“One of the 100 greatest albums of all time.” —Rolling Stone. The album was conceived by white South African expatriates Trevor Herman and Jumbo Vanrenen and released in 1985 on the British-based Earthworks label. The following year it was released in the USA by Shanachie Records. It features twelve tracks by artists from South Africa. The sleeve notes state that all songs are in the mbaqanga style, a guitar-based style popular at the time in the townships of Johannesburg and Durban, but the tracks actually cover four different styles, mbaqanga, mqashiyo, maskanda, and isicathamiya. The former two are the least traditional-sounding of the styles, while the latter two styles incorporate elements of urban and more rural music. Released prior to the more commercially successful Graceland by Paul Simon, it was one of the first albums of contemporary South African music to be widely available outside the country. “…an irrepressibly exciting anthology.” —Newsweek