For Africa Month, we asked a diverse group of artists, industry executives, tastemakers and influencers to help us curate the soundtrack of the city they call home. Here, they share what makes the sounds of their city unique. “Durban has always had its own heartbeat,” DJ Lag says. “These songs represent the sounds that shaped the sound of Durban, from maskandi to kwaito to gqom. They are the songs that lived in our taxis, our dance floors and our homes, and they tell the story of Durban through music.” “Selecting these specific artists and songs was about more than just their sound,” famed maskandi singer Khuzani says of his contributions to the playlist. “It was about honouring a cultural archive that remains one of South Africa’s most honest forms of storytelling. To me, maskandi is the ‘Zulu blues’, a genre that captures the raw, unfiltered experiences of displacement, joy and identity.” Additional curators for Durban include DJ Tira, Nasty C, Usimamane and Nanette. Hear something you like? Add it to your library.