I have to check my emotions while I am writing this post. Apartheid and its aftermath makes me irrationally angry. I take that back. Apartheid makes me justifiably angry.
Many punk bands are naturally political. They are punks because they are angry. They are angry at the world and the injustices (real or perceived) that they endure, daily.
The members of National Wake had every reason to be angry because the faced injustice every day of their lives. They were living in South Africa during the height of Apartheid.
History
There is a wonderful article from the Guardian that dives deep into their history. I am going to focus on significant highlights from their career and their legacy.
One thing that makes National Wake so unique is how diverse they are. This is significant because, Under Apartheid, people of different races were discouraged, sometimes forbidden, to intermingle. They may have been South Africa’s only multi-racial Punk Band. They were a protest band, not only in music, but in their very existence. Their existence was so offensive that they were censored by the state at one point.
This band is also unique to my blog, because it is one of the few afropunk bands that were formed by a white dude.
Their tragedy.
Someone may ask, if “National Wake is so controversial, why haven’t I heard of them?” Because their band was short lived, and two of the founding members didn’t survive.
Here is their story.
Ivan Kadey lived in Johannesburg. In the mid 70s, Ivan lived in a commune. Is that weird? Not for 1970s South Africa. What was weird was that their commune had different races living together. This commune were made up of a group of people who decided to simply… ignore Apartheid.
Ivan was inspired to start national wake after the events of the Soweto Uprising in 1976. Ivan Kadey was on guitar and vocals. Gary Khoza was on Bass, Punka Khoza was on Drums, and Steve Moni was on guitar. Their musical influence was the likes of the the British punk bands and Bob Marley. I should mention that while Ivan Kadey and Steve Moni were white, Punka and Gary Khoza were black. White South Africans were horrified.
They were true punks. They lived in an illegally integrated commune, and they were often forbidden to play in typical punk ruck venues, thus limiting their success.
The National Wake disbanded in the 1980s. Tragically, Gary died by suicide. He suffered from mental illness. Punka died due to complications from AIDS. The surviving members quietly faded into obscurity, undoubtedly heartbroken by the loss of their two friends.
That is all I have for now. Instead of my normal sendoff, I am going to say, this: In loving memory of Gary Khoza and Punka Khoza. Gone, but never forgotten.
Black Punk Rock 101 