When Belgium-born, DRC-raised and now South Africa-based Alec Lomami was last in Kinshasa, he got to meet Papa Wemba at his crib, where the two not only broke bread, but nearly got to make music together. It was a defining moment for Alec, who grew up to the music of a figure spoken of asContinue reading “The Congolese rapper Alec Lomami on the legacy of Papa Wemba”
Author Archives: Tseliso Monaheng
‘“Our heritage” is being exploited’: This Lesotho fashion collective is fighting back
Bonono Merchants are a Lesotho-based fashion collective started by Chere Mongangane and Lemohang Mpobane. ‘We came together on one mission, which is to put fashion on some other level in this country,’ says Chere. I’m seated with both partners at a restaurant in Maseru. It’s a day before we hit the streets to do aContinue reading “‘“Our heritage” is being exploited’: This Lesotho fashion collective is fighting back”
Zoë Modiga’s voice will leave you cracked and exposed
‘How’s everyone doing this evening?’ Zoë Modiga asks. The reception is muted. The vocalist, performer and songwriter from Pietermaritzburg is about to perform in front of a full house at the Moses Molelekwa stage in Cape Town. The occasion? Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2015. Sensing that people may have misheard her, or they’re merely tooContinue reading “Zoë Modiga’s voice will leave you cracked and exposed”
The haves and the have-nots: photo journal offers an unflinching look at the reality of South Africa
Last week, students at the Universities of Pretoria (UP) and the Free State (UFS) held demonstrations at their respective campuses. UP students were, among other things, decrying that the Afrikaans language be scrapped as a medium of instruction at the bi-lingual, previously white-only institution. UFS protests ran along the same lines, and included demands to endContinue reading “The haves and the have-nots: photo journal offers an unflinching look at the reality of South Africa”
Documenting the temporary beauty of Jeppestown street art
I live in Jeppestown, a former industrial area on the eastern edge of Joburg’s CBD that is currently undergoing an ‘urban regeneration’ project aimed at ‘bringing people back to the city’. The statement assumes that there weren’t people living there before. That the Zulu men, who still travel from their hustles in town, don’t existContinue reading “Documenting the temporary beauty of Jeppestown street art”
Nakhane Touré on violence, empowerment and breaking the mould
It was Nakhane Touré’s year to shine. The man with many slashes to his name – musician/composer/songwriter/novelist – had what felt like a moment of transcendence, a realisation of something so bold and grand that we’ll only know how to name it when it approaches its zenith. His latest EP Laughing Son comes two years after hisContinue reading “Nakhane Touré on violence, empowerment and breaking the mould”
FOKN Bois’s M3NSA on producing for legend Reggie Rockstone and recording in Budapest
At fifteen years young, rapper and production wizard M3nsa Ansah was spotted by Reggie Rockstone, who roped him in as a producer. Rockstone was a rapper fusing traditional highlife and hip-hop influences into a then-new mould known as hiplife. That was the late-nineties and nowadays, Reggie Rockstone is a figurehead in the Ghanaian music industry;Continue reading “FOKN Bois’s M3NSA on producing for legend Reggie Rockstone and recording in Budapest”
Bitching, biting and wack tracks: South African hip hop needs to change
Once groups like POC used to rap like they meant it and who gave a shit if they offended. But are their successors, obsessed with endorsements and sponsorship opportunities, just a bit vanilla? Shaheen Ariefdien arrives on the second floor of the Cape Sun Hotel shortly after midday on Saturday. It’s a day following Prophets ofContinue reading “Bitching, biting and wack tracks: South African hip hop needs to change”
#FeesHaveFallen but the battle is still far from over
The protests last week were all too familiar to Tseliso Monaheng. For him, the war is by no means won. Although fees may have fallen, the struggle was tainted by divisions in the student camp. Protesters have to realise that this movement is not about fees it’s about changing a whole system of privilege. I’dContinue reading “#FeesHaveFallen but the battle is still far from over”