The influences of Christianity and commerce on the culture of popular Gospel music in post-apartheid South Africa. Sipho Sikhonzi Malembe Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Doctor of Philosophy, at the College of Humanities, School of Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal. Supervisors: Dr. Christopher Cockburn and Dr. Kathryn Olsen 2017 i. Declaration: I declare that this dissertation is my own work, and that all sources of references and citations that are not of my own have been duly acknowledged. It is being submitted in fulfillment of the degree Doctor of Philosophy at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and has not been submitted before for any degree or examination in any other University. ______________________ 2017 ____ Sipho Sikhonzi Malembe Submission Year ii iii. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my supervisors Dr. Christopher Cockburn and Dr. Kathryn Olsen for their guidance that has seen me through this journey. I appreciate Professor Christopher Ballantine for inspiring me to do this doctoral study and for his guidance in its preliminary stages. This research would not have been a success without the selfless contributions of various respondents and interviewees who spared me their precious time and allowed me into their personal spaces. I would like to appreciate all these men and women, whose knowledge of, and experience in, the music industry and Christianity added much value into this work. I also wish to thank everyone whose artistry and ministry has been used herein as a research subject matter. During the course of this study, one of the great Gospel music icon, Sifiso Ncwane passed away, having contributed selflessly into this study. May his soul rest in eternal peace, and may his legacy live on. I would like to thank my family: my wife Nozipho, my kids Siphokazi and Ngomusa, my parents Pastors Simon and Thoko Malembe, all my siblings and their spouses, for their love, support and prayers that have been my source of strength and purpose. Many thanks to Ms. Patricia Mthethwa at the School of Psychology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College, for her support and encouragement. I am also thankful to Dr. Mxolisi R. Mchunu, and Dr. Milton Msimang, for their unwavering support. I would like to thank everyone that has contributed positively in me undertaking and completing this work. I am grateful. Blessings. Sincerely, ____________________ Sipho Sikhonzi Malembe iii iii. Abstract: Gospel music is the biggest genre of popular music in South Africa. This popularity can be attributed to various elements that are an integral part of the diverse South African democratic society. As a developing country with a relatively young democracy of just above twenty years, the socio-economic status of South Africa directly impacts upon various spheres of the lives of her citizens. The unique demographics of this country in terms of its history, population groups, languages, religions, socio-political landscape, also play a remarkable role in the evolution of various sub-cultures that represent various groups of South African people, and consequently the overall culture of this ‘rainbow nation’. This study researches into popular Gospel music within two aspects of this broader culture of the South African society, namely: the Christian religion and commerce. Christian churches and the music industry, although generally perceived as unrelated or even opposed in the nature of their operations, both have a stake in Gospel music. It is this intersection that is the subject matter and the research problem of this study which investigates the involvement and intentions of these institutions regarding popular Gospel music. By studying and analyzing various activities and programs of these institutions, the current study seeks to show how the teachings, doctrines and operations of Christianity on one side, and the pursuit of profit on the other, influence the ‘culture’ of popular Gospel music. The scope of these activities and programs goes far back to the preliminary stage of conceiving the very initial idea of getting involved with Gospel music, and culminates in the consumption of resultant music products. This study analyzes these activities, and others in-between. For the music industry, these include talent scouting, management, composition, arranging, performance, production and recording, promotion and marketing of Gospel music products. For Christian churches, the involvement with popular Gospel music is both direct, in the usage of Gospel music and artists in Christian church services, and indirect in providing a support base from which music iv styles, songs and lyrical contents are drawn. Moreover, Christian churches harbor and indoctrinate Christians, who are seemingly primary consumers of Gospel music. This harboring and indoctrination foster a particular belief system which influences how Christians interact with, and make meaning of, popular Gospel music. All these activities and programs of Christian churches and the music industry regarding popular Gospel music are regarded in this study as constituents of the culture of popular Gospel music. This study therefore investigates how these activities and programs of Christian churches and the music industry influence the ‘culture’ of Gospel music as a genre. Although this study is located within the timeline of post-apartheid South Africa, it takes into consideration the aftermath of colonialism and apartheid, as socio-political occurrences which have had a lasting effect on popular culture. v iv. List of illustrating figures Chapter 2 2.1. Winners of ‘The Best Gospel Artist’ awards in the SABC Crown Gospel Music Awards, 2008 to 2013…………………………………………………43 2.2. Winners of the ‘Best Gospel Group’ award in the SABC Crown Gospel Awards, 2008 to 2013 ……………………………………………………….43 2.3. Image of Joyous Celebration.………………………………………………..44 2.4. Image of Rebecca Malope……………………………………………….......46 2.5. Image of Benjamin Dube…………………………………………………......48 2.6. Image of Sifiso Ncwane……………………………….................................49 2.7. Image of Sipho Makhabane………………………………………................51 2.8. Image of Winnie Mashaba………………………………………..................52 2.9. Churches constituting the research sample of the questionnaire survey of this study……………………………………………………………………….55 Chapter 3 3.1. Example of posters denoting the usage of Gospel artists by Christian churches…………………………………………………………....................79 3.2. Snapshot of a scene from Benjamin Dube and The Free State Praise Explosion, June 16 Commemoration………….…………………...............90 3.3. Front cover design of the Benjamin Dube and The Free State Praise Explosion, June 16 Commemoration DVD…………………………….......91 Chapter 4 4.1. Top ten ‘most successful’ South African Gospel artists/groups according to a survey entailing 500 questionnaires distributed evenly in KwaZulu- Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape...............99 4.2. The overview of the entire South African music industry……………….105 4.3. Differences between ‘micro-minors’ and ‘macro-minors’…………….....109 4.4. Examples of performance images of various artists…………………….130 4.5. Examples of ‘off-the-stage’ images of various Gospel artists……….….132 4.6. Visual images of Amadodana AseWeseli. …………………………….…133 4.7. A visual image of Abahlabeleli baseWeseli. ……………………………..134 vi 4.8. Visual images of Gospel artists singing Zionist church music………….135 4.9. Visual images of ‘Hip-hop Gospel’ artists…………………………………135 4.10. Various teams involved in Joyous Celebration 17 – Grateful recording………….…………………………………………………….........138 4.11. The position of a producer in relation to teams involved in production...............................................................................................145 4.12. The position of a producer in a recording studio……………..………...146 4.13. Various musical teams used for various Gospel artists’ album……....152 4.14. The sub-departments of artist management……………………. ……...157 Chapter 5 5.1. Music Industry departments involved in the process of production……163 5.2. Winners of the ‘Best Song’ awards in the SABC Crown Gospel Awards, 2008 to 2013. ………………………………………………………………..179 5.2. Winners of the ‘Best Songwriter’ awards in the SABC Crown Gospel Awards, 2008 to 2013. ……………………………………………………...190 5.4. Examples of artists who have done cover versions of Gospel songs…192 5.5. Examples of artists re-recording their own songs in different albums....194 5.6. Examples of ‘originally’ church songs that have been recorded in commercial Gospel music albums…………………………………………197 5.8. The back page of Joyous Celebration 17 – Grateful DVD……… ……...216 5.9. Examples of languages and styles/sub-genres used in Joyous Celebration 17 – Grateful repertoire.………………………………………217 5.10. An analysis of Rebecca Malope’s Bayos’khomba album.…................220 5.11. Lighting technical specification for the Joyous Celebration 18 DVD recording.……………………………………………………………………..224 5.13. Examples of the artwork of Gospel music albums of SABC Crown Gospel Awards’ ‘Best Gospel Artists’……………………………………...227 Chapter 6 6.1. The findings of a survey seeking to establish a link between Gospel music, Gospel music consumers and Christianity.……………………….230 6.2. A cyclical interplay between music industry and Gospel music fans…..237 6.3. Joyous Celebration’s CDs and DVDs unit albums sales………………..239 vii 6.4. Industry statistics of Sifiso Ncwane’s Kulungile Baba…………………...240 6.5. Joyous Celebration audience during one of the performances of the ensemble……………………………………………………………………..247