Hoe Ruk Die Ding? Coloured Consciousness

The reconstruction of coloured identity in apartheid is evident in cultural elements such as music. In 2004, a trio of “coloured” males from the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town formulated a group which they so fittingly called Kallitz. Their debut album, Die Ding Ruk Mal (2004), expressed the views of the predominant coloured culture in Cape Town, or at least what they, as a group, perceived it to be. The lyrical content of most of the songs reflect the negative associations that Erasmus pointed out that are interlinked with the “coloured” race in Cape Town such as drunkenness, sex and partying. Songs such as “Die Ding Ruk Mal,” “Oppie Yaat,” and “Duidelik” all deal with these negative associations and in a sense, the Kallitz degrade themselves instead of uplifting their communities.

The views expressed in the lyrical content of these by the Kallitz contradicts that of Hip-Hop crews such as Prophets of da City (POC) who state in the song, “Understand Where I’m Coming From” how people of colour were controlled like puppets under the apartheid system through elements such as alcohol and being drunk. These elements are also reflected in their “Dallah Flet” songs:

Don’t let F.W. puzzle you.
Hy praat jou kop vrot.
In sy oe is jy nog altyd ‘n kaffer en ‘n hotnot.
Hulle sponsor township violence en gee vir smokkelhuise licence.
Want hy wiet die wyn fok op die brein
Want dan van jy kak aan dan word jy geblame.
Die move is beplan wat jy gat nou mang jy gat nou hang
Want die vark is ‘n slang. (“Dallah Flet 2,” POC, 1993)

Post-democracy bands such as Moodphase5ive reflected the message of POC in their lyrical content in songs such as “Geto @ Sunset” and “Paradise Syndrome” off their debut album, Steady On (2000). The strongest opposing force, however, to the Kallitz celebration of the negative associations with “coloured” people would be all female Hip-Hop trio, Godessa, who released their mainstream album, Spillage (2004), the same year that the Kallitz released their debut album. Godessa challenged political systems and the social contexts of identity, culture and race in songs such as, “propAgenda,” “Newsflash,” and “These Times”:

I’m calmly looking for an answer.
Amongst all the news reports and courts, announcing it was a gangster.
Is it a youth who couldn’t deal with this anger?
Or is he a product of what the system renders?
Are politicians not offenders?
Shouldn’t proper housing be first on the agendas?
Why is an arms deal replacing education?
Just press unemployment – the button for criminal activation. (“Newsflash,” Godessa, 2004)

Both POC and Godessa raise the negative issues that are associated with coloured people in their lyrical context. POC focus on the political elements of apartheid and the manipulation of a white government on “coloured” and black people. EJ von Lyrik, of Godessa, comments on the issues of gangsterism, the lack of education and proper housing as well as the increase of crime rates.

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