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As DBN GOGO detailed in our list of African women shaping the electronic and dance scenes across Africa last year, more women and queer folk have emerged and gained a following for the strong physicality and aesthetics of their performances, especially as the pandemic rendered visual impact more important than ever, with clubs and events shut down, and shows brought to national television for home consumption, such as Shimza’s Lockdown House Party and Major League DJz’s Balcony Mixes. With increased visibility comes increased scrutiny, as male DJs have begun to complain that both amapiano as a genre and the successful women within it have taken something from them in the realm of bookings, visibility and brand sponsorship.
 

What many of the perpetuators of toxic practices need to understand is that powerful men are not the ones who will determine the future of Africa’s music industry. More and more women are taking up positions of power in dance music and the industry at large, changing the landscape for the women around them. Women doing tireless work behind the scenes, such as Eva DXB who founded the UAE’s first amapiano scene at Urban Black Events and is now partnered with Universal Music; Zimbabwean-South African Jackie Queens who offers ear, shoulder and stage to women across the content at her company Bae Electronica has earned the industry’s respect as an artist, manager and educator; Kenya’s Faiza Hersi of Soul Headquarters offers a strong alternative to male promoters in Nairobi; Apple Music’s Athandiwe Ntshinga who ideated the African dance music stable Isgubhu, is exponentially growing dance-artist’s international reach; not to mention music managers and moguls Thuli Keupile, Sibu Mabena, Kamo Mailula, Janice Phiri, Reba Shai and Zethu Gqola who have all made their presence felt internationally. African women who were once considered “difficult,” “stuck up,” or “pretty girls won’t can’t DJ” are taking high-powered positions as curators, editors, label bosses and agents.
 

Tendai Kathemba is a Zimbabwean-born advocate and wellness counsellor based in Cape Town, South Africa, specialising in gender dynamics and holistic mental health, which is particularly difficult to navigate for Africans operating in a world governed by Western influence.
 

“It is encouraging that Black African women have been, are and continue to re-define themselves and re-imagine different narratives as we carry on the baton from our ancestors,” she says. “It is important to remain critical thinkers as African women, especially in light of feminist movements that exist largely to serve white women, and embodies Western ways of being. As Africans we have a history that has been intentionally and systematically suppressed over centuries by Western civilisation. Many of our African ancestors lived in matriarchal communities, where women were held in high regard and not viewed as threatening and/or inferior to men, however, it is not to say Africa existed in utopia and gender dynamics did not exist. Both feminine and masculine energies (which everyone has) have existed as a duality since the beginning of life. There is no separation. Both are equal and need each other. They do manifest and impact differently, and if we can get to a point of honouring nature, learning from it and recognizing that these power dynamics which have resulted in gender wars are on the whole unnatural and alien, will ultimately destroy us all if we don’t take time to understand who we truly are.”

Whatever your ideas or tastes are about who should do what, when and how, we must remember why dance music exists for Africans, both past and present. Our music far surpasses entertainment, and carries our understanding of who we are, from the superficiality of our skin through to the depths of our bloodlines reaching across generations. Drumbeats that originated on the continent aeons ago were uprooted and dragged across the ocean, our sense of self embedded in our chants and melodies as Africans became enslaved on foreign lands; nestled, nurtured and rebuilt in warehouses for the weary and brought to prominence by the bold, finally finding their way back to Africa when its people needed freedom and acceptance more than ever. It’s music that is meant to unify, liberate and express. Our drum beats, chants and melodies offer a collective experience that is not meant to keep others out and chosen ones in; it’s a chance for the marginalised to find safety and kinship, to cultivate a fullness of living; a chance to remember our pioneers and encourage new voices to speak our futures into existence. A chance for everyone who loves music and is able to move and be moved to “come one”.

We may not see the improvement we need in this lifetime as progress happens so slowly, but conversations like these create community, and communities share the load while keeping each other moving, dancing toward the future we know our music can bring us to. The only way we can make these ideas real is if we damp down the noise and use this moment to fight the silence in harmony – with ourselves, each other and the masculine and feminine energies we all possess.

If you or anyone you know needs someone safe and understanding to talk to about your similar experiences, feel free to contact Tendai at tendai@abantulives.com.

Shiba Melissa Mazaza is a freelance writer, follow her on Instagram
 

This content was originally published here.