- 3 months ago
South Africa is internationally famed for its rich, distinctive choral and vocal traditions, spans powerful traditional vocal harmonies, the birth of urban styles like marabi, and globally recognized modern genres like Amapiano... South African music is a vibrant, evolving landscape driven by rich vocal harmonies, deep-rooted storytelling, and the global explosion of genres like Amapiano. With roots in township, rural, and suburban traditions, artists use music to express freedom, identity, and social commentary, with the post-1994 "sound of democracy" continuing to redefine the nation's cultural influence.
深入探究影响更广泛音乐图景的非洲乐器传统渊源, 这种键盘演奏风格诞生于20世纪20年代约翰内斯堡的贫民窟和非法酒吧（shebeens），融合了本土传统与美国的爵士乐及蓝调音乐...
深入探究影响更广泛音乐图景的非洲乐器传统渊源, 这种键盘演奏风格诞生于20世纪20年代约翰内斯堡的贫民窟和非法酒吧（shebeens），融合了本土传统与美国的爵士乐及蓝调音乐...
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TravelTranscript
00:01Welcome to South Africa where the choral tradition is alive and well and the power
00:09of the voice has never been stronger part of a musical tradition as varied ancient
00:17and fascinating as Africa herself this is where I really feel at home I'm Rita Ray I'm a DJ I'm
00:29a
00:29music obsessive I'm a Londoner and I'm an African and I'm constantly amazed that we think we know
00:37nothing of the sounds that come from here sounds from countries as diverse as South Africa with
00:46its heartbreaking harmonies Mali and its ancient melodies and Nigeria home of Afrobeat
00:59and the driving force of African pop but so much of what we listen to in the West has deep
01:05roots and
01:06strong connections to the music that comes from this amazing continent they don't call Africa the
01:13motherland for nothing it's the wellspring of the blues of jazz of rock and roll this continent has
01:24it all and living breathing contemporary music from here has never been more popular it is an
01:32incredible time for music in Africa so what are the traditions that created the music I love so much
01:39who are the key players and where do we need to start the search for these unique sounds
02:01South Africa the southernmost tip of the continent and the richest country in Africa
02:12what Desmond Tutu called the rainbow nation is a patchwork of diverse ethnic communities and 11 official
02:20languages but whenever I hear the word South Africa I always think of just one thing the unmistakable
02:32vocal harmonies of its music so I want to find out more about the power of this music in how
02:47it has given
02:48South Africa a voice internationally and help define the identity of a newly reborn nation from Johannesburg
02:56home of both surprisingly modern and deeply traditional voices to Cape Town where songs have helped keep a
03:06nation's struggle alive and across the belt of KwaZulu-Natal to Durban to explore the origins of the unique
03:14vocal harmonies that the world has fallen in love with
03:18the world has fallen in love with
03:22the world has fallen in love with
03:30this is Lady Smith as in Black Man Basel because we are in KwaZulu-Natal and you all know when
03:37you hear
03:37Lady Smith those glorious acapella vocals and the wonderful little dance routines this is where they come from
03:45this is where they come from
03:54Lady Smith Black Man Basel are arguably the most well-known South African group in the world
04:00fame came in 1986 after they featured on American singer songwriter Paul Simon's album Graceland
04:20the record sold 16 million copies introducing many of us to the unique sounds of the South African voice for
04:29the first time
04:40Oh you can you can hear the vocals the acapella vocals of Lady Smith
04:47yeah
04:50is this where it came out
04:55but this part of South Africa is home to hundreds of similar vocal groups
05:00all singing these signature Zulu call and response harmonies
05:13this is Durban
05:21the third biggest city in the country on the shores of the Indian Ocean
05:33the roots of the South African acapella tradition run deep here and I want to know where they come from
05:41the roots of the South African acapella tradition run deep here and I want to know where they come from
05:58do you sing with the Zulu messengers?
06:00no we are supporters
06:01oh your supporters super fans
06:08every week fans gather to listen to their favourite choirs and the competition is fierce
06:16how many times have they won?
06:18how many times have they won?
06:19like 100 times
06:20100 times
06:21yes
06:22100 times
06:23100 times
06:23yes
06:24so what are you going to do if they come last tonight?
06:28no
06:28no
06:29no
06:30no
06:39no
06:40no
06:41no
06:41no
06:41no
06:42no
07:02England
07:08no
07:09no
07:10no
07:11yes
07:11no
07:16no
07:17no
07:17no
07:17no
07:19The lyrics tell stories of displacement, rape, murder, even backstreet abortions.
08:14What we are singing about, we feel it.
08:16That's the main part. We have to feel something if you sing.
08:21It was just so strong.
08:25It's a type of music that's always producing the messages.
08:31It's not like going on the stage, oh, guys, let's go and pose and pose and all that.
08:36No, but it just gives the people the soul messages.
08:47The song Mwube was the very first commercially successful Isekhtamia record, recorded in 1939 by Solomon Linda.
08:57His call and response vocal harmonies went on to become one of the most covered songs of all time.
09:04That song, we know it as The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
09:08In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.
09:14So we all know this song, but we didn't know that it came from the mine workers.
09:23Solomon Linda signed away the rights to his song for less than $2 and died impoverished.
09:31And 80 years later, poverty remains the central theme of this uniquely South African music.
09:38Like my son, we don't be able to talk 198 of nine years.
09:49It was such aency that stood my son of color at all,
09:55and it was too loud as the instrument.
09:59In the likely identify theRL one equals nine years.
10:02due on theirombres by размер 들어 é also Тамbeildo.
10:04But there was so manyFans that Meshes какое- warmth
10:25What an amazing night it was just so exhilarating I mean it's virtually five o'clock and I could
10:32listen to all that again and there's something about people coming together and raising their
10:39voices in harmony that is so uplifting but the things that these people were singing about
10:47were really really devastating and dark so it was thrilling but it was chilling
11:04I shouldn't be surprised by the harrowing lyrics of Issac at the media given the oppressive colonial
11:10history of South Africa but the arrival of Christian missionaries did bring a standardized
11:18European food ancient vocal traditions churches in Africa are teeming with people filled to the
11:28rafters singing and it's mainly gospel singing and I'm here to see the Durban gospel choir
11:39American spiritual and minstrel shows influenced South African musicians but long before that white
11:46settlers bought Christian hymns sung in four-part harmony
11:59the sound is unmistakably South African but the polyphonic harmonies and the building they are
12:07sung in have European origins what a magnificent combination
12:26you know when you put on alto or soprano together and tenor and put on the bass there's this harmony
12:32that is so beautiful
12:33there's something about something yeah yeah just makes you connect and makes you step over into another space
12:50gospel is so big here I mean why is that a song can touch people in a way that words
12:56can't and the spirit is right and the heart is right
12:59it's what renders people makes people just weep inexplicably yeah there must be some kind of chemical effect because you
13:06know when they started singing
13:07because you know when they started singing it was really really nice and then that harmony kicked in
13:11after a few bars and it just gets you
13:20these beautiful harmonies are central to South African vocal music and so is the theme of deprivation
13:31migrants from across Africa come to the Golden City Johannesburg
13:36in search of work and their music seems to be around every corner
14:02amazing
14:02amazing
14:03we were just driving along and there's this group here just singing this wonderful acapella
14:09amazing
14:10amazing
14:12amazing
14:12amazing
14:12I think, well, of course I'm going to witness this kind of thing.
14:17I'm in South Africa and they've got so much music.
14:21It's just oozing out of them.
14:32It just shows how much their culture is part of their everyday lives.
14:38So, you know, you get a day off and what do you do?
14:41You hook up with mates and get out to it.
14:51These young Zulu men are practising a tradition called Ngoma,
14:55a style of competitive display danced by men who are far away from their families.
15:13Oh, that's just brilliant.
15:15Oh, the bottom of your feet must be killing you.
15:19Oh, jeez.
15:20Oh, I can't do it.
15:22Can I dance with you?
15:24No.
15:26This is the only bit I can do, right?
15:29Like the mine workers before them, they're using their voices to express their unity during hard times.
15:42You're all so young, and I was just so surprised to see the vigour and the passion for the dance
15:49and the singing.
16:00So you use this to keep people off the streets, off of drugs and drink.
16:05You know, imagine driving down the road, and I'm seeing it in front of my eyes, you know, as a
16:12part of everyday life.
16:22I don't know, it was primal.
16:24It was people getting together to make a joyful noise and raise their spirits and keep themselves going.
16:32And, yeah, tonight when I go to sleep, I'm going to be hearing those voices and those amazing dances.
16:41Just so good.
16:47Music has always been a way for South Africans to bind their communities together.
16:54And with the introduction of racist apartheid laws in 1948,
16:58the power of the collective voice became central in the struggle for freedom.
17:09From the late 1950s, black South Africans were forcibly removed from their homes
17:15and rehoused in townships like Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg.
17:26Soweto became the home of the resistance against apartheid as well as the musical hub of the whole country.
17:37I'm standing in front of Mandela House in Soweto, and it's a museum.
17:43I mean, it's a great thing to do because it's bringing people to Soweto.
17:46And as you can see, there's market stalls, there are people busking, singing,
17:52the ice cream sellers even in on it, you know, with his songs.
17:56Ice cream chocolate.
17:59Ice cream chocolates.
18:01Ice cream chocolates.
18:03It's great.
18:04Ice cream chocolates.
18:06Ice cream chocolates.
18:11But things were very different back in 1976 when Soweto and surrounding townships were torn apart by riots.
18:21Hundreds of students were killed.
18:23One of South Africa's most legendary musicians, Sipo Hot Sticks Mabuse, witnessed it all.
18:29And it's really hard for him to return.
18:32I actually never like coming here.
18:35I can feel it.
18:38I can feel it, Sipo.
18:42I really never like coming here.
18:47Take a minute.
18:48Take a second.
18:50You know, the reason I come, perhaps, is because we made our music.
18:55Our first performance was in this place.
18:57But whatever could have happened at that time is probably a reason that we became what, you know, creating the
19:05kind of music that we created, which was struggle music.
19:09Yeah, but because of this titanic struggle, you were sending out messages with your music and you had to look
19:15at how you sent out the messages.
19:17And I'm wondering about one of the songs that you, you perform, one of the songs that you wrote that
19:24I still play to this day.
19:29Oh, sorry.
19:33Yes.
19:34Yes.
19:34Jive sweater.
20:01Jai Soweto
20:03became a worldwide hit in the 80s as the authentic voice and music of the townships spread
20:09across the world. But behind the happy sound was a serious purpose.
20:33What did it feel like when you realised that that song that you wrote for the township
20:38was resonating with dancers and audiences all around the world and wanting Black South
20:47Africa to succeed and to get democracy?
20:50Absolutely. For some reason it's a song that always makes people happy. But it also gives
20:58an identity of who we are and where we come from.
21:02Yeah.
21:03Yeah.
21:03Yeah.
21:15Yeah.
21:17Yeah.
21:20Yeah.
21:22Yeah.
21:24Yeah.
21:36The apartheid government tried to stop the spread of this vibrant music with a message
21:41by introducing a strict censorship regime.
21:45Thanks, Emma.
21:48So, Michael, all countries have censorship,
21:51but what was the South African censorship like for music?
21:55The main censorship that affected people's listening in South Africa
21:59was through the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC.
22:02Thousands of songs were not played on radio and people didn't get to hear them.
22:06Sipo Mabuse's albums were no exception.
22:10How did they practically make sure that these records didn't get played?
22:15They had a weekly list that got sent out saying the following things can't be played.
22:20They would actually scratch the record itself with a sharp object.
22:25This is Sipo's album, Chant of the Marching, vandalised by the state.
22:39For any music lover, this is sacrilege.
22:44That's the kind of thing which they would do on, I said, with some of the records,
22:48and particularly one by Sipo Mabuse.
22:51Even the most famous South African singer of all time, Miriam Makeba, was not beyond the law.
22:59This album, African Convention, by Miriam Makeba,
23:03is undesirable within the meaning of section blah, blah, blah.
23:06The committee which examined the publication also prohibited its possession,
23:10so it was illegal to own a copy of African Convention.
23:14On what grounds?
23:15On political grounds.
23:16Strictly political.
23:17That is ridiculous.
23:27Miriam Makeba, Mama Africa, was the continent's first international star,
23:34recording the first African song to reach the top 20 in America with Pata Pata in 1967.
23:46She was also a committed activist, living in exile all over the world,
23:51and using her international profile to bring attention to the injustices of apartheid.
23:57Wonderful.
23:58Miriam Makeba.
24:00APPLAUSE
24:10Miriam Makeba died in 2008, but her legacy, singing with the distinctive click of the Tulsa language,
24:19lives on through one of the most loved modern South African artists.
24:30I'm going to see Tandiz Bumazwai, and she's a huge South African star.
24:36I first heard of her when she was in a band called Bongo Maffin,
24:40and Bongo Maffin were the pioneers of Kwaito music,
24:45and that's the music of the youth post-apartheid.
24:48So, that was back in the 90s, and I've watched her career blossom ever since.
24:58Hi.
24:59Hi, Mama.
25:01Welcome to my humble abode.
25:04Look at that.
25:05Yes, the grand...
25:06Miriam Makeba.
25:07The grand day.
25:08I'd love to hear a bit.
25:11Well, Mama, she's actually not working, so it's good that she brought you on.
25:14I brought mine.
25:16You know, don't go too far without it.
25:18Yeah, everything is a cappella.
25:20Her mother was a traditional healer, and these are the songs that her mother taught her.
25:24So that's why it's called Sangoma.
25:26Yeah.
25:34Yeah, I mean, it's all about those harmonies, right?
25:40It's all about that call and response that's very South African,
25:44and that three-part, four-part harmony.
25:46Yeah.
25:50These harmonies bridge the old and the new of South African music,
25:55but it's through the tradition of jazz that Tandizwa pays homage to her predecessors.
26:01Vocal upper touch in drum mix, please.
26:05Influenced by America, South African jazz has long been a voice of protest,
26:10and with her latest album,
26:12and with her latest album, Belede, Tandizwa channels this with tracks including Malaika
26:16by none other than Miriam Makeba.
26:21Malaika, Naku Penda Malaika.
26:30Malaika, Naku Penda Malaika.
26:45Her inspired merging of traditional vocal styles with contemporary musical arrangements
26:51has made Tandizwa one of South Africa's most exciting stars.
27:05And she enjoys the freedom that Miriam Makeba strived for.
27:29As she became a major celebrity in the 90s, Tandizwa made friends in high places.
27:35Look at that. That is amazing. You and Madiba and Michael Jackson.
27:42I mean, that's a really random picture.
27:44I know, right?
27:44I know. This is just one of those experiences that I had that is completely unforgettable.
27:51How did you feel when he was released from prison?
27:55It was almost an unimaginable event.
27:58I remember we ran around the school about a hundred times just screaming and running around and running around.
28:08Oh, you know, and suddenly in that moment I felt,
28:12Oh, so this is my country.
28:16Wow.
28:28Tandizwa's band Bongo Maffin were pioneers of a new sound.
28:33Kwaito.
28:34The voice of the young in a democratic, post-apartheid South Africa.
28:45It's a cocktail of Western beats with distinctly South African grooves and vocals.
28:58So we were around 17, 18, 19 at the time, and we were desperate to go out and party.
29:06And, you know, I was, like, getting exposed to, like, black gay people for the first time,
29:12being exposed to white, young white kids for the first time.
29:18So it was really a time where everything managed to clash into each other
29:24and everyone was still very excited to get to know one another.
29:28But was there a message? Was it political?
29:31Um, I think it was always political, but it was kind of, uh, playful, because we were young.
29:37But also speaking to culture and tradition and language and the importance of, uh, capturing that essence for a young
29:46audience.
29:52But even Kwaito is rooted in the traditional.
29:55A young Tandizwa was keen to learn about her indigenous musical heritage,
30:00and only one legendary teacher was needed.
30:03Prosa Elder Madocini.
30:08I'm here on a housing estate in Langa Township.
30:12I've come to see Madocini, who's a traditional storyteller.
30:16She's a multi-instrumentalist, and she embodies the whole Xhosa culture.
30:46This might sound a million miles from Kwaito,
30:49but the tone and language used by Tandizwa is a great place to live in the world.
30:52Her faithful and struggle in the world are direct links to theseładies music.
31:20AAACOMCATION
31:21Madosimi is a singer of traditional South African songs.
31:25But if you close your eyes, you can almost hear the raw blues of American singers, like Bessie Smith.
31:43Storytelling and song are central to the Xhosa way of life.
31:47The Mbongi, or pray singer, is a key figure in indigenous communities.
32:18You were so happy when you finished that song. You were laughing and talking. What were you saying?
32:45When did you start learning these songs?
32:48When did you start learning these songs?
32:52You were the teacher, so.
32:57I know that we need a lot of music.
33:04Madosimi holds a special place in South African culture.
33:09Fewer and fewer musicians know how to play indigenous instruments, like Yuhadi Bho with Calabash.
33:25She's able to stretch her vocal range from high octave yelps
33:29down to guttural bass throat singing, known as
33:48the young Xhosa musicians still interested in the stories and in the songs?
33:54We have no idea what it is!
34:06It's a good day.
34:08It's a good day.
34:10It's a good day.
34:11It's a good day.
34:25There's a freshness in the air in Johannesburg.
34:28The children born into a free South Africa
34:30are blending together the traditions of the past
34:33with a new vibrancy, creating a surge of hope and creativity.
34:45Many of the no-go zones of the apartheid years
34:48have evolved into creative hubs
34:50of young, diverse African artists and musicians.
35:00I want to find out how these new South African voices
35:03are still grappling with their identities
35:05by talking to Xhosa hip-hop artist Kani Mavi.
35:10Kani!
35:12Hi!
35:12Oh, good to see you!
35:14Good to see you.
35:15I love you.
35:16I am loving that lipstick.
35:18You must get some on.
35:19I've got some.
35:20Let's put it on.
35:22I've got some.
35:23Perfect.
35:24Yeah?
35:25Yeah.
35:25Does that work?
35:28Love it.
35:29Love it.
35:30I've been loving your videos on YouTube.
35:33Oh, thank you so much.
35:35You're so welcome.
35:35Thank you so much.
35:38What?
35:53This is Xhosa music for a modern, urbanised South Africa.
36:06It looks so lush.
36:08I love the moody soundtrack.
36:11This is a song about a woman who's a queen pin.
36:15What's a queen pin?
36:16Basically, a woman who is a big drag lord.
36:20Oh, okay.
36:21In the hood.
36:22All right.
36:22And they look so glam.
36:24And they look great.
36:24It looks like easy street.
36:26You understand.
36:26But at the same time, they are the same people who are killing the kids.
36:29A lot of your work is about social commentary.
36:32Yes.
36:32What else do you rap about?
36:33I do concentrate mainly on, you know, social issues, you know.
36:37Whether it be father-child relationships.
36:40Whether it be sexuality.
36:43Whatever thing that I feel is important at that time.
36:47I just want to know how you get your message across.
36:50Because usually when you hear people rapping, it's in English.
36:53Yeah.
36:54But you rap in hosa.
36:55Yes.
36:55I can't do the click.
36:56You can.
36:57You just need a little practice.
36:58Go on.
36:59There we go.
37:01Hosa.
37:02Okay.
37:03But you rap in hosa.
37:05Yes.
37:05Why?
37:07Because it's my language.
37:10It's such a beautiful language.
37:11It's so rich.
37:12Why should I rap in English?
37:15Why should I do it when I can do it in my own language?
37:19What's wrong with my language?
37:20It's ancient.
37:21It's got depths that I haven't even reached yet.
37:24Kani is sending a message to other kosa speakers.
37:28But for the rest of us, the lyrics are all about achieving your potential.
37:33And there's a message to other kosa speakers.
37:36It's my language.
37:36How do I have my language too?
37:38I have no words to ask.
37:43All my leaders are here.
37:46All from the language.
37:46All from the language.
37:48To the language to the language.
37:50No?
37:52Never.
37:53All from the language here, we know how to speak.
37:55But the language so that we've had to be.
37:58Oh my God.
38:00Now we can't take but look at the language.
38:00So I have no evidence to get us on our language.
38:02It's so many things.
38:02come back what is it about hip-hop and rap that has captured no not just South
38:09Africa all over the African continent you know everyone's embracing as
38:13Africans we we for instance our cultures are told you know they're not
38:18written they're not in books it's poetry it's praise poetry it's the way we sing
38:23we tell stories but I don't know Matula but I've got a pocket in the book on
38:27some when you come up as I'm going to land so took us making a contact on in a
38:30countless matter like the cookout a little bit is now with your cassette
38:34calendar for singers with Yanadisa base and eating our cuts on a car face can you
38:42you're part of the post-apartheid generation the struggles been won does
38:48that mean that now you're free there's nothing else for your generation to be
38:53singing about or protesting about no not at all the struggle has not been one
39:00you know it's just we've got political freedom in other words we can vote we
39:06can move around we can go to the same schools we still need you know economic
39:11freedom for our people people still need to be free in the mind too what part does
39:17music have to play in this then that's the huge part art has a huge part to play
39:23for generations our people have taught each other about themselves through art
39:39the people of Johannesburg especially the young people just seem really confident and full of life
39:47they seem to know themselves and it's great seeing the way they're looking forward making things happen
40:05South Africa has a population of more than 55 million people Zulu Xhosa and Afrikaans are the most widely spoken
40:14languages
40:15but there are a wealth of smaller cultural groups too like the Shanghai
40:25and like all the ethnic groups they are defined in part by their musical voice a star one man is
40:32working hard to keep up to date with extraordinary results
40:38I come to my home
40:41Richard Muntetwa aka Nusinja is taking the music of the Shangan to the wider world
40:48so Nusinja tell me what you're doing with the music of the Shangan
40:52actually I'm I'm I'm the pioneer and I'm the producer and I'm the composer of my of my of the
41:02Shangani music
41:03so it's your vision it's my vision actually I mix the old and the new combine them together add some
41:11spice with the speed and then make it some electro
41:20and this is the extraordinary result
41:23Shangani lecture traditional dance moves and vocal stylings catapulted into the 21st century
41:33the traditional tempo was 135 yes now let's go to 165 so the 165 it will change
41:43you can listen
41:49but this is not for dance so now let's go for dance
41:57listen
42:00and so now you're in the zone for dancing
42:02start this is a starter for football
42:04oh my goodness so then now let's try one eight five
42:13when we are doing our shows when we dance and we are on one eight nine
42:19yes
42:20what
42:21this is where
42:23we can show you who we are
42:46I will take you to the dance that's when we see how happy we are
42:54we will showcase our culture we showcase our tradition we showcase our proudness when we go on stage we forget
43:01about our problems we forget about our husband forget about the money forget about politics everything can become natural to
43:07us
43:08it's come to the stage we will show you who we are
43:12shangana
43:24no sinjana
43:25nozindra and his shangana electro music has been proudly embraced by the community
43:30people of all ages shaking out to the increasing tempo of the beat
43:51And as the sun starts to set and I slip away from the dance,
43:55it strikes me again just how sensual music is
43:59to the everyday identity of South Africans, here and abroad.
44:15And one group have done more than most to export the South African spirit to the world,
44:21the Mahatala Queens.
44:24Look at that cover, freed on fire, the indestructible beat of Soweto and the energy coming off of
44:32it.
44:32I mean, you know it's going to be a really good record, don't you?
44:35And look at the back.
44:37You can see how many tracks I played and I rinsed this album, I played it so many times.
44:47In 1988, the Mahatala Queens with their late frontman Mathatini played Wembley Stadium alongside
44:55Stevie Wonder and George Michael.
44:58And in 1991, half a million people danced to their music in Central Park, New York.
45:05They want to show me their favourite view of Soweto, where their amazing voices and records
45:10came from.
45:16Hilda, I've been playing the Mahatala Queens for so long, but this is a chance for me
45:21to find out how you got your start in music.
45:24This group originally, it's a band of seven members.
45:29Mm-hmm.
45:29They are no longer playing with us.
45:31Yes.
45:32But you're still doing it.
45:33I'm still doing it.
45:34You're still singing.
45:36Still singing.
45:37Yeah.
45:39Out of the original 1964 line-up, only one member currently remains.
45:45Hilda Tullbacker, now a sprightly 75 years young.
45:49It's the harmonies.
45:51The harmonies just cut straight through me.
45:55And I've always wanted to know what it is about South African harmonies that are so...
46:01It, you know, makes you...
46:02It just brings out all the emotions, whether it uplifts you or dashes you to the ground.
46:08Let me just make an example.
46:10For instance...
46:27You're not singing correctly.
46:28If you don't sing correctly, I'll take you out of this group.
46:31Me, me, me, me, me, me, fa, fa, mi, do, three, four.
46:34So, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so...
46:39This is how we do a song.
46:40Mmm.
46:40I'm flows sharp in?
46:46You turn the mouth down.
46:49I'm flowers years old.
46:53Hey, I'm flowers.
46:54A dancing, I'm flowers.
46:56I'm flowers again today.
46:57By the time you're laughing and laughing, I'm not fragile.
47:07Okay, I'll take you out of this group.
47:08Hi, I'm flowers.
47:10I'm never painted too iyなんah.
47:10Shaker, shaker, shaker, shaker.
47:29Fantastic!
47:36Let me show you something, hang on.
47:37Yes.
47:38Look at this.
47:38Look at this.
47:40We have a team lead.
47:42This is our first album.
47:43I don't even have this album.
47:44How are we now?
47:46Really?
47:47I'm jealous.
47:47You have to sign it for me.
47:48I can even take it instead of signing it.
47:51Take it home with me.
47:53I'm afraid I can't give it up.
47:55Because I do still play.
47:57Yeah, thank you baby, thank you.
48:06Meeting the Queens takes me back to playing their records at anti-apartheid events.
48:11Looking down at thriving Soweto, I'm reminded that South Africa has now emerged from its darkest chapter.
48:29Cape Town is on the very tip of the continent.
48:40And it's home to the infamous jail where apartheid's political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, were locked up.
48:48Robyn Island.
48:54Robyn Island.
49:15Robyn Island.
49:18Robyn Island.
49:19Robyn Island.
49:21Robyn Island.
49:23Robyn Island.
49:23Robyn Island.
49:24Arrested by the state and put on trial for treason and sabotage alongside Mandela, Dennis was jailed for 22 years.
49:40Our guys on death row, they would sing most nights.
49:45We had eight or nine comrades on death row.
49:48And they would sing in the most beautiful harmonies, our freedom songs.
49:53I had a recorder.
49:55Sounds like a penny whistle.
49:57And so I learned to play the melodies.
50:00And so I would play the melodies and they would sing.
50:04That was our communication.
50:06These are guys going to hang.
50:08They knew what they were there for.
50:11Such courage.
50:12You ask what it did for me.
50:13It brings tears to my eyes now.
50:17What have we done?
50:20What have we done?
50:24What have we done?
50:27What have we done?
50:31What have we done?
50:35What have we done?
50:39What have we done?
50:42What have we done?
50:43What have we done?
50:45And they had us almost literally under the gallows.
50:50Every week people were being hanged.
50:52The sheriff would come and say to the prisoner or the prisoners,
50:57tomorrow morning's your time.
50:59And prisoners would start singing.
51:013,000 people would join in singing hymns until it's continuous through the night.
51:08And why did they do that?
51:10To comfort the people who are going to die.
51:13But at first thing in the morning, I think at 6 o'clock, we would hear the fall of the
51:20trapdoors,
51:21because we were so near.
51:22And the whole prison would just stop, as though a switch had been thrown.
51:27No more singing.
51:29Just cut off.
51:29Just cut off.
51:30Just cut off.
51:30It was a remarkable experience.
51:34And with all that you went through, all that you've seen, and unfortunately, so many of
51:41your comrades...
51:42Well, no.
51:44Sorry.
51:44Nobody else.
51:46Well, let me say it for you.
51:49A hundred and thirty-seven of my comrades were hanged.
51:53Over a thousand were murdered by security, torturers, and killers out of hand.
52:00Tens of thousands of years of imprisonment.
52:04And in the end, after Nelson Mandela was released, four years of negotiations with the transfer of
52:11power, the apartheid state killed between 10 and 12,000 people, trying to retain control.
52:21It's a brutal system.
52:24And so we have our new democratic South Africa.
52:28It was worth it.
52:30Everything we did was worth it.
52:49Decades and decades they fought.
52:52And it was the experience he had in prison.
52:54And how song and the power of the voice somehow was their blanket.
53:11To me, it's a revelation how singing together in harmony has the ability to help people endure
53:19even the most terrible situations.
53:24And I suppose maybe that's what's so devastatingly beautiful about being here and witnessing
53:35the aftershock of what they've been through.
53:55The dream of democracy that Dennis fought for became a reality in 1994, when Nelson Mandela
54:02was sworn in as president here in Pretoria.
54:08And one very special singer was there to mark the occasion.
54:13I'm on my way to meet, if I can get through this traffic, Fusi Mahasela.
54:18He's one of South Africa's greatest voices.
54:21And he's been living here since boyhood.
54:23This is the unknown grave.
54:33The one who died maintaining his mind.
54:41His will have been so strong and musically inclined.
54:47His sad melodies coming out like a smoke from the woody fire.
54:57Fusi is determined to use his voice to heal the wounds inflicted by the brutality of the past.
55:03Who died this morning and why?
55:08For me, music was much more of the vehicle that I would use or a tool that I used to
55:13sort of like really give hope to a people, not to despair.
55:17One, two, one, two, three, four, five, and...
55:21To do this, he's passing down African wisdom through song at his academy.
55:31Our motto for the foundation in this school is Africa, teach your children ancient songs, so that they should glorify
55:38the spirit of collective good.
55:40The spirit of collective good being Ubuntu.
55:49Ubuntu, which translates as humanity to others, is a Southern African philosophy that teaches the need for understanding, not vengeance.
56:00Ubuntu, it is a way of life which is more about everybody's kindness, love, helpfulness.
56:07The success that you have in your country is measured by whom you include, not exclude.
56:16Yeah.
56:17Yeah.
56:19Amen to that.
56:20Thank you very please.
56:21Amen to that.
56:24Fusi's song, When You Come Back, written about political exiles, sums it all up for me.
56:30Sing now Africa, sing loud, sing to the people.
56:42Let them give something to the world, and not just take you from it.
57:00And it's Fusi's hope that the legacy of the African songbook will now pass on to the next generation.
57:08And it shows the African music will turn into the music of the people.
57:15Yes, the people's music, other people's culture, and I'll be the one who will climb up on the mountain.
57:22Traveling around in South Africa, I've heard so much music.
57:26Some of it has been stunningly brilliant.
57:29Some of it has made me laugh.
57:32Some of it has just stripped me to my essence and made me cry.
57:43For so long, I mean through the dark days of apartheid, that was what they had, their voice, individually and
57:53collectively,
57:53to soothe themselves, to inspire themselves, to communicate.
57:59And it was this voice that led them to freedom.
58:06And now the post-apartheid youth are seizing the baton, using their remarkable voices to build a vibrant and inclusive
58:16South Africa.
58:17Yeah!