Seasonal Change does affect the type of music we listen to

Party lovers packed at Club Cavarri

It’s that season again, Spring, in which we are invited to spring bashes and picnics everywhere we go. All these events are made possible through the help of music. As we speak I have attended two events in which the artists performing kept me shouting their names and making memories. Music captures the attention and makes us relive the moments we miss by hearing a track when it’s playing. I really doubt that I will ever forget the fun I went through as I was present at these events during this season.

Going back to the events I have attended in the Vaal Beach party and the Boksburg Spring Fiesta, it was good to see our artists well mannered. Gone are the days you could find a musician perform under the influence of drugs and alcohol. These musicians are giving back to the listeners and audience by respecting their jobs and performances. We don’t expect a refund; instead we feel the performances we received came at a bargain. The musicians are obviously cheered by the Spring season.

You likely to find most artists release their albums during this season because everyone is just too excited to go out and party. House Djs among the list, take advantage of this season as they know they are likely to make more sales because of club attendance, packed bashes and beach parties. One international Dj who is most certainly popular this season, is Ralf Gum who is making waves in South Africa with his hit songs; Take me to your love and Linda featuring the South African vocalist Oluhle. 

Besides house music generating lot of revenue, wedding songs and songs played at unveilings also have an impact on people’s pockets. Lots of weddings are also organized around spring. Groups like Mafikizolo and Malaika produce songs that become popular during Spring and Summer and that’s when they enjoy making music. Seasons do have an impact on the type of music you listen to.

                                  THANK GOD FOR THE GIFT OF MUSIC 

Have you ever stopped and thought what your life would be like without music? What would the world be like without music? Sometimes it’s easier to see how important something is to us by imagining to what extent our lives would be affected without it. Music is a way to express feelings. When you fall in love, the kind of music you’d listen to would be all about love. When you’re sad, you would go for music that is melancholic in nature and immerse yourself in your sadness. When you’re happy, you’d choose songs with happy tunes.

A world without music means taking your daily shower before going to work or school or getting off to bed like a silent lamb. It means we cannot express our patriotism every Monday Mornings through our National Hymn. It means our Sunday Mass would just consist of the reading of the Scriptures, a Sermon, Homily and Communion without the Angel-like voices of the choir. It means blowing a birthday cake would begin with just a simple greeting of “Happy Birthday”. Brown Dash, Lebo Mathosa and others could have died as ordinary people.

The world without music means that they wouldn’t be any parties as parties are conducted by music. We would feel no emotional pain as that background d soundtrack in Titanic would play. We just all have to admit that the world would be a boring place without the existence of music, no matter what genre and the language the song is sang with. As they say, music has no language. No matter which country you come from, you would know a good song when you hear one. You don’t have to know the meaning of the lyrics to enjoy the song in full. Music speaks to one’s heart.

 Thank God for the music. Thank God that we can still sing whether it’s a good or bad situation. Be grateful of music as it manages to excite us and make us dance.

                                   IN LOVING MEMORY OF LEBO MATHOSA

Lebo Mathosa: greatest performer
in the South African music industry

Lebo Mathosa was one of the hottest female singers in South Africa. She was not only popular to her fans for her unique singing abilities but was also noticed for her professional dance acts and sexy look. Her music was a fusion of R&B, African music, dance and funk, that managed to set new standards in the local music industry.

Lebo started her career at the age of 15 as she joined the South African group Boom Shaka in 1994. She was and still is considered as the best performers after Brenda Fassie who was capable of putting smiles on her fans faces. She was a great performer who filled the seats at the arenas and concerts she was performing in. Fans didn’t complain about her performances, actually they pleaded her to stay on longer than she was expected to and to her producers surprise she was delighted to do so. Most of her performances were broadcasted nationally and internationally.

In 2000 she launched her solo career with her debut single Intro, a track that features on her debut solo album Dream. Four weeks after the launch of Dream, the album went Gold and in 2001 Lebo won Best Dance Album for Dream, Best Dance Single for Intro and Best Female Vocalist at the South African Music Awards. Besides the SAMA’s, Lebo won numerous awards and was nominated in many categories like the FHM Magazine as one of Africa’s sexiest women. She did also play a role in acting as she was featured in three most popular soapies; Generations, Backstage and Muvhango.

Sadly on the 23^rd of October 2006 Lebo passed away in a car crash coming back from a performance. Her death touched so many people as they felt that she had better life ahead her than to die at the age of 29 years.  We will live to remember you and we know you are in a better place. The music industry is not the same without you.

Simply for the love of Kwaito Music    

Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music featuring the use of African sounds and samples. Typically at a slower tempo range than other styles of house music, Kwaito often contains catchy melodic and percussive loop samples, deep bass lines, and vocals. Although bearing similarities to hip hop music, a distinctive feature of Kwaito is the manner in which the lyrics are sung, rapped and shouted. It is most popular among the black youth of South Africa.

Kwaito took shape in the township Soweto at the same time Nelson Mandela took office. One of the first Kwaito singles to become a hit in South Africa was the song "Kaffir" by artist Arthur Mafokate, which illustrated the freedom of expression resulting from political liberation in South Africa. Arthur Mafokate, Makhendlas (Arthur's brother), Oskido, Boom Shaka, and Mdu Masilela were the first artists to produce a huge kwaito hit and popularize it in and outside of the Black townships.

The kwaito industry is growing fast and it is becoming increasingly competitive. Popular artists include Zola, Mandoza, Mzekezeke, Brown Dash, Spikiri, Mzambiya, and the late African pop and kwaito star Brenda Fassie to mention a few. The kwaito stars in South Africa are seen as celebrities who influence the culture, language, and economy of the nation in ways that is entertaining the listeners while listening.

Kwaito is been criticized in that it is labeled as the African version of hip hop or an imitator. As it emerged it was meant for the black South African youth but it managed to secure its name in the South African music industry and International front. It is known for being sang in African languages and that shouldn’t change. People in other races can take this opportunity to learn African languages through kwaito music.  

 

Music videos play an important role in album sales



MTV logo by Justice Songs



Music videos represent a very important part of the music industry. There are even artists that owe their careers to their music videos. Music videos have become a venue where a musician is given a chance to impress the public not just with their singing but also with their looks or moves. There are people who become an instant fan because of the music videos they see on TV.

Music video aims to deliver the song or give meaning to the song. People can easily relate to the song once they see and know the intention of it. It can help listeners relate to the song and somehow feel that the song was written for them. But some people feel that music videos have disadvantages because now people focus on the looks and ignore the singing talent the singer has to offer. This goes to show that sex sells and they are making a huge profit by portraying it. Musicians become more appreciated if they have good looks and the sex appeal.

Looking on the brighter side though, music videos have already proven how essential it is to an artist success. Music videos are now considered as important as the song itself. There are artists and songs that have become so popular and well known because of their music videos. Mostly listeners get to know the artist through the use of videos and this help boost the album sales of the artist. The creation of DVDs and video tapes has also helped the artist generate more income because their live performances are been recorded and sold as well.

Record companies should make it a priority to create a budget for their artists’ music videos in order to be successful in generating more album sales.

IDOLS SA SEASON8

South Africa’s biggest reality competition, Idols, is back again. For over a decade, the South African version of Idols has been one of the country’s biggest shows, always full of curiousity, scandal and above all, singing. The show's speciality is forging superstars from raw talent and it has consistently launched the contestants to the top of the pop charts.

IdolsSA season promises todeliver yet another amazing show.

Season 8 Idols promises to deliver excitement and an interesting journey for both the audience and the contestants. Thousands of hopefuls auditioned in the hope of being crowned SA’s newest singing sensation. The numbers were reduced down to 89, then 50, then 34 and currently standing at the Top 10.

This season’s judges are Randall Abrahams, Unathi Msengana and Gareth Cliff who are searching for sensational talent and shatter misguided music superstar dreams. Unathi Msengana, the host of the breakfast show on Metro FM is an established recording artist, songwriter and African Renaissance woman. Gareth Cliff joined Idols in Season 2 and has general knowledge regarding the music entertainment. Randall Abrahams is the judge that everyone loves to hate, as well as the judge everyone wants to impress.

The Top 10 Spectacular phase is currently underway and kicked off to a fantastic start. We cannot wait for more and more singing from the Contestants. The first round of performances impressed everyone. The theme was "Old School / New School" and we loved the fresh spin put on to classical songs.

We are waiting with curiosity and anticipation to know those who will make it through to the Top 9. Your votes will decide. Keep voting for your favorite contestant to help grow the South African music industry.

For those who don’t know, you can catch IdolsSA season 8 on M-Net and Mzansi Magic.

 How listeners misinterpreted the Concept YOLO

YOLO is an acronym that stands for: "you only live once." The phrase is used a motto to convey that one should take risks and live life to the fullest because you probably won't get another chance to do it.

Although the complete, shortened phrase has been used casually for years, the shortened acronym was picked up soon after Canadian music artist Drake featured it in his hip hop single entitled "The Motto." On October 23rd of 2011 and according to Know Your Meme, Drake sent out a tweet with the acronym YOLO in it. The following day the acronym had caught on quite drastically across the web. The day after Drake's YOLO tweet, Twitter analytic site Trendistic reported increased activity of tweets that had included YOLO as a keyword.

Twitter users now commonly use hash tag #YOLO to tweet about their once-in-a-lifetime choices and experiences. Some people are serious about it and others use it as a joke. It would really be nice to take life as it came at you by taking the right decisions but instead people tend to make those wrongful decisions because they only live once. It is quite sad to witness people being manipulated to act irresponsibly because of a phrase. What’s more troubling as that it was reported that Drake stated that his audience took the concept in a wrong way because he never thought people will do wrongful behavior  just to justify themselves with the phrase.

Such behavior is the results that parents come to the conclusion that music influence the listeners in a bad way. YOLO should not act as a catalyst to poor decision making. The concept of Yolo isn’t to go smoke and drink, and make yourself a bad person by being mischievous. It is to go out and do something with your life that matters; after all you only live once.