BIOGRAPHY
2023 Womex Artist Award Winners
“without a doubt the best live act I saw”- Gilles Peterson
“Loved their set, it was one of my highlights of a great weekend” – Nick Dewey, Glastonbury Festival
“guaranteed to touch untapped corners of your soul” – Okayafrica
“the most impressive newcomers this year” – The Guardian
BCUC: Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness. Indigenous funk, hiphop consciousness and punk rock energy from Soweto, South Africa.
From humble beginnings, rehearsing in a shipping container a stone’s throw from the church where Desmond Tutu organised the escape of the most wanted anti-Apartheid activists of Soweto, BCUC have grown to become one of the world’s most celebrated bands, playing the biggest stages at some of the most important festivals in the world: Glastonbury West Holts, Roskilde, Afropunk Brooklyn, Dour, Worldwide, Womad, Fusion, Sziget, FMM Sines, Beaches Brew, Boomtown, Colours of Ostrava, Couleur Café.
Like its elders, Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness sees its music as a hedonistic trance, but also as a weapon of political and spiritual liberation. 2023 even saw them win the prestigious Womex Artist Award, an accolade usually reserved for much older artists, in recognition of their fearless work ethic and prodigiously transformational live shows.
The seven-piece band has been mesmerising audiences both locally and globally with its indigenous funk and high-energy performances that have fast made it one of South Africa’s most successful musical exports. Artistic heirs to Philip “Malombo” Tabane and Batsumi, they give contemporary voice to the ancestral traditions of indigenous peoples. Jazz sounds of 1970s and ‘80s productions replaced by hip-hop influences and punk-rock energy, taking the listener on an intriguing epic journey, sharing their controversial yet interesting views on modern Africa. They tackle the harsh realities of the voiceless, especially the plight of the uneducated workers at the bottom of the social food chain. BCUC taps into the elusiveness of the spirit world of ancestors by which they are inspired. The Africa portrayed by BCUC is not poor, but rich in tradition, rituals and beliefs.
“We bring fun and emo-indigenous Afro psychedelic fire from the hood,” says vocalist Kgomotso Mokone.
PRESS
“BCUC bring punk-rock energy and hypnotic rhythms to social activism” — Global Fest review, New York Times
“BCUC channel political and social issues into a sound that’s as indebted to NYC post-punk of Sonic Youth or ESG as it is the anti-establishment ferocity of Fela Kuti.” — The Vinyl Factory
“The best live show I saw this year” — Gilles Peterson, Worldwide Festival 2017
“This year’s most exhilarating newcomers hailed from Soweto. BCUC’s album Emakhosini offers a dramatic, often intimidating blend of ancient South African chants, township influences and contemporary bass riffs matched against Kgomotso Mokone’s cool, soulful vocals.” — The Guardian
ASSETS
Download promotional assets HERE