South African 'hypnotic hip hop' collective BCUC (Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness) make their explosive Australian debut at WOMADelaide in 2019.
2018 saw the seven-piece ensemble from Soweto, South Africa take on the world with their singular musical style that incorporates indigenous music with ritual and traditional songs, infused with rap and a rock & roll attitude.
Lead singer for BCUC, Jovi says the band's ultimate aim is to present their potent blend of music as a way to unite people away from the constraints of political, religious and cultural beliefs that work to separate people from one another.
“The role we play is we're trying to also tell people that this is really important,” Jovi says, “let's look beyond politics, let's look beyond culture, let's look beyond colour and see what exactly is the problem.
“Almost everywhere now people are becoming anxious and people are losing tolerance for each other... we think that maybe as people we need to be the ones that are leading the relationships of people all over the world, instead of listening to what the news is saying to us or listening to what the people we vote into office are saying to us.”
Drawing on a diverse and vivid pastiche of musical influences that defies categorisation, BCUC have distilled the essence of their 'Afro-psychedelic' music into a sound they dub 'Africangungungu'. “We in South Africa generally don't think about genres,” Jovi laughs.
“We don’t think 'oh this song is in this genre, so we know we're going to love it'; it's just a combination of emotions... because we are so diverse and with such a big number [in the band] – seven people from seven different cultures, seven different experiences and history.”
In April of 2018 BCUC released their debut album 'Emakhosini', which garnered worldwide attention and acclaim from critics and listeners alike for its dizzying swirl of sound.
Jovi says he and the band have been pleasantly surprised by the response to the album, especially from English-language listeners. “We obviously think it's amazing, but we know it's so far away from the normal, average listener of music's palette,” he says.
“Because we do something so different, we know it's going to take a little more time for people to get used to it. It's been coming quicker than we anticipated.”
BCUC hail from Soweto [English syllabic abbreviation for SOuth WEstern TOwnships], in Johannesburg. A political, social and cultural melting pot, Soweto became a flashpoint during apartheid for the Soweto Uprising in 1976; it's also a hub for music that has played crucial roles in the development of Kwaito and Kasi rap styles of hip hop specific to South Africa.
Ahead of BCUC's Australian premiere at WOMADelaide, Jovi says he and the band plan to establish an international dialogue of music with Australian audiences. “It will be our first time, but we can't wait nonetheless,” he says.
“To see and feel; for us we've got a cultural relationship with Australia because there's a [large] South African community I think in Australia. We can't wait to meet Australians by way of music.”
