Gerald “Mac” McKenzie passed away on 29 April 2024. He will be remembered as a renegade spirit and innovator in South African music. The composer and bassist changed Cape Town’s goema music tradition forever. Growing up in the city’s carnival culture, he helped form The Genuines, combining styles like rock, punk, classical and jazz with the music of his childhood. Valmont Layne has studied Cape Town’s music history, including McKenzie’s contribution. We asked him three questions.
Firstly, what is goema?
The word describes a musical style from Cape Town that’s linked to the city’s slave heritage and to the drum from which it’s named. It is more than likely that the word has strong connections to ngoma, a term referring to spiritual rituals and healing practices across many societies on the African continent. Goema can include street bands, choral music, vernacular partner dances such as tiekie draai – and the yearly carnival season and competition.
