7/23/2019 The Virtual Breeding of Sound

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lee Hirsch

populations together, across tribal lines and class differences. Through inge

nious channe

ls of

communication it carried the messages

of

the movement

to and from the

mo

st isolated communities: songs created at the notorious

Robben Island prison would find their way to school kids in Soweto within

days, som etimes hours.

Activists turned DJs popularized many of these songs through Radio Free

dom,

a pirate radio station based in Lusaka, Zambia. Its broadcasts found

their way onto South African soil

as

activists would

huddle

at great risk listen

ing to the news of the day and the latest liberation songs. At the dawn of lib

eration in the early 1990s South Africans by a

nd

large stood together in a

proud, hopeful, and electrifying collective.

Fast-forward to 200

7: as

South Africa's economy

and

democracy thrive, I

am often asked what has become

of

the liberation s

on

gs? A better question

would be; what s

become

o

the collective

These days,

many

of

my

fr iends like Nhlahla actively lament the loss

of

the

collective spirit, the near disappearance of freedom

songs-by

the mid -'90s

the writing was already

on

the wall. While South Africa's racial barriers faded,

her class divisions grew, and comm uni ty and activist

le

aders disappeared from

the townships scurrying for their places behind the walls and razor wires of

previously all-white-tree-lined suburbs. Crime and HIV were left behind.

The ma

rch

of

modernity was

on and

it was centered

on

the individual.

Across the arts spect

rum,

expressi

on

s of struggle were

redundant and

losing

appeal; youth wanted to forget the past. In its place rose a new inspirationa l

voice

ring on the bling While American and international beats have al

ways been popular on South Africa's airwaves, hip-hop and electronic music

has

begun

to

dominate

South African musicians struggling for their place in

rapidly decreas ing local" slots.

Somewhere through

th

is cacophony

of

sounds and styles competing for

dollars and relevance, the political, cultural, and economic landscape con

tinues to transform. The collective voice can still be heard, albeit more softly:

HIV acti

vi

sts, trade unionists,

and

tho

se

still living in squalor are re inventing

the s

ongs of

the past for the struggles of today. They say that s

on

g is ther

e,

and

can always be used when it's needed; I am not so sure. Can Americans bre;)k

out into song as freely as we did during the

ivil

h l ~ and Vi etnam war pro

test

s?

Are there songs being created

In IllOhil

i'

/l

' a ; I i l l ~

Ih

e 13us h ;)dminislra

lion? Or, is it poss ibl e that jusl a

f( w ),( 11

'1

1

11111

1, III Illill',g

in

g

in

and luning

out could erad ic;)te thai apal il y