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Penny Penny

South African musician, politician, and television personality Penny Penny is Tsonga disco's biggest star. With his 1994 debut, Shaka Bundu, he established an updated version of traditional Tsonga music, fusing house beats (usually at a slow tempo) and electronic steel drums with call-and-response vocals sung in Xishangana, a variation of the Tsonga language. His boisterous personality and unique fashion sense made him stand out, and the album became a double-platinum smash, as Penny Penny performed in stadiums throughout Africa. He enjoyed success for the remainder of the decade and continued releasing records throughout the 2000s, but after the public's taste changed, he abandoned music and took up politics. His debut album was reissued to worldwide acclaim in 2013, marking the first time his music had been made available outside of South Africa, and as a result of his renewed and expanded popularity, he began performing and recording again. With 2018's Ganda Ganda, he switched his music up to a more intense sound that he called "heavy gum," similar to Shangaan electro, while 2019's Silima Watolovela reflected the influence of South African dance styles such as gqom and amapiano. Giyani Kulani Kobane (initially Eric Kobane) was born in Limpopo in 1960, the youngest of 68 children to a traditional doctor with 25 wives. He gained the nickname Penny as a dancer, and won several breakdancing competitions during the 1980s, while he was working in a gold mine. He moved to Johannesburg in order to find work, and had jobs as a fast food cook and a janitor; while he was working at Selwyn Shandel's recording studio, he met Tsonga disco producer Joseph Shirimani, and expressed interest in working with him. The duo recorded some demos, and Shandel was impressed, so they recorded an entire album in a week, using an Atari computer, a Korg M1 synthesizer, and reel-to-reel tape. Reminiscent of the sound of American and European house music at the time, but with Penny's gruff lead vocals and call-and-response singing from female backing vocalists, and lyrics in a regional dialect of the Tsonga language, Shaka Bundu became a massive hit, eventually selling 250,000 copies and topping the South African albums chart. Its national success was a major surprise, considering that it was sung in such an obscure language, but the record's reception helped change the public's opinion toward Shangaan music. Shirimani soon became an in-demand producer, and Shaka Bundu's backup singers recorded albums as Shaka Bundu Girls, which Penny produced and arranged. Penny himself became known as the King of Shangaan Disco, succeeding his mentor, Peta Teanet, who passed away in 1996. Penny Penny's second album, Yogo Yogo, appeared in 1996, and was even more successful than his debut, reaching triple-platinum status. Laphinda Shangaan (1997) and Makantja Jive (1998) also outsold his debut, but with piracy impacting the recording industry, he toured relentlessly in order to make a living. Penny released the more uptempo Ta Makhwaya No. 1 on EMI in 1999, and recorded 2001's Mariyeta Maria and 2002's Ndiwe Ndiwe with Shirimani. Several other albums followed on Cool Spot Productions, and The King vs. the General, a collaboration with General Muzka, appeared in 2009. However, Penny's music had decreased in popularity by this point, and he decided to get into politics instead, becoming employed as a council member in the African National Congress. His music took on a second life after American ethnomusicologist and DJ Brian Shimkovitz posted Shaka Bundu to his popular blog, Awesome Tapes from Africa, in 2010. He played tracks from the album during his DJ sets, and the music gained an international following. Shimkovitz found Penny after attempting to contact him for several years, and the album was given a worldwide reissue on ATFA in 2013, to much acclaim. Penny assembled an 18-piece touring band, although only ten members performed during his 2014 international tour, which included dates in New York City and Sydney, Australia, at the Sydney Opera House. He began starring in a reality series called Papa Penny Ahee, broadcast on the Mzansi Magic network, in 2017. Penny started making music in a style called "heavy gum" after tiring of his reluctant title as the Shangaan Disco King. 2018's Ganda Ganda reflected this more intense but still celebratory shift in direction, and 2019's Silima Watolovela came closer to styles such as gqom and amapiano. Penny Penny's earlier track "Shilungu" was included on Soundway's Esa Presents Amandla: Music to the People compilation in 2019, and additionally released as a 12" single. Yogo Yogo was reissued by ATFA in 2020.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo
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