Soweto is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships. Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, and one of the suburbs of Johannesburg.
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as "Soweto Blues" and "Bring Him Back Home". He also had a number-one US pop hit in 1968 with his version of "Grazing in the Grass".
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.
South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Almost all South Africans speak English to some degree of proficiency, in addition to their native language, with English acting as a lingua franca in commerce, education, and government. South Africa has eleven official languages, but other indigenous languages are spoken by smaller groups, chiefly Khoisan languages.
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.
Mbaqanga is a style of South African music with rural Zulu roots that continues to influence musicians worldwide today. The style originated in the early 1960s, and blends traditional African vocal styles and melodies with European and American popular music.
Bonginkosi Dlamini, popularly known as Zola 7, is a South African kwaito musician, actor, writer, TV presenter, and poet. Dlamini began his career as an actor, achieving national recognition for the television series, "Yizo Yizo". He also starred in the Academy Award winning film Tsotsi in 2005, for which he also wrote the musical score.
Though reggae music first developed in Jamaica, it has strong rhythmic and thematic associations with Africa and has been called "the quintessential African/third world/black musical form". There are many African reggae musicians with a wide fan base both on the continent and abroad. Well-known African reggae artists are Alpha Blondy, Pax Nindi aka Harare Dread, Majek Fashek, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Colbert Mukwevho,Thomani Tshikororo, Ismael Isaac, Radical Dread, Jambo, Soul Raiders, Lucky Dube, and Serges Kassy.
Meadowlands is a suburb of Soweto, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It was founded in the early 1950s during the apartheid era for black residents from Sophiatown.
Mduduzi ThembinkosiEdmund Tshabalala, also known as Mandoza, was a South African singer-songwriter and kwaito recording artist. He was known for his contributions to the Kwaito genre and his numerous hit singles, including "Nkalakatha", Uzoyithola Kanjani, Tornado, "Sgelekeqe", "Ngalabesi", "Godoba", "Tsotsi Yase Zola" and "Indoda", which topped the charts in South Africa and all over the African continent. His second album Nkalakatha, released in 2000, became the biggest selling album of his career, selling 350 000 units.
Moroka Swallows Football Club is a South African professional football club based in Soweto, Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province.
Tsotsitaal is a South African vernacular dialect derived from a variety of mixed languages mainly spoken in the townships of Gauteng province, but also in other agglomerations all over South Africa. Tsotsi is a Sesotho, Pedi or Tswana slang word for a "thug" or "robber" or "criminal", possibly from the verb "ho lotsa" "to sharpen", whose meaning has been modified in modern times to include "to con"; or from the tsetse fly, as the language was first known as Flytaal, although flaai also means "cool" or "street smart". The word taal in Afrikaans means "language".
Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens were a South African mbaqanga supergroup made up of the three musical acts linked together by talent scout and record producer Rupert Bopape at the Gallo Recording Company in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1964. The group composed of the following three distinct parts:
Lesego Rampolokeng is a South African writer, playwright and performance poet.
Edward Lewis was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward and later as a full-back. Born in Manchester, he played for Goslings before joining the now-famous Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJAC). He made his debut for Manchester United in 1952, but struggled to nail down a regular place in the starting XI and was sold to Preston North End in 1955.
Trompies is a South African music group formed in 1995 who specialise in kwaito music. The members Spikiri, Mahoota, Donald Duck, Jakarumba & Mjokes grew up together in the Soweto township and agreed to form a band after they had all completed their music studies in college. Beginning to make music in the mid-1990s, they released their debut album Sigiya Ngengoma in 1995. Trompies have since sold over half a million records and have become very successful in producing and managing other artists as well through their record label Kalawa Jazmee.
The Dobsonville Stadium, formerly Volkswagen Dobsonville Stadium and also referred to as Dobsie Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Soweto, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. The venue is managed by Stadium Management SA (SMSA).
Jaiva, Township jive (TJ), Soweto jive, Soweto sound or Soweto beat is a subgenre of South African township music and African dance form that influenced Western breakdance and emerged from the shebeen culture of the apartheid-era townships.
Tofo Tofo Dance Group is made up of three Mozambican men who integrated kwaito music and pantsula dance, which originates from South Africa, to create their own unique type of dance that has become internationally celebrated. This new form of movement has brought local African dance onto a global stage.
Noordgesig is a township in Soweto, situated at the edge of area's northernmost boundary, but within its territory. It is the first township seen on entering Soweto from the frequently used New Canada Road. Noordgesig is a Coloured township. It is colloquially called "Bulte"(meaning Hills) by its residence and neighbors, as depicted by the Mine Dumps surrounding the Township. The name "Bulte" was coined as a form of endearment by the residence for the longest time.
