A quick overview of 60 000 years of South African music

The history of South African music begins with the release of Hlokoloza by Arthur in September 2011. I’ve only been doing my research on Twitter so far, so I might be wrong. Let me just check some other sources…

Oh, right. It turns out SA music started when Fokofpolisiekar did Hemel Op Die Platteland, at least that’s what I learnt from watching MK.

Or maybe SA music starts with the first time Bed On Bricks played Rocking The Daisies. Or is the 0AD of South African Music the moment Krushed & Sorted first played the Zula Bar?

Maybe South African music started with a shamanic San chant around a fire in the Kalahari…



It’s probably all of the above. For many of us, our love for SA music begins with our first live show. Maybe we heard a song we liked on the radio, and were stunned to be told that, no, the band’s actually South African. And what’s more they’re playing a show in our town.