Peak Time – Moonchild Sanelly & Helen Herimbi on Kwaito

Tuesday, April 3 marks the start of Red Bull Music Festival Johannesburg, a five-day event celebrating artists who have spurred the evolution of South African music over the last 20 years. Ahead of the festival, guest host Lawrence Burney called up Moonchild Sanelly — whose bold style of get funk fuses experimental, afro-punk, pop and kwaito — to discuss her performances, the progression of her own sound and what artists she's most excited to see during the festival. Later in the show, South African journalist and producer Helen Herimbi gives us a brief lesson on the history of kwaito, a slower-than-usual-tempo style of house music that utilizes African sounds, percussive loop samples and deep basslines. Herimbi will guide us through the progression of the genre, noting its political relevance and impact on youth culture in South Africa.