Smuts Ngonyama once infamously, symptomatically said: “I didn’t join the struggle to be poor”. We know all about that now! Shit Julius wasn’t even a part of the Struggle – and he’s definitely not struggling being poor. As erroneous and conceited as that statement is though – I get it. Smuts and many others like him heroically “faced the evils of an oppressive system” put in place long before their parents even made eye contact. They deserve acknowledgement, fuck they deserve way more than that read more…
At first look, and by most standards, Bad Lieutenant is a batshit crazy film. However in the context of it being a Werner Herzog remake of an Abel Ferrara film starring Nicholas Cage it ends up feeling lazy; a series of easy and crudely handled jokes. This, being a Herzog film, may be the point, a great nihilistic shrug at random cruelties of existence. read more…
Talk about failed expectations and let-down hopes. There is a girl, she has a sailor hat on and a fake moustache and she is, perhaps, the hottest thing I’ve seen at the Assembly, ever. I want to fight her boyfriend and hold her hand and tell her beautiful things and dance with her in a magical world. Then the Great Apes take the stage, she takes off her moustache and all dreams crumble. She’s just another non-descript indie girl in a crowd of others just like her. This, sort of, goes for the band as well. read more…
While the world, (or is it just The Fader?) goes mad for Spoek Mathambo, he’s doing his nut over OK Malumkoolkat, colab-ing with London electronic outfit LV on this joint. With beats and moves like these we know he won’t be working at the Gallery forever.
If ever there was a woman who marched to her own beat, it’s this one. With her regal sense of style, genre-defying music and steady refusal to bow to trends, Simphiwe Dana has balanced sales, SAMAs and street cred to rise above her many contemporaries in a relatively short space of time. read more…
Goth fans of country pop bands fascinate me. Not that there are any country pop bands other than Wrestlerish, that I know of, that have cute goth girls down front chanting the lyrics; verse and chorus. Wrestlerish have been touring hard and at the Saturday Mercury gig with the Jack Mantis Band and Tidal Waves that much is obvious from the tightness of their set. If anything, it’s a little too rehearsed read more…
An experimental video by artist Katharina Rohde about the real heroes of the South African economy, informal street traders. Part of the Happy Hawker Project.
“It’s my prediction that in the near future the politics of ‘race & identity’ will be left to uncreative scholars trying to remain relevant in a more logical world.” – Samuel Munene, Nairobi poet, short story writer, and contributor to Kwani?
I’ve been accused of having white tendencies many times in my life. A white friend of mine often jokes about us swapping places because she admires black people: especially our kinky, easy-to-dread hair. This makes me feel there’s an incredible gap between who I am supposed to be – and who I actually am. read more…
Hello miserly ones… want free double tickets to the 340ml gig at the Assembly this
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KIF. This is the only way you can dress up as Batman’s biatch and still maintain your high levels of street cred.
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We like our chips. Almost R2 billion of the almost R5 billion South African
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Forward the revolution! Kick out the kak. Download and share Mahala's original musical dissent right here!
Rum and coke #1: Speedway, what a great venue – huge hall, two bars, one
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While the world, (or is it just The Fader?) goes mad for Spoek Mathambo, he’s doing his nut over OK Malumkoolkat. With beats and moves like these we know he won’t be working at the Gallery forever.
Click here to watch
