![]() This serves up another question over the song: What does Jerusalema say about South Africa’s soft power? For the moment, the song has made the country prominent on the world map. The viral life of the song has given Master KG access to elusive global music markets. So, the #JerusalemaDanceChallenge became a bridge to the rest of the continent, the African diaspora and Europe. Angola also has well-established European networks due to its political history. ![]() Dance music is popular in Angola, with local styles like kizomba and kuduro. It is also not entirely surprising that the viral dance sequence associated with Jerusalema came from Angola. It not only offers catchy dance music and a relatable message, it also makes local market history for gospel-dance fusion. The song has essentially penetrated this large market but also had an impact on local music market benchmarks. What is interesting is that in South Africa, gospel music traditionally outsells most other popular music genres. Many crossover songs go viral because they straddle target audiences in different genres. This translates anywhere Christianity plays a social or institutional role, making the song resonate beyond its danceability.Īnd this makes Jerusalema another successful crossover - a popular house music song that also manages to be a gospel song. It has resonated with people who may not understand the isiZulu lyrics, but understand its inherent religious theme, because of associations with the biblical city Jerusalem. Jerusalema went viral during the isolation and loss caused by Covid-19 lockdowns world-wide. Beyond this, Jerusalema’s message of seeking guidance and protection towards a spiritual home in a turbulent time is also relevant for this historical moment. Its popularity comes not only at a time when songs with a dance sequence often have a viral life, like Drake’s online hit In my feelings or the pre-internet Macarena’ by Los Del Rio. #Wimoweh the office plusSo Simon’s fame plus cumulative factors helped make Graceland a hit album. By making the album with black South African musicians, Simon defied apartheid, but also disregarded the cultural boycott of South Africa. But they were similarly riding the wave of rebellion. The South African hits emanating from Paul Simon’s Graceland album – like Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Homeless – were incredibly popular in Europe and North America. Its popularity in Africa, Europe and North America was enabled not only by her fame as a singer but also by her political activism and networks against the apartheid regime. The success of what is now known as Wimoweh (The lion sleeps tonight) was possible because of its exploitation of Linda’s labour and intellectual property rights.Īnother prominent song was Miriam Makeba’s infectious dance hit Pata Pata during the height of apartheid in the 1960s. Since then it has become a multi-generational staple in stage productions and Hollywood films and covered by numerous bands around the world. It was misinterpreted as Wimoweh almost at once by American folk singer Peter Seeger. The first is Mbube, written by Solomon Linda and performed with his troupe the Evening Birds in the 1930s. South Africa in electricity crisis, nationwide blackoutsįew South African songs have achieved this kind of global status and these have been tied to political or historical moments that enabled their popularity and spread.Chinese authorities implement 'zero covid' policy as Tibetans raise fears of spike in isolation centres. ![]() Drought ravaging 20 counties should be a national disaster.Qatar confirms COVID-19 test requirements for World Cup fans.A frequent question in my social circles is, why this song? Many are trying to figure out what makes Jerusalema so exceptional in its popularity. Internationally, politicians, sports stars, priests, nuns and monks, shop attendants, healthcare workers and infinite other global citizens have posted countless videos of themselves participating in group dancing, accepting the Jerusalema dance challenge.Īs much as the song has captured global attention, it has also inspired curiosity among those already familiar with the repetitive, slower, four-to-a-bar beat of South African house music. The song is performed by musician and producer Master KG and vocalist Nomcebo Zikode.Īpart from the song’s omnipresence on the sound systems of a cross-section of socio-economic neighbourhoods across South Africa, it has become a viral dance phenomenon, drawing in a diverse global audience. There’s something seemingly novel about a song from South Africa going viral to the extent that the 2019 house music song Jerusalema has done in 2020. ![]()
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