A large body of research shows that in South Africa\u2019s black townships, a youth masculinity dominates, probably best captured by the gangsta hip-hop term \u201cswagger\u201d. It involves a highly sexualised, aggressive manner, sporting the latest consumer goods, and not being averse to violence, alcohol abuse and drugs \u2013 basically how hip-hop functions universally. What is less commonly known is that there is an \u201cunderground\u201d hip-hop movement in South Africa promoting an alternative lifestyle.<\/p>\n
I spent a year in 2014 hanging out with hip-hop artists in the townships of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape province. Most of them have been performing since the mid-2000s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t do swagger,\u201d says local hip-hop artist Dezz. He detests the \u201cizikhothane<\/em>\u201d subculture in which young men parade with consumer goods and then destroy these. While it gives them a certain status, it does not value \u201cpeople with nothing\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n In Grahamstown they rap about these people with nothing, praising their resilience for surviving hunger, crime and being looked down upon by others.<\/p>\n