Soweto Kinch is a British (West London) award winning, globally recognized Saxophonist and MC/Rapper who takes his appreciation and love for Hip Hop and Jazz down pathways and levels few have delved to take their music.
“I don’t believe that there is real tension between Jazz and Hip Hop but rather a socially created divide between music lover appreciations. For this people have different ways of viewing the world and labeling themselves” says Soweto.
He has released three solo albums namely ‘Conversations with the Unseen’ (2003); ‘A Life in the Day of B19’ (2006) and recently ‘The New Emancipation’ (2010).
His satirical, outwardly political thought process and rhyme scheme stands out in an obvious but yet unaggressive and subtle manner. What was also great about getting to know Soweto was to realize that the message and art form brought about by quality music is still very relevant to him.
Whether the intended message is political or social he uses the beauty and power of music as a platform for expression and facilitating thought. This for me is the true identity of Hip Hop.
“Even if you don’t like my music I found that there is a level where people just respect you for doing and saying what you do and whether or not you practice what you preach” he confirms.
A short presentation of Soweto Kinch by DuNose
So fittingly; his name given to him by his British Pan-African parents two years after the Soweto Uprising in 1976 was very much symbolic prompting and inspiring his mother to name him Soweto – and unsurprisingly he feels a strong connection to South Africa and Nigeria, two of the countries he has visited and performed in.
“I have been coming here (Cape town) for about six years and with all the artist I meet I hope it is a continual relationship where I can keep coming back and learn and share”
Soweto Kinch - New Emancipation Interview - November 2010 by radiohodder
“I came to Cape Town with my brother a few years ago and what we both found is the ardent passion for the real art inherent in music. Artists here have rich and diverse cultural strands in their art. It struck us both so deeply I knew I had to come back” he elaborates.
He is bold and fearless when it comes to what he does. He also makes no excuses when it comes to his production style as well as his lyrics. He has no misgivings about combining Hip Hop and Jazz and doesn’t fear being lost in either genre.
“I’m a Hip Hop head. I grew up around it (Hip Hop) in West London but I also love Jazz. I have developed a strong sense to fuse both genres. It adds that extra influence. I was in Calcutta (India) a while ago working with some 19th Century Sufie music that helped opened me up to a new sound. It helped me immensely in terms of improvisation.”
Apart from all the seriousness in his message and music, what is refreshing about Soweto is that he manages to balance it all out with humour.
“Sometimes I find that I make fun of the things that offend me the most. It’s like if we are all seeing the humour in the same things we’ll all be in a same wave length of thought get the message. This way of communicating creates a broad open minded way of thinking”.
“What I also find is that collaboration, communication combined with an appreciation for diversity can all be brought together musically. This is what musicians should be more willing to explore and incorporate. The results are not to propose a new form or approach to making music, but to understand that this is another way to garner growth and appreciation of the art”.
Written by Mary Honeychild, originally published on BPM Life.
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