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Submitted by webmaster on Sat, 09/04/2010 - 09:15
idamawatu | December 18, 2008
AFRICA FROM A-Z: SOUTH AFRICA
Here's some information about Mafikizolo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marabi :
It came as no surprise when Mafikizolo won two prestigious awards for the album Sibongile in April 2003. They won the Best Duo or Group and Best Afro Pop Album categories. Ironically, they went to collect both South African Music Awards at the same province, North West, at Sun City Superbowl, not far from where their near fatal accident occured. They were also honoured with a Metro FM-Cell C special award special in December 2002, and took the "Best Album"and other categories at the Metro FM music awards in November 2003 ....
The enterprising group finally made history with their fourth, 11-track album "Sibongile", a rocking melange of traditional sounds, thumping bass of African house rhythms and a dose of 50s popular music genre marabi"....
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Contact
Email: jambalayah17@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2010-2011 Azizi Powell; All Rights Reserved
2 comments
Here's an excerpt about Marabi music from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marabi
"...Marabi is an indigenous music that evolved in South Africa over the last century.
The early part of the 20th century saw the increasing urbanisation of black South Africans in mining centres such as the gold mining area around Johannesburg - the Witwatersrand. This led to the development of township slums or ghettos, and out of this hardship came forth new forms of music, marabi and kwela amongst others.
Marabi was the name given to a keyboard style (often using cheap pedal organs) that had a musical link to American jazz, ragtime and blues, with roots deep in the African tradition. Early marabi musicians were part of an underground musical culture and were typically not recorded. Indeed, as with early jazz in the USA, the music incurred the displeasure of the establishment. Nonetheless, as with early jazz, the lilting melodies and catchy rhythms of marabi found their way into the sounds of popular dance bands with a distinctively South African style."...
Selected viewer comments from
http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments=1&v=nX7w9pzhlHE
[Most of these comments were translated from Dutch or some other language into English]
Posted in 2009:
Mizza31- i love it soo much!!! but i've no clue what they're saying!!
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Simbule- Tribute to my mum - Luv u lots & miss you, still I rise.
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graciousncube- back to 80s i luv da video
mina nzohamba ngizbhekile egoli
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tennysonttg- lovely tune, i really love their style....can someone tell me what they are saying though?
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tyresmoke- this is a old school 60s song, unfortunately i don't speak the language they are singing in very well, but it basically is about johannesburg (Eeeeegoooooli in the chorus), probably about migrating there for the music, jobs and opportunites....
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umtata- @tyresmoke
exactly! you're right that exactly what the chorus says
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NickLotay - Beautiful... lovely take on the old early 1960s sounds. Reminds me so much of the great girl groups of the time, the Skylarks, the Dark City Sisters, and the Mahotella Queens.
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luusieyo- happy song , go to Johannesburg , Johannesburg Igoli is in Zulu .
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davejeeee -So laugh how people dance , this song gives a summery atmosphere and of course the World Championships . Can it continue to say all SUPER !
Listen to him now for the umpteenth time .
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heidimenifa- What a great song , keep listening to him , is also on repeat for hours ... the CD would have.
What a very nice song , listen Could it all the time . I'm listening it all the time on repeat and I Would Have a CD or it .
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eppewillem- And to think that this number is already two years old ...
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zansk- Lovely
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sotomadura1- What a joy , carelessness and high spirits in this jewel of a song ... Beautifully filmed also ! Can not get enough !
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nicolepehe- It's a really nice song .... Does anyone know where I can find the translation ?
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eppewillem- Egoli is the Zulu name or J'burg ...
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urwainnnn - love it
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Sancrianto- I love this song ...
Simply beautiful oh wow .....
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Ilze80- Does Anyone have the lyrics ( and maybe translation ) or this song .. We Have Played it about 20 times since yesterday's Holland- Brazil game .. It is just so nice ! Mafikizolo Should / Could come to Holland if Holland gets to the final ! And maybe, if we win, THEY WILL make the party extra special !
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MrNuun-Catchy tune aight :) Real World number of Africans themselves . This will idd for the rest of my stay with a number of Africans during the World Cup that we won : D
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kaoverue-please explain just briefly what the song is about i realy like it bt dnt understand, bt think its abut old south africa aparthied
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Posted in 2010
stofpoeperYes, correct. Very old SA apartheid. During the 40's and 50's black people were forced to carry a special "pass" on their persons when moving through white areas. (Called a dompas). If caught without, they would end up in police custody. Police vans would do the rounds, and these were nicknamed
"kwela". (See 2:35 - 2:37). In the song they mock the dompas system, the white afrikaner police and of course the kwela. Only the very elderly black people will know what I am talking about.
Regards
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I'm not South African and I don't speak Zulu but Kwela as far as I know is the name of the pennywhistle jive that was played next to the illegal gambling spots in the slums during early Apartheid (late 40s-50s)... This sounds like 'renovated' kwela... Similar rhythm!! Very tasty, loving it
ANYONE WHO LIKES SOUTH AFRICAN MUSIC SHOULD CHECK OUT THE FILM 'AMANDLA'!!
-latinerranea
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A kwela kwela is actually a police van and this song is not sang in Zulu it is sang in isiXhosa and Afrikaans by Hugh Masekela at the end . IsiXhosa is a very strong South African Language that is definately not easy to speak to others because it consists of X Q C pronounced in our way . Thanx
just correcting latinerranea
-shemaleofSouthAfrica
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@shemaleofSouthAfrica
He sings it in Zulu..Jo'burg Zulu , to be precise this is tsotsi taal
-tshzan004
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anyone wanna translate this? literal and actual?
I'm just starting to learn zulu (Sanibonani!) off my cousin, but I don't see her enough to keep up
-Kittenspanker
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Kwela KWela is the van the police in the past used to use to arrest black people...(basically a police van-I think)
So the song is like a reminder of how people used to be arrested and put into the KWela Kwela..
want more?? Or thats cool?
-Sbuda88
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Azizip17 - This is a great feel good song ! I love it ! TI like the video also. I read the comments translated to English ( unfortunately the only language I know) & I gather this song is in praise of the Zulu - Egoli especially for Johannesburg . Would someone please add more info about this song & ITS lyrics ? Also is the song 's title or Marabi That is just the category of music is this ? I'm sharing this on my facebook page & on my site where I showcase jambalayah YT video gems . Thanks !
-An African American sista
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Azizip17 - I just read my comment & I apologize for its lack of clarity. I meant to write that I understand from some of the comments that Egoli is the Zulu name for Johannesburg & that this song is praising life in that city. Is that right? And is the song's title Marabi or is that just the name of this type of South African music? Thanks again!
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Posted in 2011
@Azizip17 it is Zulu and Xhosa. Most of the Black south africans do not speak afrikans, mostly the white south africans do.
-falgunitula
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@falgunitula Thanks for that information!
-Azizip17
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@falgunitula I understand you to say that t his song is in BOTH Zulu & Xhosa. Are these languages very similar? Are there words and personal names that are in both languages? I read that Zulu & Xhosa are Bantu languages like Swahili. Is that right?
-Azizip17