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lined with corrugated iron-roofed shacks, here,” says Mujava. “They smoke drugs.
pumping to the mix of imported house They have guns and knives. The problems
music and Kwaito played by local DJs. He go from the streets up to the politicians.
remembers being one of the youngest at There are big political problems here.
these parties, heady affairs frequented by There is AIDS everywhere. There are
boys and girls in their teens and twenties robberies and lots of car hijacking. But it’s
writhing in rum and whisky-fuelled also a place where young people love
frenzies serviced by the local ramshackle music.”
taverns.
The dance that emerged from these
“the taxis play a
parties was mapantsula, an updated
version of which features on Mujava’s
bit-part in
video and provides the inspiration for
‘Township Funk’.
promoting music
But these days Mujava can’t go to street
parties anymore.
here. the drivers
“It’s not safe for a person like me,” he
says. “People have seen me on TV here.
play the tracks in
They hear me on the radio. It’s just not
safe now. I only play in clubs now and at their cars and
properly organised gigs.”
take a cut of the
Dark Underbelly
Atteridgeville is a township on the west of
sales.”
Pretoria in a city called Tshwane. The
mujava
township was established in 1939 and has
since become South Africa’s jazz capital
with a rich musical history. Pretoria is In South Africa Mujava is signed to
also located close to Johannesburg, Jo’burg label Sheer music, who released
famed for Kwaito music that, says Mujava, ‘Mujava’s Entertainment Presents Sgubhu
gave birth to the mapantsula style of sa Pitori’ two years ago, a production
dancing. The centre of Pretoria is pretty, album that contained ‘Township Funk’. It “Before I was with that label I used to Too Hot
with wide avenues lined with heavily was the follow-up to his acclaimed 2005 create music and give it to the taxi drivers In between making ‘Township Funk’ and
scented, purple-bloomed jacaranda trees. album ‘Pretoria Exclusive Vol.1’, which in my township. The taxis play a bit-part in its UK release Mujava spent time in a
But the alluring serenity of the city centre was full of raw, almost unfinished promoting music here. The drivers play the psychiatric hospital. Rumours on the
masks the dark underbelly in the suburbs. rhythmic tracks similar to ‘Township tracks in their cars and take a cut of the internet abounded. Some said he was
Crime statistics show Atteridgeville as one Funk’. sales. Pretoria has four townships. My ill. Some said he’d been shot. Another
of the most dangerous places in South Even earlier, in his days before signing to music went around all the townships until thread on a chat room said he was dead.
Africa with murder, rape and GBH assault Sheer, Mujava released music through a it got recognition from community record “I was suffering from depression so I
all rife. label called House Therapy. stations. That’s how my links with House went into hospital,” explains Mujava. “It
“Most teenagers are involved with crime “I did six albums with them,” he says. Therapy came about.” started back in 2006 when I was getting
really criticised by the local media in
South Africa. I was too hot, basically. I
was in demand. There were rumours
that I was smoking crack, that I was
mentally ill and I just couldn’t handle it.
“I started seeing evil around me. I felt
like evil had taken me. I’d got to a point
where I couldn’t trust anyone because I
thought they were all devils. Now I’m
better.
“Luckily, before I went into hospital I
had a lot of tracks stacked up. ‘Township
Funk’ was one of them. But I had a lot of
other tracks that could cover me. So in
the hospital I was relaxing, chilling and
trying to get focused. I came out in May
this year and since then I’ve been trying
to get back on track.”
When he came out of hospital Mujava
moved in with his family — his mum,
dad, two brothers and two sisters. He
has a studio at their home, where he’s
currently working on an album that
could land soon on This Is Music.
“Most of my music I start composing
from home, just fiddling about with a
keyboard and my computer,” he says.
“Then I book studios to edit vocals and
melodies.”
All his music is created on his laptop
using programmes such as Cubase,
Reason and PC DJ, as well as Ableton.
The melody for ‘Township Funk’, he says,
www.djmag.com
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DJ467.Kwaito.indd 147 16/10/08 10:16:22
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