Johannesburg is widely considered to be South Africa’s biggest and proudest city, due to its reputation as the financial and cultural heart of South Africa. And judging by Soweto South Western Township, it just might be one of the loudest cities too. The legendary neighbourhood has evolved from its days as an apartheid-era hub for underground jazz parties and given way to a thriving skate-punk scene driven by authenticity and community, with Skate Society Soweto and The Cum In Your Face TCIYF at the helm. Now a new band, Shameless, is set to take over the reigns and the riffs to become the scene’s next prominent voice.

The scene started when members of the Skate Society Soweto SSS collective decided to form a band in 2010, which eventually became TCIYF, and began hosting shows called the Soweto Rock Revolution and Punk Fuck. After TCIYF performed at the Joburg edition of the Afropunk festival in 2019, word spread quickly.

Before, Soweto was seen by many suburban youngsters as a danger zone, the kind of place Ubers no longer operate and the general perception is that you’ll get mugged or stabbed. Naturally, the notion for some residents was that as soon as they had enough money, they should migrate to the city. Nowadays, diverse crowds flock to Soweto to bear witness to its unbridled expression, watching bands perform on what are often hand-assembled outdoor stages with street art backdrops. Soweto has become a space where mansions and one-bedroom family homes sit side by side, and where, despite high levels of unemployment, creatively continues to flourish.

One act that embodies this DIY spirit and commitment to individuality is relative newcomers, Shameless. The band got together in 2018 after meeting at a local jam session and clicking. Currently, it’s made up of Thabang Khonje on bass, Thabo ‘Rock Ruler’ Masina on drums, and Musa Zwane on vocals and guitar. “We didn't start the band, the band formed itself. What fuelled our desire to make music is our environment, the people, and the situations surrounding us. Music is another way to tell our stories,” Khonje explains.

Dubbing their sound 'irock yase kasi’ (rock from ‘the hood’) or ‘nkabi rock’ (hitman rock), they’ve been on an upward trajectory since winning Afropunk’s prestigious Battle of the Bands and performing at the festival in 2019. Since then, Shameless has secured a Converse billboard deal and performed at MTV Base events, gaining a reputation for their passionate, adrenaline-fuelled performances.

They’ve also been hard at work on their soon-come debut album. Billed as a further exploration of their unique blend of maskandi (a form of traditional South African folk music), kwaito, punk, blues, and thrash metal, along with some new and exciting sounds, you can expect to hear songs about their daily trials and tribulations. “Everyone in the band has an input in the song-writing process,” reflects Zwane. “Most of our songs are about things we’ve witnessed or experienced.”

They are planning to drop three singles along with music videos ahead of the album’s release, channelling influences ranging from local heroes Phuzekhemisi, BLK JKS, and Trompies to legends Tool and Thin Lizzy. The first single is titled ‘Victim of Data’ and like many of their other tracks, it tries to shed light on some of the issues plaguing young South Africans. “We believe this album’s gonna relate to a lot of people,” Musa says. “When we wrote the song we were trying to raise awareness about the expensive prices of data.”

South Africa has the highest prices for mobile bandwidth on the African continent. Citizens typically pay up to 85 rand per gigabyte of data, a cost equivalent to nearly more than a full day's worth of working wages for many Nigerians and Kenyans. The hashtag ‘#DataMustFall’ trends often on South African Twitter with calls to make data more affordable and in so doing, more accessible. “The song came about after we were trying to have an online meeting and had to contribute money to buy another member airtime. We paid attention from there. We realised that we are victims of data and decided to write a song about it,” Thabo explains. “We're just trying to make people aware of what's really going on around us and them,” adds Musa.

The group has made dramatic strides in a short span of time and is poised to extend its reach by introducing new fans to the Soweto skate-punk scene. It’s their commitment to championing their community and breaking barriers, combined with their unwavering experimentation that sets them apart from many other Jozi acts. Shameless is a band that wants to create change through their music, by uniting disparate cultures and inspiring Sowetan youth to pick up instruments.

“We appreciate that this small scene is giving the kids an opportunity to find new role models and keep them off the streets. We hope to connect and unite a multitude of people because we believe we are all one no matter what skin colour one may have. We hope to bring peace and healing — and music has the power to do that,” they explain.

This feature was created in collaboration with Letterhead.

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Published on 15/12/2022