Madala Kunene
Sat Jul 13, 21:00 - Sat Jul 13, 23:00
The Athletic Club & Social
ABOUT
Commonly referred to as the “King of the Zulu Guitar”, Madala Kunene was recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by the University of KwaZulu-Natal for his ongoing contribution to the development of indigenous music and to the music of Africa and that of the world. This will be Madala’s first tour with his new title of Doctor Madala Kunene. Madala is a genre unto himself. Born in 1947 in Mkhumbane (Cato Manor), a vibrant mixed community just outside of inner Durban, Kunene reflects his environment and his music acts as an urban war cry. His music is a portrait of an artist as a not-so-young man of faith, a sonic investigation that tries to make sense of the gradual process of sanitizing history—how the real past is purged for the sake of a historical sound bite. Kunene is an artist who is constantly shifting between musical habitats.
“Music is the best medium to record and tell history. As African people, the way we know and understand our past is very influenced by music,” Kunene says. “So if I can add one layer of context that can help in understanding this period in our history, then that is great.”