Mbaqanga (Zulu pronunciation: [mɓaˈǃáːŋga]) is a type of music from South Africa. It started in the early 1960s in the city areas, especially near Johannesburg. It combines music from different groups, such as Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Pedi, and Tsonga. Mbaqanga mixes traditional South African singing, rhythms, and dances with styles like marabi, kwela, and Western music such as jazz. Today, Mbaqanga still inspires musicians in South Africa and around the world.
History
In Zulu, the word mbaqanga means a simple cornmeal porridge. People who loved mbaqanga music were often common, city-dwelling African fans of jazz. Many of these people could not live in the city and struggled to survive in the countryside. Mbaqanga provided them with a steady source of musical and spiritual support; it was their "musical daily bread."
Mbaqanga musicians earned very little money. For example, Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde, a well-known mbaqanga singer (and perhaps the most famous mbaqanga "groaner," nicknamed the "lion of Soweto"), died poor. This was partly because black South African musicians were often treated unfairly at home and abroad, as Mahlathini explained. In the 1960s, mbaqanga groups had trouble getting airtime on radio stations and had to perform outside record stores to attract audiences.
Mbaqanga developed in South African shebeens during the 1960s. Its use of Western instruments helped it become a South African version of jazz. Musically, the sound mixed Western instruments with South African singing styles. Many scholars believe mbaqanga came from a combination of marabi and kwela. A government-sponsored South African tourist website describes mbaqanga as "the repeating structure of marabi… with a heavy amount of American big band swing added on top." Mbaqanga also created an early space for black and white people to interact in a country that was divided by race. Because of this, the "white Nationalist government ended this important era" by destroying townships like Sophiatown that supported mbaqanga.
The genre became popular through radio stations under the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Early artists included Miriam Makeba, Dolly Rathebe, and Letta Mbulu. Mbaqanga stayed popular until the 1980s, when it was replaced by a South African pop music called bubblegum. Bubblegum was strongly influenced by mbaqanga. One of the few remaining mbaqanga bands is The Cool Crooners, which formed when two rival bands, The Cool Four and The Golden Delicious Rhythm Crooners, joined together.
By the middle of the 1950s, South African music grew in popularity as it reached a larger urban population. A typical area was the township of Sophiatown, near Johannesburg, which had offered a black urban lifestyle since the 1930s. Sophiatown and Alexandra were rare places where Black people could own property. Their location near Johannesburg’s downtown made Sophiatown appealing to musicians exploring new styles. This area became an important place for the development of Black music culture. However, when Sophiatown’s residents were forced to move to new townships like Soweto, outside Johannesburg, this era ended.
One of the earliest creators of mbaqanga was the Makgona Tsohle Band, a group of five domestic workers from Pretoria: Marks Mankwane (lead guitar), Joseph Makwela (bass guitar), Vivian Ngubane (rhythm guitar), Lucky Monama (drums), and West Nkosi (saxophone). Mbaqanga, a Zulu word for steamed cornbread, combined influences from marabi and kwela. The repeating structure of marabi blended with traditional Zulu dance styles like the indlamu, along with big band swing. The indlamu style became the "African stomp," giving mbaqanga a strong African rhythm that attracted many listeners.
Rupert Bopape, hired by the successful Gallo Record Company as their African production manager, brought together the Makgona Tsohle Band with Mahlathini and a new female group, the Mahotella Queens. This was when mbaqanga gained widespread popularity—specifically, "vocal mbaqanga" (later called simanje-manje or mgqashiyo). Singers like Miriam Makeba, Dolly Rathebe, and Letta Mbulu (who started as marabi stars in the 1950s) helped build a large fan base. Other mbaqanga musicians included Simon Baba Mokoena and West Nkosi, who left the Makgona Tsohle Band in 1990 for a solo career until West Nkosi’s death in 1998.
Mbaqanga’s popularity declined in the 1970s due to the influence of Western pop, soul, and disco music in South Africa. Public performances dropped because labor migrants no longer wanted to be in the spotlight. Also, audiences preferred more modern language, singing, and instrument styles. However, mbaqanga returned between 1983 and 1986. This revival was partly because of Paul Simon’s use of South African music in his Graceland album (1986) and tour. Performances by Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens at festivals in France and at Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday concert in London (1988) marked its return. White South African musicians influenced by this style include singer-songwriter Robin Auld. Veteran Afrikaans musician Nico Carstens created a boereqanga hit with Viva Madiba.
Mbaqanga was completely replaced as the leading music genre in the 1980s by a new urban style called bubblegum. Bubblegum was an Afro-dance pop genre influenced by mbaqanga and other African styles. With the introduction of television in 1976, bubblegum became popular across all ethnic groups. It was seen as a shift toward more urban music. Successful bubblegum musicians included Chico Twala, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, and Brenda Fassie. The development of bubblegum from mbaqanga helped create a new genre called kwaito.
Today, many mbaqanga musicians still record and perform, including the Mahotella Queens and the Soul Brothers. Mbaqanga continues to influence musicians worldwide. For example, the Norwegian group Real Ones included a tribute track, "All the Way Back (Shades of Mbaqanga)," on their 2003 album This is Camping.