Samthing Soweto featuring The Mzansi Youth Choir - "The Danko! Medley" (South African YouTube video with English language information & comments)

Samthing Soweto, Dec. 17, 2020

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Statistics (as of Feb 11, 2021 at 9:37 AM ET)
Total # of views -  812,117
Total # of likes - 22K
Total # of dislikes - 105
Total # of comments- 1,779

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about South African singer. songwriter Samthing Soweto and information about the Mzansi Youth Choir.

This post also showcases a YouTube video of Samthing Soweto  and the Mzansi Youth Choir singing "The Danko! Medley". 

Information and comments about that song are included in this post along with English explanations for certain South African names and words that are included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Samthing Soweto and the Mzansi Youth choir for their music. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT SAMTHING SOWETO
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samthing_Soweto
"Samkelo Lelethu Mdolomba (born 21 January 1988), known professionally as Samthing Soweto, is a South African singer and songwriter.[1][2] He gained mainstream attention from his feature on record producer, Sun-El Musician's acclaimed song "Akanamali", released in 2017.

Following his departure of the group The Soil, Mdolomba released his debut album, This N That Without Tempo (2010), which fuses a capella and soul. He then departed from his debut album's sound as he introduced fusions of Afro pop, amapiano and R&B for his second album, Isphithiphithi (2019).
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Read information below about Samthing Soweto's newest album Danko! 

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INFORMATION ABOUT MZANSI YOUTH CHOIR

From https://wiki.projecttopics.org/6956-mzansi-youth-choir/index.html
"The Mzansi Youth Choir was established in July 2003 with the aim of affording talented, underprivileged teenagers and young adults (14-24 years) the opportunity to proficiently perform locally and abroad. Their vision is also to package, re-package and create new African Music. The choir consists of 60 choristers from Soweto, South Africa and other areas in and around Johannesburg.  The choir recently celebrated 15 years and are proud to have over 645 children pass through their hands. Many have gone onto be professionals in their own right."

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INFORMATION ABOUT THIS FEATURED SONG/VIDEO
From https://www.okayafrica.com/samthing-soweto-drops-amapiano-ep-danko/ Samthing Soweto Drops Amapiano EP 'Danko!'
"Samthing Soweto releases new EP 'Danko!' following recent platinum certification of his 2019 debut album 'Isphithiphithi'.

Samthing Soweto has dropped hot six-track EP titled 'Danko'. This comes after news that his 2019 debut album Isphithiphithi has recently been certified platinum. The South African singer, song-writer and producer continues trailblazing with scintillating amapiano EP Danko!. Entity Musiq, Njelic, Alie-Keys, MalumNator, Da Musiqal Chef and Mzanzi Youth Choir feature on the surprise EP.

[…]

Known for his acapella crooning, Samthing Soweto collaborates with award-winning South Africa's Mzanzi Youth Choir on "The Danko! Medley". The collaboration is a treat for fans who are nostalgic for Samthing Soweto's beginnings with acapella band The Soil. The smooth vocal arrangement and harmonising on "The Danko! Medley" ends the EP on a perfect pitch. The last track is essentially a rendition of 2019 Isphithiphithi lead single "Akulaleki" featuring Shasha, DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small.

Isphithiphithi was released in September 2019 and received nine SAMA nominations, the album won Best Afro Pop Album award this year. The release of Danko! coincides with the platinum certification of Isphithiphithi and is probably a premonition to the success of this fresh EP. Danko! which is slang for "thank you" will have music fans grateful for Samthing Soweto's career choice to evolve with the amapiano sound. Danko! might just be the 2020 year-end anthem."...

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INFORMATION/ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS FOR CERTAIN SOUTH AFRICAN WORDS & NAMES THAT ARE FOUND IN THIS SUMMARY

Samthing Soweto's stage name is a blend of his birth name "Samkelo" and the English words "some thing". "Samthing Soweto means "something [from] Soweto".

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According to a person who submitted information on Names.org: "the name Samkelo means "Appreciate/welcome" and is of Xhosa origin".

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Mzansi = Mzansi is a colloquial name for the nation of South Africa. According to https://gqom.wordpress.com/2016/11/22/the-origin-of-mzansi-a-detective-story/#:~:text=Mzansi%20is%  " "South”.... in Xhosa it is “(u)mzantsi”. “um-Zantsi” has been attested as such in Xhosa for more than a century, at least since the 1915 second edition of Rev. Albert Kropf’s Xhosa-English dictionary: “The lower part or bottom of a thing: … land towards the South; the South” (p. 486)."...

Click that link for more information about the word "Mzansi" as a referent for the nation of South Africa. 

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Soweto
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto
"Soweto ... is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships.[4] Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Suburbs of Johannesburg."...

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Google translate from Zulu to English: "Isphithiphithi" = "Chaos"

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The okayafrica.com excerpt given above indicates that "Danko! ...is slang for "thank you"... ".

The word “Danko” probably comes from the Afrikaans word “Dankie” which means “thank you”.

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF THIS SHOWCASE SONG

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdJ0FcjMGD8&ab_channel=SamthingSoweto

1. Wethu Doyisa, 2021
"this is a mix of three songs. first song is called Lotto and is about winning the lotto by meeting with someone.

...

second song is called AmaDM and is about sliding into someone's dms and wanting them to call you.
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"dms" = a typo for the English word "arms"

...

last song is called Akulaleki meaning you cant sleep and is about being cold at night when your special someone is not by your side being able to sleep because you want to go dance and its going to be fun.

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Reply
Wethu Doyisa, 2021
"Lotto - 0:00

interval between songs - 1:55

AmaDM - 2:10

Akulaleki - 3:42

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tim ditse, 2020
"He must have seen ClapnTap choirs. The new age though. This is full gospel holy, Zing Fam, PSK you call them all. Just going to put on fly caps and say well it's clap and tap."
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"Clap and Tap" is a sub-division of South African Gospel music.

Here's an excerpt from a 2019 article about a Clap And Tap performance: https://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=82560&dir=2019/september/09 

"Clap-and-Tap music has similarities to both traditional gospel music and choral music, but does not rely on instruments. 

It, instead relies on the melody of the vocals and the sound of clapping hands in a way that creates a fine tune and tempo."...
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There are a number of YouTube videos about Clap And Tap including this  video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP_fwBDcvBw&feature=emb_imp_woyt&ab_channel=youbelong "Leihlo la Sechaba: Clap and Tap music revisited", posted by you belong, Dec. 24, 2015
"We look at the history of Clap and Tap gospel music in South Africa. The oldest clap and tap groups Barorisi ba Morena and Lejwe la Motheo perform some of their best songs. " and this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7HMKnLIuUI&ab_channel=TheJourneyofClapandTap "Balatedi Ba Morena - Jeso rato la hao (official music video)", posted by The Journey of Clap and Tap, Jan 30, 2020
"A well known choir in the music of clap and tap, we present to you Balatedi Ba Morena from Mabopane with their smash and well known hit, Jeso rato la hao"

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Five YouTube Videos Of Xhosa (South Africa) Female Dancers & Female Singers Wearing Dots And/Or Other Face And Body Paint

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases five videos of Xhosa female dancers and Xhosa female singers who are wearing dots and/or other face and body paint. "Xhosa" is an ethnic group in the nation of South Africa.

This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series about traditional and contemporary African face and body painting.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

Thanks to all those who are featured in this post and all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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DISCLAIMER: This post isn't meant to represent all of the different types of face painting or body painting that is worn by Xhosa females.

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These videos don't show any Xhosa males wearing face paint or body paint. I don't know if any Xhosa males traditionally wore any face paint or body paint or if any contemporary Xhosa males wear face paint or body paint.

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This post doesn't imply that people performing these dances or members of this showcased choir always wear face or body paint.

A number of traditional Xhosa dance videos show females without clothing covering their breast. The only video in this post that has any scenes of topless females is Example #4. That video has some scenes of includes some scenes in which pre-adolescent girls are topless.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT (Revised on January 7, 2018)
Since at least 2015, there have been a number of YouTube tutorials about "African Face Painting" (also given as "African Tribal Painting)". Many of these videos focus on painting temporary designs made out of dots, lines, swirls, and/or other geometric figures on one's face and/or body or on another person's face/body. One example of these YouTube tutorials is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0mxolHUa-g&t=78s "African face paint tutorial: DOTS" published by Loumingou Night on Mar 10, 2015.

The appropriateness of Black people and other people in the United States and other Western cultures wearing so-called "African tribal" face and body painting has been and continues to be hotly debated. The videographer in the example given above discusses this topic while painting her face. Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/01/young-paris-response-to-zipporah-genes.html for a 2016 pancocojams post on the subject of whether it's culturally appropriate for Black people in the African Diaspora (and other people) to paint dots and other so-called African tribal designs on their face and/or body.

Rather than add to that debate, I've chosen to focus on questions that continue to be asked in a number of discussion threads of YouTube videos of these "African Tribal Painting" tutorials. This post and some other posts in this pancocojams series addresses the question: "Which African ethnic groups* do these painted designs (or designs like this) come from?"

Most of the publishers of these tutorials respond to these questions by saying that their designs are "inspired" by various (usually unnamed) African "ethnic groups"*.

*Note that I've substituted the term "ethnic group" for "tribe" as I consider "tribe" to be a term that's loaded with all sorts of negative European colonial connotations.

In an upcoming pancocojams series I'll provide some information gleaned from the internet that may be extrapolated to help explain what some traditional African face/body painting and scarification designs might mean.

Use pancocojams's internal search engine or click the "traditional and contemporary African face and body painting" tag below to find other pancocojams post on this subject.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Xhosa Girls Dancing



onetruegem, Published on May 18, 2008

These girls are dancing at Guga's Thebe in the Langa Township in Cape Town, South Africa

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Example #2: Mzansi Youth Choir



Tony Stroebel, Published on Jul 20, 2010

One of the best choirs South Africa has to offer! Performed at the opening of the Fifa 2010 Soccer World cup. Shot with a Canon 5D by Redletter productions.

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Example #3: iKusasa - Xhosa Dance



Ikusasa Entertainment, Published on Apr 29, 2015

An example or our traditional Xhosa dance performance

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Example #4: IGOLI by Jessica Mbangeni



JESSICA MBANGENI, Published on Feb 11, 2016

The good morals and values of our culture and traditions restore our beauty and dignity.
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WARNING: Portions of this video show topless pre-adolescent girls. The women in this video aren't topless.

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Example #5: Traditional Dance uMxhentso



caprileefilms, Published on Dec 7, 2016

Traditional Xhosa Dance uMxhentso

Umxhentso has always been a pride to the Xhosa people as they use this type of dancing in their celebrations. These traditional Xhosa dancers are at the royal wedding of Phakamisa Tyali and Bongiwe Kali in Tsolo

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Performers Wearing Dashikis In The South African Region

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases nine videos of Southern African male choir members and members of other vocal groups wearing dashikis. These videos are only a very small example of the custom of some Black male vocalists in certain regions of Africa wearing dashikis (with long Western style pants) to represent African culture instead of wearing Western style shirts and pants or Western style suits.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/dashikis-adaptation-of-yoruba-dansiki.html for the related pancocojams post "Dashikis An Adaptation Of Yoruba Dansikis". That post provides historical information about dashikis, including text information and video examples of Yoruba dansikis which served as the prototype for the design of dashikis by certain African American males in the late 1960s.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic reasons.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those quoted in this post and to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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Editor's Note: December 20, 2020
Unfortunately, a number of the videos that were embedded in this post are no longer available and I'm unable to replace those videos with others because of the new format the Google blogs now uses. 

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EDITORIAL COMMENT
As a community folklorist I think that it's interesting to note the custom of a number of Black male choir members -particularly in the Southern region of Africa- wearing dashikis along with Western style long pants. I've concluded that wearing a dashiki and pants serves as a Western society acceptable substitute for those males' ethnic groups' traditional attire that consist of being shirtless & wearing a loin cloth and/or wearing a draped animal fur robe.

As a result of this custom of wearing dashikis, that garment continues to serve one of the purposes for which it was created in the late 1960s- to be an immediate symbol of the wearer's "Africanness".

As an African American, I find it ironic that this African American adaptation of Yoruba Nigeria traditional male attire has become a common symbol of Africa for so many continental African males, albeit that dashikis are only worn as performance costumes by those males and not as every day clothing.

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting date on YouTube with the oldest dated example given first. The nation from which the performing group comes is given in brackets after the video title. Also notice that except in the case of the Zambian Gospel video, the audiences for these vocal performances aren't wearing dashikis or traditional African attire.

Example #1: The Drakensberg Boys Choir - Shosholoza [South Africa]



Chris Brooks, Uploaded on Jun 30, 2008

Absolute chillingly good song sung by the best boys choir in South Africa. All the boys are very talented and very intelligent. All boys need an above average IQ to get in the choir as they have to go to a private school and the nature of the choir the study where ever they are. Wait for the middle of video absolutely wow!!!
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This video is also featured on http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/childrens-voices-three-african.html for a video of that choir. Video #2 in that post shows examples of children in Nigeria wearing traditional Yoruba attire.

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Example #2: OH HAPPY DAY : AFRICAN CHILDRENS CHOIR [Uganda]



First Baptist Church of St. Charles, Uploaded on Nov 9, 2008

OH HAPPY DAY performed by African Children's Choir at First Baptist Church of St. Charles, Mo

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Example #3: Zambia - Angela Nyirenda - Ngoma [Zambia]



Seka Moke Uploaded on Jan 1, 2009

AFRICA FROM A-Z: ZAMBIA
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I'm aware that this video doesn't meet the criteria of being a Black male vocal group. However, the musicians backing up the female singer are wearing dashikis.

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Example #4: African choir sings banuwa [Uganda]



Nico van den Berge Uploaded on Jun 1, 2009

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Example #5: Zambian gospel music (Samfya catholic church Zambia) [Zambia]



nkandu81, Uploaded on Jul 24, 2009

sounds en voices of a zambian catholic choir
By emmanuel Banda
Belgium

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Example #6: Mzansi Youth Choir [South Africa]



Tony Stroebel Uploaded on Jul 19, 2010

One of the best choirs South Africa has to offer! Performed at the opening of the Fifa 2010 Soccer World cup. Shot with a Canon 5D by Redletter productions.

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Example #7: PAMATA - Indlamu - Musaion 03.06.2012 [South Africa]



PAMATA, Published on Jun 4, 2012
"Indlamu" is an isiZulu traditional dance style to show strength.

PAMATA (Pan African Music and Theatre Arts) is a cultural and skills development organisation started in 2008 to develop, educate, nurture and inspire South African youth through the arts and culture.

The performers are: Blessing Rammego, CalvinGifted Manyaka Wa Mamphela, Elsie Zondo, Humbulani Mathivha, Nhlanhla Momozana KaMahlang, Reneilwe Madibe, Sammy Blood, Thato, William Lehlogonolo, Zoe Mhlanga, & Julius Kyakuwa

Pamata Director: Charles K. Mugerwa
Artistic Director: Julius Kyakuwa

Musaion Auditorium (University of Pretoria) - 03/06/2012

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Example #8: Soweto Gospel Choir - Asimbonanga/Biko [South Africa]



pannellctp, Soweto Gospel Choir Uploaded on Jul 5, 2011

"Asimbonanga/Biko" By the Soweto Gospel Choir Blessed Live In Concert dvd

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Example #9: Ladysmith Black Mamabazo singing Homeless, Xigubu, Oliver Twist, Y tjukutja



pitso razo , Published on Jun 14, 2014

The performance that had everyone talking - Ladysmith Black Mambazo singing "Xigubu", "Oliver Twist" and "Y-Tjukutja" at the #MTVMAMA! Check it out and let us know what you think!

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ADDENDUM
For the historical record, I should mention that few African Americans-male or females- ever wore dashikis. And only a few African Americans nowadays wear dashikis outside of Kwanzaa celebrations or African Day at church. Even then, it's my experience that there's a strong preference for people who wear African clothing to wear "authentic" clothes from the motherland such as agbadas for men and any number of Senegalese style African dresses for women. For example, note that dashikis are worn by the boys in this Kwanzaa video and not by the father. Also,note the custom of wearing kente cloth stoles as a short cut symbol of African culture.

Sesame Street: Kwanzaa



Sesame Street,Uploaded on Dec 17, 2008

In this clip, a family celebrates Kwanzaa.
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Also, read my comments about the Hip Hop video about dashikis that is featured in the pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/comments-about-lyrics-of-migos-ft-drake.html

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