LISTEN | South Africa’s thinking musician: how Ngasii brings academic insight to his solo debut

Long before releasing his debut solo single, Summer in South Ah!, Ngasii had been studying the sounds and cultural identities shaping South African music.

His master’s thesis at Nelson Mandela University, Hooked on Gqom: An Ethnographic Study of Contemporary Urban Youth Musical Identity in South Africa , explored the genre’s soundscape, dance and the identities of its practitioners and listeners. His YouTube breakdown of Master KG and Nomcebo Zikode’s Jerusalema , examining the song’s musical and lyrical appeal, has also attracted more than a million views.

Now the songwriter and producer is moving from the background to the front of the stage, with a single that he hopes will introduce listeners to the person behind the music.

Released on Friday, Summer in South Ah! draws on 3Step, Afrohouse, pop and R&B. Rather than settle into one sound, Ngasii brings several influences together in a song about the feelings associated with a South African summer: the excitement of December, the freedom of a celebration and the memories made when people come together.

For Ngasii, whose real name is Mathias Batandwa Katushabe, the track is more than a seasonal soundtrack. It is an introduction.

“I thought that there had to be a song that, if no one ever hears another song by me ever again, explains to them exactly what kind of person I am, what kind of artist I am, and essentially where my heart lies,” he told TimesLIVE.

That desire to communicate something about himself comes after years of contributing to other artists’ work. Ngasii co-wrote Banomoya , the 2018 collaboration between Prince Kaybee, Busiswa and TNS, and has worked alongside artists including Tyla, Msaki and Musa Keys.

His own musical journey began much earlier. On August 11 2006, he asked his father, a videographer, for software that would allow him to make music on a computer. His father returned with a computer magazine containing a demo CD for FL Studio, the production software Ngasii says he still uses today.

His academic interest in music has also given him a way to think about how sounds evolve and take on meaning. In his research into gqom, he examined not only the music itself but also the culture surrounding it. That interest in the relationship between sound and identity is reflected in his analysis of Jerusalema , which became an international hit.

Ngasii sees South African music as fluid, with genres and influences continually shifting. His own approach reflects that openness: he does not want to be confined to a single musical category.

With Summer in South Ah! , he turns that philosophy towards his own story. The song’s central idea is that a person, like summer, can represent joy, freedom and memories worth holding on to.

Asked what he hopes people will feel when they hear it, Ngasii pointed to “nostalgia” and “excitement”.