Whito Kwaito – Oom
Whito Kwaito – Oom (White Men Can Kwaito)
Oom – No Loitering
Oom was a mysterious band that made a couple of albums that did nothing, and then disappeared. All that I have been able to ascertain is that the band probably involved producer Ian Osrin and a guy called Jon who used to run Street Records opposite Wits in Braamfontein, but I’ve never been able to confirm that.
The album of theirs that did make it to the shelves of CD shops in SA was ‘Beats And Peaces’ which sadly does not include the gem ‘Whito Kwaito’. This track used to be available on the now defunct Digital Cupboard website and appeared on an album called ‘No Loitering’ that was sold through the website called http://www.mp3.com, but is no longer available there.
‘Whito Kwaito’ has an African guitar and sax wrapped around a funky kwaito beat with quirky ‘fake Jamaican accent’ vocals and Mahotella Queen-ish chorus. It’s reggae-ish and kwaito-ish and makes you go e-ish!
Bizarrely…. I sang those weird choruses. And yes, it was Ian Osrin. :-)