From the storied ache of mbube harmonies of the '40s to the electronic boom of kwaito and the amapiano and house explosion of the '00s, this book explores vignettes taken from across South Africa's popular music history. There are moments in time where music can be a mighty weapon in the fight for freedom. Disguised in a danceable hook or shouted for the world to hear, artists have used songs to deliver important truths and bring listeners together in the face of a segregated reality. In t...

By 1998, Cher seemed fated to fade off into the pop sunset. Her time of being half of pop music's “It couple,” of releasing chart-topping singles, of having her own TV show, with starring in box office breaking movies, was coming to an end. But then Believe and a new invention called auto-tune changed everything.Pop has always been a young person's game, especially for women, and a new dawn of that obsessive youth was in full swing in the late '90s. But Cher's return to in...

Bloomsbury presents South African Popular Music by Lior Phillips, read by Megan Gage.From the storied ache of mbube harmonies of the ‘40s to the electronic boom of kwaito and the amapiano and house explosion of the ‘00s, this book explores vignettes taken from across South Africa’s popular music history. There are moments in time where music can be a mighty weapon in the fight for freedom. Disguised in a danceable hook or shouted for the world to hear, artists have used so...