture of Botho-Ubuntu, ‘‘People are not individuals, living in a state of independence, but part of a community, living in relationships and interdependence.’ Batswana believe in working together and in being united.
The Sotho-Tswana, also known as the Sotho or Basotho, although the term is now closely associated with the Southern Sotho peoples are a meta-ethnicity of Southern Africa. They are a large and diverse group of people who speak Sotho-Tswana languages. The group is predominantly found in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and the western part of Zambia. Smaller groups can also be found in Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music. While there exist attestations of the combination of dance and music in ancient history, the earliest Western dance music that we can still reproduce with a degree of certainty are old-fashioned dances. In the Baroque period, the major dance styles were noble court dances. In the classical music era, the minuet was frequently used as a third movement, although in this context it would not accompany any dancing. The waltz also arose later in the classical era. Both remained part of the romantic music period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the barcarolle, mazurka, ecossaise, ballade and polonaise.
Boom Shaka was a pioneering South African kwaito music group consisting of Junior Sokhela, Lebo Mathosa, Theo Nhlengethwa and Thembi Seete. They released their first single "It's About Time" in 1993, and subsequently released their debut LP, titled "Kwere Kwere" in 1994. Boom Shaka was one of the most successful bands of the mid-1990s in South Africa. Their music was the soundtrack for many young people in the newly democratic South Africa. Boom Shaka also achieved international success in London among other places.
Franco and Afro Musica is a twelve piece kwasa kwasa band from Gabane, Botswana.
Channel O Africa Music Video Awards, once known as Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards, are Pan-African music awards organised by South Africa -based Channel O television channel. The awards were first held in 2003 under the name Reel Music Video Awards. Since 2005 the awards have been held annually. The winners are voted by Channel O's viewers across the continent.
The Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMA) ceremony was the biggest awards ceremony in Namibia. It was established in 2011 by MTC Namibia and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). They would award a NAMA trophy to musicians in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the music industry of Namibia. Along with the trophy, musicians receive sponsorships, endorsement deals and cash prizes.
Frank Lesokwane is a Motswana musician who is famously known as Franco. He is known for producing most Kwasa Kwasa hit songs. Frank is also known for being the leader of the Franco and Afro Musica band which is a well performing band in Botswana.
