The beats were made on cracked software on cheap computers. In Durban’s townships in the early 2010s, young producers without money for studios used programs like FL Studio to make something new: dark, minimal, bass-heavy dance music. They called it gqom, a word that imitates the sound of a drum hit.
Durban
Durban, on South Africa’s east coast, has a strong dance music culture. Gqom came out of townships such as Umlazi and KwaMashu, where producers shared tracks through mobile phones and taxi drivers played them loudly on their routes.
The sound
Gqom is minimal and raw. It uses heavy bass, broken rhythms and repetitive patterns, often without the steady four-on-the-floor beat of house music. Its roots are in kwaito and South African house, but it sounds harder and darker.
The pioneers
Producers credited with building the genre include DJ Lag, Rudeboyz, Griffit Vigo, Distruction Boyz and many others. DJ Lag became one of the best-known gqom producers internationally, playing at festivals abroad. Distruction Boyz took the sound towards the commercial mainstream with hits that filled South African clubs.
Babes Wodumo
The singer Babes Wodumo, who called herself the gqom queen, gave the genre a famous face. Her hit “Wololo” was a dance floor anthem across South Africa, and her energetic performances brought gqom into the mainstream.
Arguments over origins
Like many genres, gqom has disputed origins. Some date its roots to the mid-2000s; others to around 2012. Different producers and labels claim credit. What is clear is that it grew from many young producers rather than one founder.
Going global
Gqom attracted attention from international labels and DJs in the mid-2010s. Its influence appeared in global pop, and South African producers began touring abroad. Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift album in 2019 included contributions from South African artists associated with gqom.
Gqom and amapiano
In recent years, amapiano has overtaken gqom in popularity. But gqom remains a strong scene in Durban and an influence on producers elsewhere.
Taxis as radio
In many South African cities, minibus taxis are a powerful way to spread new music. Drivers play loud sound systems, and passengers hear the latest tracks on the way to work and school. Gqom producers relied on this informal network. They passed tracks to taxi drivers and DJs on memory cards and through messaging apps, and songs could become hits in Durban long before any radio station played them. This bottom-up spread gave gqom a strong local identity: it was the sound of the township before it was the sound of the charts.
Gqom is a reminder that new music often comes from people with the least equipment. Durban’s township producers did not have studios. They had a laptop, a phone and an idea, and they made a sound the world now recognises.
