Soundtrack to Progress

I was alone at a cafe in Seoul, Korea sometime in late June, during the dead of summer, having a hot matcha latte. I was a 23-year-old girl 6,864 miles away from home, on a solo vacation, journaling in a freshly unbolted notebook. Some eyes would widen at that scene, even with all the liberated ladies on social media documenting their solo adventures. This was the first of many solo trips to come, but the most memorable thing about that day wasn’t the foreign scenery, the faint sound of Korean baristas chatting with each other in the distance, not even the authentic matcha made with local cashew milk- it was the music. Moments after I took my first sips, I heard the unmistakable sound of a South African song: “Umahlalela” by Simmy. The song itself wasn’t familiar to me, I’d never even heard of the artist before that moment, but the tune was undeniably South African. The deep melody and rumbling beats, simply unmistakable. After a few seconds the raspy singing in Zulu began, and my suspicions were confirmed.

That was years ago; we now live in a world where you’re more likely to hear an Afrobeats tune by WizKid than a Britney Spears track while shopping fast fashion, and just as likely to hear one going out for drinks as a Justin Bieber song. Actually, Justin Bieber has been featured on a few Afrobeats tracks! Just five years ago, these were still very unlikely scenarios, even in my hometown of Manhattan, New York, which is arguably the most cultured place in the world. What’s more, South African music makes up an extremely small slice of the Afrobeats pie we’ve been eating from in recent years. The genre as we know it is dominated by Nigerian and Ghanaian artists who pump out global hits. Needless to say, my experience in Seoul that afternoon will forever be engraved in my mind, I get chills just thinking about it. The post-pandemic music scene brought an even greater revelation for South African house music with my childhood icons like Beyoncé and Drake producing entire bodies of music inspired by Afrobeats with heavy South African influence. When Black Is King (Beyoncé’s Dinsey backed musical) debuted, it was playing on repeat in my home like the local weather channel. Even with that, I attended a viewing party for the film during the same week. Truthfully, the representation in that movie and it’s soundtrack was enough to hold me over for the next half decade, but to my surprise, Drake released Honestly, Nevermind in 2022. It was beautiful to hear what Tik Tok approved as “the album of the summer” playing throughout the city, with beats that sounded like the back yards and coffee shops is Johannesburg.

Growing up in Manhattan, attending elementary school blocks away from The Lincoln Center Theater, good music was never associated with Africa, whether it was formal performances or songs flowing out a drop top car riding by. The slur “African booty scratcher” was on everybody’s lips, at least it seemed like it. My parents warned me not to repeat the Zulu and Sotho words they’d spoken to each other in our home, because “people will look down on you” and know I wasn’t simply American. That little girl who internalized all these words, stifling her roots to avoid mistreatment, is now a woman who’s admired and doted on for the very truths she had to bury. Yes, that comes with maturing, self awareness, and therapy. But the impact of music can’t be ignored, and I’m happy to see it. I love that the same artists I grew up listening to now make music that sounds like home. The cliche phrase “music can change the world” is older than I am, but truth of it is never lost on me. Now more than ever, I can see how music can bring people together and bandage wounds of misunderstanding.

Take a journey from New York City to Johannesburg with this playlist! It’s best listened to straight through:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz6ikrdpV1A5P65RwX31_UI2zYnUJSX4J