| Township music | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | South African jazz |
| Cultural origins | 1920s, Johannesburg slums; 1950s, South African townships |
| Subgenres | |
| Other topics | |
Township music (also township jazz) is any of various music genres created by black people living in poor, racially segregated urban areas of South Africa ("townships") during the 20th century.
The principal genres of township music are mbaqanga, kwela, and marabi. Marabi evolved from jazz influence in the 1920s. Immigrants from Malawi developed the kwela sound by fusing Malawian music with marabi. Mbaqanga music is marabi's successor.[1] It, too, is jazz-like; its roots are in marabi, American jazz, and traditional Zulu music.[1]