KADOR is celebrating the history of kwaito with his debut single, titled Kwaito eKae.
Kador, real name Patrick Mano, grew up in North West, in the small town of Delareyville.
During his formative years, his passion for pantsula dance led to him discovering his love for music and performance.
Heavily inspired by kwaito stars Mzekezeke, Mzambiya, Zola 7 and others, Kador started penning his own lyrics.
Now, also fascinated by the sound of amapiano, Kador says he is excited to blend his first love, kwaito, with amapiano to create a new hybrid sound.
He describes his sound as “the new age” kwaito.
“Legends of kwaito believe that kwaito is still alive and trust me I am one of the artists who still believes in kwaito so much, but at some point, we have to be realistic about the new genre that is taking over the South African music industry by storm,” he said.
Kador also DJs and is the owner of Kador Records.
Kwaito started emerging in Soweto during the early 1990s. It’s origins coincided with the end of the apartheid era, when Nelson Mandela became the first president of democratic South Africa in 1994.
It is a mixture of several different rhythms from the marabi of the 1920s, kwela of the 1950s, mbaqanga/maskandi, bubblegum and Imibongo (African praise poetry).
Kwaito typically has a slower tempo than other styles of house music, and often contains catchy melodic and percussive loop samples, electronic dance, deep bass lines, and vocals.
One of the first kwaito singles to become a hit in South Africa was Kaffir by Arthur Mafokate.
The track illustrated the freedom of expression resulting from political liberation in South Africa.
As quoted in South African History Online, legendary kwaito musician and record producer Oscar “Oskido” Mdlongwa explained: “In the late 80s, we started remixing international house tracks to give them a local feeling.
“We added a bit of piano, slowing the tempo down and putting in percussion and African melodies.”
Echoing Oskido’s sentiments, Arthur Mafokate said: "Lyrically we were inspired by people like Brenda Fassie and Chicco Twala. Fassie and Twala were the rising stars of the older ‘bubblegum’ disco music.
"They were representing us and talking about what was happening in the ghettos, and they spoke in a mixture of English, Zulu, Sesotho and Iscamtho."
Mdu Masilela, Arthur Mafokate, Oskido, Boom Shaka and Mandoza, are among the legendary musicians who made kwaito popular, even beyond South Africa’s borders.
Kwaito eKae is currently available on all digital platforms.