IVb. Bridging Tradition and Contemporary Struggle

It is described of Makeba and Masekela that “every word they sing, every note they play reveals the traditions and history of the land from which they’ve been exiled” (Bordowitz 31). This desire to share the South African culture is clear through the musicians’ recordings of South African songs. However, the function of sharing their home culture extends beyond just remembrance. Embedded within this culture are the political and racial tensions both past and present.

This connection between spreading South Africa’s cultural traditions and informing listeners of the nation’s strains is shown in Masekela’s "Stimela." This song is about the trains that brought South African workers, the economy’s cheap labor source, to urban areas and the coal mines for work. Hugh Masekela describes the significance of the train: "When all our land was taken and we had to go the urban areas to look for work, the train is what we got on. The train has always been a symbol of something that took away your mother or your father or your parents or your loved one. Because the train was really South Africa's first tragedy" (Amandla!). The lyrics of the song explore the thoughts of a black worker in the mines – “they think about the loved ones they may never see again.” The song exposes the pervasiveness of the racial system into the economy and the family.

The culture behind their musical style contains the racial issues that grew into apartheid. So, to continue to remain connected to their country, the musicians use lyrics to communicate their position in the antiapartheid campaign.