(editor\u2019s note) Challenged for its ethnocentrism and the legacy of colonialism and global capitalism, the term \u201cworld music\u201d raises questions. Should we update our words, that carry, summon and shape our imaginations and our sensibilities ? Words that have consequences for the material conditions of creation, distribution and reception of the works produced.<\/p>\n
Four articles open this reflection:<\/p>\n
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In the years before music streaming and social media became what we understand them to be today (and before my career as a music writer was fully formed) I made a modest living as a casual worker at a local record store. I\u2019d spend hours patrolling the floor, donning the \u201cLook and Listen\u201d t-shirt and name badge, sometimes manning the tills and other times going in to rearrange the CDs that had been mixed around by browsing customers. Other times, I\u2019d be tasked with looking after a particular genre \u2013 more often than not the \u201cWorld Music\u201d section \u2013 as one of the only people of colour on staff who might identify with some of the artists featured there.<\/strong><\/p>\n What\u2019s odd about that time is that the assumption that I would know more than anyone else about the World Music section was inherently false, but I accepted the role as part of my duties. For a long time since then, non-Western countries have accepted many roles and benchmarks the West has set for us where music was concerned. It seemed unquestionable then, that non-Western music, just like Western music, also has its separate genres. One cannot logically classify Mbalax and Afrobeat in one genre, just the same as RnB is noticeably different from Punk Rock. \u201cWorld music\u201d also extends to sounds such as Latin Pop, J-Pop, Mariachi, Mbaqanga and Spanish Folk. How does one classify Nigerian music with music from Brazil in one genre? How could this have been effective? Despite this question, whenever a fresh batch of rock or pop music CDs came in, we\u2019d showcase them in the storefront as must-haves, everything ranging from English alternative rock band Keane, to American folk-rock band Bon Iver, which would fly off the shelves week in and out \u2013 South Africa being a place that has accepted American standards for as long as anyone can remember. Back then, pop music was predominantly white and male, and anything we couldn\u2019t classify in the store would be stashed into the back section brimming with various editions of Putumayo CDs, showcasing music from \u201cCongo to Cuba, Rome to Rio.\u201d<\/p>\n That young me would come to accept this as a norm along with anyone else facing such standards \u2013 as with many other labels and practices that find their way into our lives due to cultural imperialism of the west.<\/p>\n