CAMA - Street Music Project

Through the Street Music Project, CAMA has set about uncovering a special group of 'unsung heroes' for whom music making is an essential part of life - music makers who are either hidden, unheard-of or simply unacknowledged. They are old and young, play on the streets, or for their township communities. Some of them do not perform at all, but keep their music a treasured secret. Their talent and musical ability could well stand beside better known names in South African music.

Lungile Maninjwa

Lungile was born in Cape Town in 1964. He learned to play guitar as a young herd boy growing up in the Eastern Cape. He composes his own original music, sings and plays percussion.

Mswandile 'Sydney' Hollow

Sydney Hollow was born in Cape Town in 1952. He started to play the piano at a young age. He plays guitar and sings, and is also a visual artist.

Ansley Raphael Africa

Ansley was born in Cape Town in 1975 and grew up in Mitchell’s Plein. He is a 'beat boxer' - who ‘plays’ his mouth.

Boeta Kaartjie Davids

Boeta Kaartjie was born in Cape Town in 1952. He plays guitar, banjo and mandolin. He plays regularly with the New Orleans Male Choir.

Mxolisi 'Peacemaker' Ketso

Peacemaker was born in the Gauteng province in 1967 and learned to play the guitar as a young boy. He is a ragga-style dub artist and mixes his tunes on the streets of Cape Town and in his Rastafarian community in Marcus Garvey township.

Sedick 'Dikkie' Tassiem

Sedick was born in Cape Town in 1940 and grew up in District Six. He is percussionist for The Golden Strings, a sixteen-piece band formed in the early 1980’s who play for weddings and community gatherings.

Robert Sithole

Robert was born in District Six, Cape Town, in 1945. He bought his first penny whistle at age nine. As a young man, with his brother the late Josh Sithole, he formed the well-known 'Kwela Kids.' Robert continues to play Kwela for a living on the streets of Cape Town.

Syd Voise (Clinton Heneke)

Syd was born in Cape Town in 1978 and grew up in Mount View, on the Cape Flats. He has been a percussionist since the age of fourteen and plays his darbuka (North African drum) all over Cape Town, collaborating with a broad range of different musicians.

Kholeho Tsukutlane Mosala

Kholeho was born in Cape Town in 1967. He plays xylophone, marimba, conga drums and percussion. Kholeho has performed extensively both locally and abroad, but still prefers to play on the streets of Cape Town.

Shabba (Abraham Opperman)

Shabba was born and raised in Fish Hoek and the False Bay area. He plays lead guitar with his close friend Robert. The duo have perfected a unique Cape-Latin flavour in their sound.

Abraham Makatees

A roving evangelist who lives in Lutzville in the Western Cape Province, "Broer Abraham" travels the country dirt roads preaching and singing to bring his gospel message to farm workers in the district. Here he plays with Oom Gert Oewies on electric guitar.