Afrikaans music to consume Johannesburg park

ORIGINAL STORY:

Two of South Africa’s most beloved Afrikaans artists, Jack Parow and Francois van Coke, will headline the Large on the Lawn concert in Johannesburg this Sunday.

The summer concert series hosted a sold-out show last month with more than 4 000 fans taking over the Golden Harvest Park in the northern suburb of Randburg.

Jack Parow is regarded as one of South Africa’s most iconic Afrikaans rappers. Since he broke into the music scene about eight years ago, around the same time that Die Antwoord made waves internationally, the rapper has enjoyed a number of hits including 'Cooler As Ekke' (Cooler Than Me), 'Eksie Ou' (I’m the Guy) and 'Hosh Tokolosh'. These songs, as well as almost his entire repertoire, are all sung in Afrikaans, a daughter language of Dutch that has developed its own demeanour over the years. The language is regarded as highly expressive and lends itself to comic relief, which Parow relies on heavily.

Juxtaposed to Parow’s colourful hip hop brand is fellow Capetonian Francois van Coke, who rose to fame, especially among university and college students in the early 2000s, with punk-rock band Fokofpolisiekar (F*ck off Police Car) and later with offshoot group Van Coke Kartel. In 2015, he launched a solo career with the release of his self-titled album. Earlier this month he dropped his second, Hierdie is die Lewe (This is the Life), alongside the nostalgic ‘Dit Raak Beter’ (It Gets Better) video.

The Large on the Lawn concert series will continue on March 26 with South African music icons Mango Groove and indie favourites Al Bairre. For more information visit the Large on the Lawn official website.

In 2012, Van Coke featured on Parow’s ‘Hard Partytjjie Hou’ (Hard Party Will Be Had) track. Watch the video below: