--- description: Cape Town, South Africa is asking residents to sing two-minute songs in the shower to help fight the effects of climate change. title: Can Singing in the Shower Fight Climate Change? One Major City Thinks So image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt816d2e95ea24a9bd/6988e625ab6d7709696b0a89/shower-singing-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [climate change](/tag/climate-change/) ## climate change Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Can Singing in the Shower Fight Climate Change? One Major City Thinks So by [Aryn Baker/ Cape Town](/author/aryn-baker/) ## Aryn Baker/ Cape Town Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2017 5:35 PM CUT  Silver shower head on a bathroom with water drops falling on a bathroom textured background Silver shower head on a bathroom with water drops falling on a bathroom textured backgroundGetty Images by [Aryn Baker/ Cape Town](/author/aryn-baker/) ## Aryn Baker/ Cape Town Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2017 5:35 PM CUT Two minutes. According to the city of Cape Town, two minutes can make the difference between a viable city and a future straight out of the _Mad Max_ movies, where armed soldiers dole out daily water rations from municipal water taps—at least in the worst case scenario. The tourism capital of South Africa is going through one of the [worst droughts in recorded history](https://qz.com/1110143/cape-town-drought-and-water-shortage-in-south-africa-is-now-a-disaste/ "undefined"). The city is fast approaching Day Zero, when [local dams dry up](http://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/residential-utility-services/residential-water-and-sanitation-services/this-weeks-dam-levels "undefined") and the city runs out of water. At current consumption levels, that’s projected to take place sometime in the middle of next year. So [city leadership](City%20of%20Cape%20Town "undefined") is asking residents and visitors to radically cut down on water use, lest they be forced to take water saving measures up a notch by shutting down the pipe network and cueing the dystopian scenario of centralized water distribution points. That means no more watering the garden, no more topping up the pool (or closing it off entirely), flushing the toilet no more than once a day, and limiting showers to less than two minutes long. Reasoning that no one bathes with a watch, but that everyone likes to sing in the shower, Cape Town, in conjunction with local financial services giant [Sanlam](http://www.sanlam.com "undefined"), has come up with a fun way to save water: the [two-minute shower song](https://www.sanlam.co.za/campaigns/2minuteshowersongs/Pages/default.aspx "undefined"). What better way to count down the seconds than by rapping along with your favorite hip-hop star on a precisely timed, totally remixed version of her most popular release? Ten of South Africa’s best-known musicians have joined forces with the city of Cape Town to re-record and remix their most popular tracks in two-minute versions now [free for download](http://www.2minuteshowersongs.co.za/ "undefined"). They’ve cut lines, increased tempos, and accelerated drum solos to create shower worthy karaoke hits. “If I can rap this song in under two minutes, then we can definitely shower in under two minutes,” says South African hip-hop star [Rouge](https://www.facebook.com/Rougerapper/ "undefined"), whose blisteringly fast _Déjà Vu_ is one of the best tracks in the compilation. The songs range from old school rap ([Youngsta](http://www.redbullstudios.com/capetown/artists/youngsta "undefined")’s _Wes Kaap_) to pop (_Taking it Easy_, by [Goodluck](http://goodlucklive.com/ "undefined")) funk ([Micasa](http://micasamusic.com/ "undefined")’s _Nana_) and punk ([Francois van Coke](http://www.francoisvancoke.co.za/ "undefined")’s – _Dit Raak Beter_). [Jimmy Nevis](https://www.facebook.com/JimmyNevis/ "undefined") will have you singing into the mic of your detachable showerhead (the water is turned off while you soap down, natch) with _Day Dream_, while [Desmond and the Tutus](http://www.desmondandthetutus.co.za/home.html "undefined")’ _Teenagers_ will have you dancing in the stall. For those short on time, not just on water, it’s also a great introduction to South Africa’s contemporary music scene. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5027780/climate-change-shower-singing/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5027780/climate-change-shower-singing/"},"headline":"Can Singing in the Shower Fight Climate Change? One Major City Thinks So","datePublished":"2017-11-16T17:35:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:16:55.669Z","description":"And it's begging residents to give it a shot","url":"https://time.com/5027780/climate-change-shower-singing/","keywords":["climate change","South Africa","Music","Drought","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt816d2e95ea24a9bd/6988e625ab6d7709696b0a89/shower-singing-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aryn Baker/ Cape Town"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt816d2e95ea24a9bd/6988e625ab6d7709696b0a89/shower-singing-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"shower singing climate change","caption":"shower singing climate change","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5027780/climate-change-shower-singing/","name":"Can Singing in the Shower Fight Climate Change? One Major City Thinks So"}}]}] ```