Kota Embassy – Kwaito Ft. Dj Mremz, Ivy Beatz, Goitse Levati & Goitseone Mswazi Mokgethi

Naming a track after a whole genre is a confident move. It carries history from the South African townships of the 1990s, when a new generation found its own voice after apartheid. Young people wore the clothes, used the slang and made the style their own, and its influence is still easy to spot in the music coming out today.

Listeners who know that background will see the title as a tribute. Listeners who do not will still sense that something important sits behind the word. Either way, it asks the audience to pay attention to where the sound came from, which is a lesson we could use in Nigeria as well, when we talk about the roots of our own genres.

Four collaborators share the credits, so the song feels like a gathering of people who care about the subject. DJ Mremz and Ivy Beatz are returning names from the album, and that repeat appearance helps the project feel connected from one track to the next.

For anyone who enjoys music history, this one is a conversation starter about how a movement can outlive its decade.

Download MP3