What if your next song could do more than rack up streams?
What if a verse could challenge corruption, a chorus could start a conversation, and a music video could force people to confront the realities affecting their communities?
That is the thinking behind Ngeke!, an anti-corruption music movement calling on young South African artists to use their creativity as a tool for social change.
Following the energy of its inaugural festival in 2025, Fair Play is once again putting musicians at the centre of the conversation — and asking them to make some noise about the issues that matter.
Turning Frustration Into Fire
For many young South Africans, corruption isn’t an abstract political word.
It can mean opportunities disappearing, jobs becoming harder to access, public services failing, or communities losing faith in the systems meant to support them.
Ngeke! wants artists to take those frustrations and transform them into something powerful: music.
The initiative is inviting South African musicians aged 18 to 35 to submit original songs or music videos exploring corruption and its links to inequality, discrimination, broken systems, stolen opportunities and abuse of power.
And importantly, there is no prescribed sound.
Whether it’s hip-hop, amapiano, jazz, rock, soul, Gqom or something completely unexpected, the focus is on authenticity, creativity and the ability to make people listen.
From Stage to Social Change
The first Ngeke! Festival brought hundreds of people together at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, with performances from artists including Zoë Modiga and BCUC, as well as emerging Fair Play participants Onset Music Group and Xtreem Makhayeni.
That combination of established voices and emerging talent is central to the movement’s appeal.
Ngeke! isn’t positioning young musicians simply as performers. It is giving them a platform to become storytellers, commentators and participants in conversations shaping their communities.
For selected artists, the opportunity goes beyond festival exposure. Each selected act receives R10,000 to perform, while also gaining access to international music-industry coaching, global exposure and connections with artists and activists working across continents.
Why Mzansi’s Creative Voice Matters
South Africa has always used music to document its reality.
Ngeke! taps into that tradition while giving today’s generation space to define what resistance sounds like in 2026.
The initiative also connects local creative expression to an international network, with artists from countries including Liberia, Nigeria, Italy, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia and Malawi participating in the wider Fair Play movement.
The message is simple: corruption may be global, but the response can start locally.
For a generation navigating unemployment, inequality and uncertainty, Ngeke! is asking a powerful question: What can your creativity change?
The answer could be one song, one performance, one conversation at a time.
Applications are open to South African musicians aged 18–35, with the deadline set for 14 September 2026. Artists can submit an original song or music video addressing corruption and injustice through the Fair Play application platform.
