'60s Africa found the Zulu and Sotho beginning to incorporate the influences of African American R&B, jazz, and blues into their traditional, indigenous music. New styles such as township jazz, pennywhistle street music, Kwela, and marabi were formed. Eventually, these myriad styles coalesced to create a new hybrid pop music that came to be known as mbaqanga. Though mbaqanga employs the traditional instrumentation of Western pop (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals), the approach to song structure and rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic phrasing is uniquely African.
Recorded between 1981 and 1984, THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BEAT OF SOWETO is the first (and arguably the best) of a slew of South African pop recordings that soon followed. Characterized by insistent, rhythmically complex beats, elastic, burbling basslines, tight, ska-sounding guitar accompaniment, and thick, multi-part vocals, this music is as intriguing as it is appealing. Groups with such names as Udokotela Shange Namajaha and Amaswazi Emvelo serve up bright, infectious melodies and percussively insistent tracks that are clearly intended for dancing. Though this "pop" may at first seem strange to Western ears, repeated listens reveal its true nature: rich, individual, joyous, and simply wonderful music.
U Zodwa Uyangithanda
Amaswazi Emvelo Lyrics
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Ubekezela konk'okub'engikwenza kuye
Aw shwele
UZodw'uyangithanda aw bantu
Ubekezela konk'okub'engikwenza kuye
Aw shwele
Ubekezela konk'okub'engikwenza kuye
Aw shwele
Yimi, yimi
Yimi engingenal'uthando
Yimi, yimi,
Yimi engingenal'uthando
Yimi, yimi
Yimi engingenal'uthando
Ngithand'uNomasonto
Ngithand'uNomasonto kunoZodwa
Kodw'uNomasonto akangenzeli lutho
Ngithand'uNomasonto
Oh mina heh
Ngithand'uNomasonto kunoZodwa
Kodw'uNomasonto akangenzeli lutho
Ngithand'uNomasonto
Ngithand'uNomasonto kunoZodwa
Kodw'uNomasonto akangenzeli lutho
Awubhek'uthando ukuthi lunjani
Likuthandisa lentombi wen'ongayithandi
Bese uyeka lena
Obewukad'uw'uvuka nayo
Awubhek'uthando ukuthi lunjani
Likuthandisa lentombi wen'ongayithandi
Bese uyeka lena
Obewukad'uw'uvuka nayo
Ngith'awubhek'uthando ukuthi lunjani
Likuthandisa lentombi wen'ongayithandi
Bese uyeka lena
Obewukad'uw'uvuka nayo
The song "U Zodwa Uyangithanda" by the Amaswazi Emvelo talks about a man named Zodwa who is deeply in love with someone, and the love is one-sided. The lyrics say that Zodwa loves the person so much that he endures whatever happens to him at the hands of the person he loves. He is willing to wait and hope that the person will return his love one day. The repetition of the first stanza emphasizes Zodwa's commitment to his love, despite the indifference he receives.
The second stanza introduces another character, Nomasonto, who is loved by the singer, but not by Zodwa. This can be interpreted as the singer trying to compare the depth of his love for Nomasonto to Zodwa's love for his unrequited love. The last stanza questions the nature of love and how it can be used to manipulate people, especially when someone loves someone who doesn't reciprocate. The lyrics also suggest that the person who is being loved by Zodwa is using him for his own selfish purposes and does not care about his feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
UZodw'uyangithanda aw bantu
Zodwa loves me, not anyone else
Ubekezela konk'okub'engikwenza kuye
She expects me to do what she wants from me
Aw shwele
She won't tolerate any disobedience
Yimi, yimi
It's me, it's me
Yimi engingenal'uthando
I'm not loved
Ngithand'uNomasonto
I love Nomasonto
Ngithand'uNomasonto kunoZodwa
I love Nomasonto, but Zodwa knows it
Kodw'uNomasonto akangenzeli lutho
But Nomasonto doesn't reciprocate my love
Oh mina heh
Oh, as for me
Awubhek'uthando ukuthi lunjani
Don't look at how love works
Likuthandisa lentombi wen'ongayithandi
It makes you love someone who doesn't love you back
Bese uyeka lena
Then you leave that person
Obewukad'uw'uvuka nayo
Who you used to wake up next to
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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