In South African slang, “born free” denotes someone who, born after the onset of democracy, did not experience apartheid even as a child; “ma 2000” is a term used for young people who were born after the year 2000. Both of these terms are often used patronisingly, with connotations of flimsy immaturity associated with them. Ironically, in the layperson’s view the socio-economic adversity of apartheid is still valued above only having experienced democracy.
In common parlance, the two producers who make up Native Soul would be considered “ma2000”, by virtue of their age. Kgothatso Tshabalala is 19 years old and Zakhele Mhlanga (DJ Zakes) is 20. Their debut electronic music album, Teenage Dreams, is not easily dismissed as a project that shows their age, though. Far from it. Teenage Dreams presents a youthful, experimental sound, but the arrangement of each song and how each of the project’s composite parts are put together demonstrate an artistic maturity beyond the two producers’ respective ages.
| 1 | The Beginning |
| 2 | Way To Cairo |
| 3 | The Journey |
| 4 | Teenage Dreams |
| 5 | Rejoice |
| 6 | Long Lasting |
| 7 | Dead Sangoma |
| 8 | Burning Desire |
| 9 | United As One |
| 10 | Letter To Kabza De Small |
| 11 | End Of Time |
