An Hour With Chris Vick’s Power Week Playlist
I spent five Sundays listening to South African radio. This is the music I heard.
Let me start by setting some parameters for this work. It’s an essay that follows Chris Vick’s ‘Power Week’, a three-hour Sunday radio show that plays from nine in the morning to midday, but I only follow the first hour, not the full three hours.
‘Power Week’ is a Power FM radio show that is said to, according to the broadcaster’s website, focus on ‘news highlights from the week that was’.
My impression as I write this sentence is that the title of this essay should be ‘One Hour Listening to Chris Vick’s Musical Choices’. Having said that, I should perhaps try to justify the purpose of this piece: the purpose, or focus, is the music that plays on Chris Vick’s first hour of the show.
I chose one hour for a number of reasons. One, although the show plays a few songs, it’s focus is something else. In other words, if you want a show where music is a major feature, ‘Power Week’ is not your show. What this means is that I have basically neglected the main focus of the show. Be that as it may, three hours is a long stretch and requires more time, effort and resources. So in a way, the fact that Chris Vick is interested more in current affairs rather than music is an advantage to me. Two songs in an hour are easy to catalogue.
Having set the parameters, let me say something about how music might be chosen in the first hour of the show. A contrast will help. There’s the ‘Voices and Choices’ music segment that plays on 702 on Fridays from 11PM to 12PM. In that segment, the music that play is mostly by listeners who call in. The opposite is possibly true for at least the first hour of Chris Vick’s show: I’m under the impression that he chooses the songs he plays, not the listeners.
Having set the parameters, and having commented on how the music might be chosen, let’s then talk about the actual music. The methodology, if you will, is to list the names of the songs and their artists. Where the details are available, I’ll include the radio presenter’s comments on the songs. I’ll also include the histories of the songs.
On the 17th of August 2025, Chris Vick started his first hour with ‘Uthini Ngo PRO’, a song by Pro.
After the song played, all the DJ said was ‘Dankie Sani’, then launching into the show.
After the conversation with his first guest, Chris Vick then played ‘Keep On, Keepin’ On’, a song by MC Lyte.
What’s interesting is that Chris Vick offered a comment on the song. He said that as he always said, clean Hip Hop tracks were like alcohol-free wine, adding that they didn’t make sense.
Song Histories
‘Uthini Ngo PRO’
‘Uthini Ngo PRO’ is a song by Pro from his second album, Dankie San (2007). Dankie San was as a result of Pro having switched record labels, switching to TS Records.
‘Keep On, Keepin’ On’
‘Keep On, Keepin’ On’ is a song by MC Lyte. It features Xscape and appeared on her fifth studio album, Bas As I Wanna B (1996). The song was produced by and co-written with Jermaine Dupri. It samples Michael Jackson’s ‘Liberian Girl’.
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On the 24th of August, Chris Vick started his first hour with ‘Flight ya slahla’, a song which he announced to be by Scotts Maphuma and DJ Maphorisa.
Sometime after the conversation with his first guest, Chris Vick then played ‘Ooh’, a Fela Kuti and De La Soul mashup by Amerigo Gazaway.
He then closed the hour by playing ‘Pork Chop’, a song by Jimmy Smith.
Song Histories
‘Flight ya slahla’ – Xduppy featuring Scotts Maphuma and DJ Maphorisa
The song is by Xduppy and features Scotts Maphuma and DJ Maphorisa.
‘Ooh’ – Amerigo Gazaway
‘Ooh’ is a mashup of Fela Kuti and De La Soul and features Redman. The song is by Amerigo Gazaway and comes from his 2011 album, Fela Soul.
‘Pork Chop’ - Jimmy Smith
‘Pork Chop’ is a song by Jimmy Smith. It comes from Rockin’ the Boat, his 17th studio album as leader/co-leader. The album was released in 1963.
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On the 31st of August, the DJ who comes in before Chris Vick noticed that Chris Vick was wearing a black Public Enemy T-shirt.
On that Sunday, Chris Vick opened his show with ‘Tadow’, a jazzy song by Masego and FKJ.
After his first guest, he then played ‘Don’t Sweat the Technique’, a song by Eric B. & Rakim.
He then closed off the hour by playing ‘BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher’, a track by Brandy, Erykah Badu, Tejana Taylor and H.E.R.
Song Histories
‘Tadow’ – Masego and FKJ
‘Tadow’ is a song by Masego and FKJ. It comes from his debut studio album, Lady Lady (2018).
‘Don’t Sweat the Technique’ – Eric B. & Rakim
Don’t Sweat the Technique is the title track of Eric B. & Rakim’s fourth and final studio album. Produced in New York, it was released in 1992.
‘BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher’ – Brandy, Erykah Badu, Tejana Taylor and H.E.R.
The song is by Brandy, Erykah Badu, Tejana Taylor and H.E.R. The live version of the song was first performed in 2020 at the BET Hip Hop Awards.
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On the 7th of September, Chris Vick opened ‘Power Week’ with ‘Pueblo Nuevo’, a song by the Buena Vista Social Club. After the song, he commented that the song came from one of Cuba’s finest acts, the song title meaning ‘new town’, and having been released twenty-five to thirty years ago.
After his first guest Chris Vick played ‘Riot’, a song by The Soul Syndicate, pointing afterwards that it was possible for the listener to pick up Hugh Masekela’s influence.
He closed the hour with ‘Makeda’, a song by Les Nubians.
Song Histories
‘Pueblo Nuevo’ – Buena Vista Social Club
The song by the Buena Vista Social Club comes from their 1996 eponymous album released in 1997. It was first recorded in 1946 by Belisario López's orchestra for RCA Victor.
‘Riot’ – The Soul Syndicate
Sources point to ‘Riot’ being released in 1971 and 1972. One of the sources that point to 1971 credits the song to Dizzy & Soul Syndicate. Released as a single, it was produced by Keith Hudson.
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On the 14th of September, Chris Vick opened ‘Power Week’ with ‘Turnin Me Up’, a song by BJ the Chicago Kid. After the song, he commented that the song was ‘a bit of D’Angelo meets Q-Tip. Very cool’.
After the discussion with his first guest, Chris Vick played ‘Is Fokol Is Niks’, a song by, as he announced, M’Du.
He closed off his first hour playing ‘Gadabout Season’, a song by Brandee Younger.
Song Histories
‘Turnin Me Up’
‘Turnin’ Me Up’ is a song by BJ the Chicago Kid. It comes from his album, In My Mind (2016). It is his second studio album, the musician taking 30 days to record the album.
‘Is Fokol Is Niks’
‘Is Vokol is Niks’ is a song by Mashamplani. It comes from their album, Hey Kop (1995). The song also appears on M’Du’s The Best of Da Best. On Spotify, it appears as ‘Is Fokol Is Niks’.
‘Gadabout Season’
‘Gadabout Season’ is Brandee Younger’s title track from her eighth album as leader. The album was released in June. Reviewing the song for Pitchfork, Rae-Aila Crumble said that it ‘begins with a tasteful vamp, Younger’s tinny plucks dancing around Carter’s thick, inquisitive bassline’.
Discussion
One question I ask myself is: why do people listen to the radio? From a standpoint of what’s possible, people listen to the radio because they have ears and a mind. The question then becomes one of agency. I’m taking it for granted here that we know that people listen to the radio. Sometimes I overhear my neighbours listening to the radio. When I go through Chris Vick’s X account, I notice that people engage with his radio content. Perhaps this is because listeners want to engage with radio personalities, or because they want to mentally engage with current affairs.
As we previously noted, ‘Power Week’ deals with current affairs.
In the first hours I’ve tuned into, for instance, I’ve heard discussions on the National Dialogue, the media, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk. These discussions are current affairs. What about the music that plays in between discussions – is it a major pull? Whatever the case might be, online there’s academic research on radio stations and the music they play, for example. From this, then my assertion that broadcast researchers listen to radio is valid.
They are perhaps interested in that question: why do people listen to the radio? For example, Dr Muhammad Imran believes that your musical preferences have a thing to do with your cultural identity. On an individual basis, I am a writer. That’s my identity. It’s what I do. I can listen to anything and write about it.
Rozanne Kotzee and H.J. Breytenbach talk about how music satisfies certain gratifications. Unathi Kondile shows us, for example, that while there’s a perception that people listen to music stations only because of music, some might be attracted to what radio presenters on these music stations have to say.
While ‘Power Week’ is a current affairs programme, my work here shows that I’m here just for the music.
Another point I want to make – perhaps a small point – is that ‘Power Week’ is not a daily part of the listener’s life, for example. It airs only once a week. Unlike a weekly show which you might listen to tomorrow if you miss today’s broadcast, once you miss ‘Power Week’ on a certain Sunday, you have to wait for another week.
While their listener will have their own reasons, for Vick, ‘Power Week’ allows him to engage with some of his musical tastes on a live platform.
This makes us ask the question: why does Chris Vick play the music he does? I think this takes us back to the issue of cultural identity – and individual identity as well. He’s a white man, and I guess it’s fair to say that he’s not a stereotypical white man. Thinking about Chris Vick and his tastes brings to mind something I think soe white guy said (I think he said he was a white person trapped in a black person’s body). The genres Chris Vick play – Hip Hop, jazz, kwaito and amapiano – are black musical expressions. In their African American forms, Guthrie P. Ramsey calls Hip Hop and jazz ‘race music’.
The more I work on this piece, the more I find questions to ask on the music radio DJs play. One such question is: how should we critique the music they play? I think that’s a better question than ‘should we critique the music they play’? I mean, the answer should yes since there should be no limits to what things we should critically examine.
I think the first way to critique the music they play is to document it like I’ve done here. I mean, how else are you going to critique something if you don’t know it? I’m of a view that we mostly listen to music for entertainment purposes. But then again, even if you listen to music for entertainment purposes, you might be drawn back to the issue of examining it for it is my belief that even if some things are aesthetically pleasing, one might find even more pleasure in understanding why.
Once you know what a certain radio segment plays, you can critically examine what’s happening. One way of doing that is to contrast what’s happening versus what's not happening. While Chris Vick plays kwaito, amapiano etc, I think it would be safe that you won’t hear him play rock and roll. That aside, even though you are likely to hear Hip Hop from Pro (South African rap) or Eric B. (American rap), you won’t hear him play Australian or Zimbabwean rap. These are very important considerations to take into mind. Of course, we should remember that Chris Vick’s audience is South African. Be that as it may, American rap is not a South African genre although it is consumed here. The question might then be ‘is there a market for other types of rap in South Africa besides American and South African rap?’.
But let’s turn away from Chris Vick. The other DJ whose show I’ve listened to for music is ‘The Aubrey Masango Show’ on 702. As I’ve noted before, his show is led by individual listeners. On Aubrey Masango’s show, individuals engage in on-air contestation of musical meanings, whereas this is not the case with Chris Vick.
My point, however, in mentioning this is that once we document music played by various DJs on their shows, we are then in a position for comparative analysis. Without saying much on the issue, I think it’s fair to state that Aubrey Masango and Chris Vick play different music on their shows. But there’s an instance where the two shows in a way played the same artist. While the Aubrey Masango Show (27 July) played Fela Kuti’s ‘Sorrow, Tears and Bood’, Chris Vick (24 August) played Amerigo Gazaway’s ‘Ooh’. Amerigo Gazaway’s song is, as we’ve previously noted, a mashup of De La Soul and Fela Kuti.