30 South African Songs of Freedom – OkayAfrica

Artists in South Africa are often asked whether their resolve changed post-1994. For most, it never has, and as this list of 30 songs that have become the soundtrack to the past three decades demonstrates, protest took on other modes of expression. At every juncture, artists have always had something to say. Protest is also not one thing; it’s love, it’s surrender, it’s ululation, it’s joy. Protest is part of being alive, and the 30 songs below are curated to express that life in a musical way.