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


  • Karim Khan
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    “Target Israel and we will target you”: U.S. Senators Play Schoolyard Bully Against the ICC
    08 May 2024
    The ICC recently revealed that U.S. Republican Senators sent a threatening letter to the ICC in response to Israel's concern that an arrest warrant may be issued against it. This pressure campaign on…
  • Tutwiler Prison for Women
    Center for Constitutional Rights
    Imprisoned Workers Bring State Lawsuit to Abolish Involuntary Servitude in Alabama’s Prisons
    08 May 2024
    On International Workers’ Day, the suit challenges the constitutionality of government actions to punish resistance to forced labor among the majority-Black prison population.
  • Message of solidarity on a tent in Gaza
    Women United Against Genocide
    In Solidarity with the Student Protests Against Genocide
    08 May 2024
    Women United Against Genocide issued this statement expressing solidarity with the campus protests calling for divestment from Israel and encouraging communities to provide material support.
  • Rebecca Weiner
    Wyatt Reed , Max Blumenthal
    Columbia Crackdown Led by University Prof. Doubling as NYPD Spook
    08 May 2024
    Rebecca Weiner is a Columbia U. professor who also serves as intelligence director of the NYPD. Mayor Eric Adams credits her with spying on anti-genocide student protesters and directing the…
  • Anti-war march in New York City
    Sara Flounders
    Three U.S. wars Threaten World War Three: $95 Billion Targets Palestine, Iran, Russia and China
    08 May 2024
    The recent aid package passed by the U.S. Congress reveals its true priorities - a multifront war that threatens the stability of the world.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us