Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

“Kwaito” Music Moves South African Youth
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
06 Jul 2020
🖨️ Print Article

Margaret Kimberley · “Kwaito” Music Moves South African Youth

Xavier Livermon, professor of African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, sees “many parallels” between the US-based Hip Hop phenomenon and the Kwaito music beloved by young South Africans. LIvermon is author of the book, “Kwaito Bodies: Remastering Space and Subjectivity in Post-Apartheid South Africa.” Livermon doesn’t see Kwaito as purely commercial and self-commodification. “South African youth play with and engage the system,” he said, “but also push back against it.”

South Africa

Related Podcasts

BAR Radio Logo
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio July 17, 2026
17 July 2026
In this week’s segment, we discuss the Supreme Court ruling that ends Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants.
South Africa
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
The Anti-Immigration Movement in South Africa
17 July 2026
What is behind this South African movement that drives immigrants out of the country?
Global March to Gaza
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Nkosi Mandela on the Global March to Gaza
13 June 2025
Our guest is Nkosi Mandela. He is the tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council and the grandson of Nelson Mandela.

More Stories


  • ‘Tools of Russia’: FBI Raid on Black Political Party Seen as Part of ‘Black Scare/Red Scare’ in United States
    Julie Varughese
    ‘Tools of Russia’: FBI Raid on Black Political Party Seen as Part of ‘Black Scare/Red Scare’ in United States
    03 Aug 2022
    Black political organizations condemne
  • BAR Book Forum: Jamil W. Drake’s “To Know the Soul of a People”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Jamil W. Drake’s “To Know the Soul of a People”
    03 Aug 2022
  • Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Marisol LeBrón’s “Against Muerto Rico”
    03 Aug 2022
  • The United Nations designated the years 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent. But the project has not only been neglected, it has also focused on “recognition” instead of “reparations,” reinforcing the structural racism inherent in the liberal capitalist system.
    Mireille Fanon Mendes France
    The International Decade for People of African Descent : Who have these 10 years served?
    03 Aug 2022
  • Abayomi Azikiwe
    Africa Remains at the Center of a 21st Century Cold War
    03 Aug 2022
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us