With the 35th anniversary of the June 16, 1976 uprising by high school students in South Africa on our minds today (the uprising that started out in Soweto, triggered by the enforced instruction of black students in Afrikaans, ushering in a new era of resistance both inside and outside South Africa against white racism and economic exploitation), we thought it a good idea to put up some videos by young South African artists that have surfaced on the web over the past year (or so). It’s an eclectic bunch although the Johannesburg and Cape Town presence is heavy. Did we miss something? What else has come out of Durban, East London or Port Elizabeth recently that we don’t know of (and that we haven’t featured before)?

The Federation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQYGNlm2bBE

Tumi ft. MXO:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQY4_v6Gzss

5th Floor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m29SbT_hp4

Kritsi Ye’Spaza:

Deep Level:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bmp0jgdur8

Backyard Crew:

Yugen Blakrok:

Purple Hearts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I5jETJ0wrM

Ill Skillz:

Jozi’s Finest:

Zuluboy:

But let’s not kid ourselves, the big crowd-pullers are still the Professor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDMBB3lAMPE

…and everything else being put out by the Johannesburg-based production team Gorilla Films.

Nor should we fool ourselves into believing young South Africans can watch all of the above clips in one sitting these days without being cut off for having reached the limit of their monthly bandwidth. What the future holds for the South African youth will be decided this weekend; that is if they still care about that kind of politics or are looking elsewhere for leadership and inspiration or squat in West London.

And that’s your extended Music Break.