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


  • The Capitol Catastrophe and Trump’s Hijacked White Nationalism
    Mark P. Fancher
    The Capitol Catastrophe and Trump’s Hijacked White Nationalism
    13 Jan 2021
    Trump threw a monkey wrench into the capitalist system’s population management machine.
  • Letters from Our Readers
    Jason Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers
    13 Jan 2021
    “The Squad Won’t Fight Pelosi and Corporate Power” by Glen Ford 
  • BAR Book Forum: Zakiya Luna’s “Reproductive Rights as Human Rights”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Zakiya Luna’s “Reproductive Rights as Human Rights”
    13 Jan 2021
    This book is a story about a group of (mostly) women who wanted to make change and understood that liberation is an inside job.  
  • BAR Book Forum: Chris A. Barcelos’ “Distributing Condoms and Hope”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Chris A. Barcelos’ “Distributing Condoms and Hope”
    13 Jan 2021
    Replacing cops with social workers could “reproduce the same kinds of harm,” as this author explains.
  • Coup d’état or Insurrection – What’s Good for the Goose… 
    Dr.Wilmer J. Leon, III
    Coup d’état or Insurrection – What’s Good for the Goose… 
    13 Jan 2021
    Under what authority does the American government have the right to instigate and execute coup’s against democratically elected governments in other countries?
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us