Marabi emerged in South African townships between the 1890s-1920s, blending American jazz, blues, and ragtime with African melodies. The piano-driven genre features syncopated rhythms, repetitive hypnotic patterns, and soulful vocals in English, Tswana, Xhosa, and Zulu. Developed in shebeens during apartheid, Marabi served as artistic expression and cultural resistance for segregated Black South Africans.
