Sparzito: Kwaito is alive and well
JOBURG – This artist said he is determined to dispel the notion that kwaito is dead and wants to prove that the music genre is alive and kicking.
Sibusiso ‘Sparzito’ Sithole is a South African recording artist whose music style is influenced by kwaito.
He explains that he chose to follow his heart and to pursue music back in 2009, when he realised that tertiary institutions weren’t offering a perfect course for him to study. As a result, he built a backroom studio to improve his craft.
During this time Sparzito crossed paths with his current producer, Dane John Hawkins, who helped him discover his current sound in the kwaito genre.
The pair have been working on a six-track EP (extended play) pending release, titled Soweto. It includes the title track Soweto and another banger Egoli which are available to stream and download on digital platforms like SoundCloud.
One of his career highlights was performing at the prestigious Durban July in 2016.
Sparzito is a staunch lover of kwaito music and strives to preserve the genre’s essence in his songs. He also wants to dispel the myth that the township sound has reached its expiry date. “I’d just like to put kwaito, the genre that raised me, on the world map. People usually tell me the genre is dead, there’s no money in kwaito and basically that it won’t work. Even most music shows are hip-hop based, so it’s not easy at all,” Sparzito explained.
He emphasised that he is determined to keep kwaito alive and prove to the masses that the genre is not dead; it’s still out there despite all the challenges it faces.
“Kwaito artists didn’t want to keep up with the times, changing in terms of social media taking over, so they are non-existent on the internet, hence people think the culture is dead, but it’s not,” he said, adding that this era is the beginning for the #PrinceOfKwaito.
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