Young, Black and Unfree

In recent weeks we’ve seen a steep spike in global awareness around police-brutality and the anti-working class,  the anti-black nature of the capitalist system. Across social media people have been posting black squares and reposting messages of solidarity. People across the world have been gathering on streets carrying slogans declaring ‘we can’t breathe’ and ‘get your boot off our necks’. This directly connected to the death of George Floyd in the US, but also, closer to home, to the death of Collins Khosa at the hands of the army. All of this occurring within the context of a global pandemic. It is from this environment that of Soundz of the South (SOS), an anti-capitalist hip-hop collective, is responding.

 

Hip-Hop is a historic symbol of the culture of resistance. It originates from young black people in poor communities who organised themselves to host jam sessions in the park and street corner cyphers to share with others their socio-political realities. Hip-Hop is a tool against voicelessness putting power back in the mouths of the people. Soundz of the South uses Hip-Hop to mobilise the community to collective resistance against fascist capitalism and towards actions of solidarity.

 

The latest single by the collective, Young, Black and Unfree, sheds light on issues of racist capitalism and its effects on the living conditions of young working class people. This is especially important in this lockdown as we see signs of repression and authoritarianism from the South African state. The government has received major backlash from poor communities whose freedoms have been infringed on during this lockdown. The song responds to this state of unfreedom and hopes to inspire South African youth to critically engage with this moment and organise themselves to collectively deal with the challenges they face.

 

https://sos1.bandcamp.com/track/young-black-and-unfree

Young, Black and Unfree brings together the skills of local and international creatives, this includes:

Verse 1 - Anela
Verse 2 - Java
Verse 3 - Karl Myx
Verse 4 - Tsidi

Beat: Absinth (Odessa Trickmakers)(Athens)
Recorded: Hlumelo Zulu (Cape Town)
Mix: Daniel (Bremen)
Master: Chris (Bremen)
@laplagesound 
Art: Ricardo Pinto Jorge (Maputo/Kigali)
@ricardopintojorge

Soundz of the South, based in Khayelitsha, have been doing political education work using hip-hop and poetry for over ten years. Some of their more experimental projects include Hiphop against the Afrikan Hip-Hop Caravan, uQhagamishelwano, Toyi-toyi Live, and the Rebel Sistah Cypher project.

For more information please contact Anele 0628916821