Zola 7. Thebe Lenyora. Trompies. Mshoza. Sharon Dee. Mdu. TKZee. Mandoza. Lebo Mathosa. Mgarimbe.
And the list goes on.
Kwaito remains one of South Africa's unforgettable genres. Not only did it produce some of the finest artists in the country, it also made the world pay attention to SA's creativity.
The fusion of boom bap and Miami house with rugged vocals that were rapped but not necessarily rhymed gave rise to the hunger local audiences have for house music and is quite clearly the root genre for things like motswako styled hip-hop, gqom music, Durban kwaito and more recently amapiano.
Reece Madlisa is only 26 years old but has an old soul with a youngster's outlook. He is one of the few kwaito artists out now who are new aged but choosing to dabble in an older style.
Not long ago he announced the release of a new single alongside the legend that is Mandla Spikiri Mofokeng of Trompies fame, called Kumnandi Ka Sash.
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“I grew up listening to his music and he’s been my favourite since childhood and that’s what made me think that I need to work with him while he’s still here,” Reece explains.
It's a refreshing change to see a young artist working with a veteran on a genre that some have given up on.
Reece and Spikiri combined forces for a fresh sounding kwaito track that is still cemented in the principles that first saw kwaito grip the hearts of the nation.
They mixed old school with the new, “and it came out great, I’m proud of it,” Reece says proudly.
The native of Alexandra also expresses his gratitude for being in the industry and he touches on a few things that have changed for him along the way.
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“My career has changed as I have learnt a lot and I am still learning more every day. People like Spikiri help me, whenever I chill with them, I gain wisdom. I also have my own label now with a few artists signed so that’s new too.”
His label is Mr Madlisa Reece Entertainment and, currently, he has Shuga, Six40 and Classic Deep, all of whom are producers, signed and working on new solo projects. Reece's career may only span a few years, but it already has indelible highlights.
“The biggest highlight was performing kwaito in the UK, it was incredible,” he says after a nostalgic pause in the conversation as he visibly recalls and savours the moment he enjoyed on a stage in a distant land.
“It’s great because even in the UK they welcome kwaito artists now, which is not something anyone could have imagined,” he adds.
It isn’t all spotlights and European tours, however, as the life of an artist in demand can be difficult.
“We have so many challenges as artists, I could not even name them all now. Challenges at gigs and with promoters, in the hood we have challenges and just leading the life of an artist is a challenge in general,” he laments.
American rapper J Cole released a song a few years ago called Middle Child in which he explains the position he finds himself, wherein he is old enough to have a vivid recollection of the way hip hop was in its golden era but young enough to be at a stage where he is contributing to the way it sounds now.
Reece is in a similar position with kwaito, and he sees himself as being the bridge between the old and new.
“The role I play in the game is introducing producers that can craft beats like Mandla with newer producers who are more well suited to making amapiano. So, I scout producers who can do kwaito and not just amapiano and I think this has been one of my biggest contributions to the game.”
Reece, his fellow label executives, and those signed to the stable want to accommodate all local artistry not just kwaito. He wants to take this idea of being a bridge between yesteryear and the future a step further with more collaborations with veteran and iconic kwaito acts.
“I want to work with artists like Professor and I want to bridge the gap between the old and new even more than I have already.
“I love music, I’m not in this industry by chance. I am here because I’m meant to be and that is my motivation and inspiration. You must keep pushing and praying and believing things will go your way and they very well could.”
