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
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Report October 2, 2026
02 October 2026
In this week’s segment we hear about the right-wing politics of the anti-migrant movement in South Africa, ANC failures, and upcoming elections in
South Africa anti-immigration march
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
South Africa's "March and March" Collaborates with Right Wing Afrikaners
02 October 2026
Our guest is Nairobi based political writer and strategist Clinton Nzala.
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.

More Stories


  • Fourteen Martyrs in the Struggle Against Racist Terror and Trumpism-Fascism
    Paul Street
    Fourteen Martyrs in the Struggle Against Racist Terror and Trumpism-Fascism
    16 Sep 2020
    Their names are not as familiar as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but these victims have paid the ultimate price, dying in the line of anti-racist and anti-fascist citizenship duty.
  • 1st 100 Days— Portland  
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    1st 100 Days— Portland  
    16 Sep 2020
    I have a friend—some- time bandmate—Daily… Whining, wringing his hands. Distressed and depressed— anxious and agitated—he Knows nuclear war and Armageddon are on the
  • Letters from Our Readers
    Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers
    16 Sep 2020
    This week Ibram X. Kendi, Toussaint Louverture, community control of the police, and the trial of Julian Assange were on your minds.
  • BAR Book Forum: “Books I Teach”
    Nada Mustafa Ali
    BAR Book Forum: “Books I Teach”
    16 Sep 2020
    Students of all ages can share the experiences of women from the slum margins of Nairobi and young female shapeshifters at a Detroit homeless shelter.
  • BAR Book Forum: Samantha Pinto’s Book, “Infamous Bodies”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Samantha Pinto’s Book, “Infamous Bodies”
    16 Sep 2020
    The author examines the lives of five Black female historical figures and challenges some deeply-held ideas about Black women in politics
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us