Johnny Clegg: The "White Zulu"

We had a great night at the convention center in Cape Town, seeing a concert by "Johnny Clegg." Johnny Clegg is a legend here in South African pop and protest music. Since the 1970s, he has been playing with an integrated band, singing songs with integrated lyrics (English and Zulu), both of which were outlawed under apartheid. He has had a number of "cross-over" bands since that era, including Juluka (meaning "sweat" in Zulu), and Savuka ("we have risen" in Zulu), mixing traditional Zulu and pop and reggae music. You can read about him at: http://www.realsa.co.za/eventdetail.php?event_id=76

And, if you want to hear some of his sounds, check out these YouTube links:

Johnny Clegg music video "Great Heart": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_9xtCbRgH4

Johnny Clegg and Joan Baez singing "Asimbonanga" at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday bash in London: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdKNKZ2uhUk

The crowd was pretty mixed: some old protest rockers, some youngsters, some black and coloured, though mostly white (tickets cost $35 each, which is real money here!). But what was really inspiring was to see the whole crowd really moved by these songs, singing in unison about freedom, about a common culture.

Also, this concert was called "Heart of the Dancer," so he spent time teaching us about Zulu culture and Zulu dance, showing how his different songs from the past 30 years were inspired by and transformed by different types of Zulu dance. He was joined by some amazing dancers, who really kicked it up!

It was really inspiring, and I got a bit of sense of the possiblity that maybe there can be a country built from this incredibly diverse set of cultures. At least that night, while everybody was standing singing "Asimbonanga" together, you got that feeling.

Blog ya later.

Seth./.