This passage by Coplan goes into the history of black popular music in South Africa. It starts at Cape Town and the apex of diamond mining and goes all the way to the apartheid in the 1950s. Throughout history, blacks and coloreds were segregated in slums and "locations," away from the white populace, that lead to the rise of black urban centers. These centers became a central forum of musical expression for blacks, which lead to such genres as makwaya, marabi, and mbaqanga. The governments response to these social advancements and political gains by removing them from these urban centers.
Due to racial segregation that kept blacks separated from whites, they developed there own music and genres that became very popular among South Africa and internationally. Despite many interventions by the government and capitalism to prevent a united people, they were able to use music for themselves. How did racism help facilitate the expression of black popular music? Why was it such a powerful catalyst?
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