From Zetina Mosia’s upcoming album “The RoundAbout”, this track: ‘Lately’. We’ve said this before, but the Johannesburg label Iapetus is an exceptional breeding ground for South African artists — remember Fifi the Rai Blaster, Yugen Blakrok, Robo the Technician or Gin i Grindith — with a special mention for Kanif, the producer behind many of the songs.
Friday Music Bonus Edition
February 24, 2012 By 1 Comment
It’s a mixed bag this week. Kenyan artist Ato Malinda created a video for one of the tracks of last year’s BLNRB album (music is by the Teichmann Brothers, vocals are by Alai K):
The Toto ‘Africa’ Meme, N°4: The Europe Edition
February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I can’t lie, Europeans love Toto’s “Africa.” First up there’s the massive Slovenian a capella choir Perpetuum Jazzile (above) that has been viewed more than 12 million times (when I last counted earlier this week) on Youtube where it attracts comments like “unusual and interesting” or “the two women to our right of the main male singer are hot;” then there’s the Dutch street organ (imagine what Toto would have sounded like in the 19th century), a German trio, and the devotion of Serbian fans who decided to subtitle the original.
Rare: Conscious Kwaito
February 21, 2012 By 1 Comment
South African kwaito house with an explicit message: we don’t get to hear it often. Shota’s Etshwaleni has been playing in clubs for months, I’m told. Its straightforward lyrics make it stand out: have fun while still respecting others (“hlonipheni abanye abantu”) and drink responsibly (“pasop ugu dakwa”) during sleepless (“asisalali”) weekends. But you figured that much from the video.
Sindiso Nyoni’s Riot Art
February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Short recent video profile by VOA’s Nico Colombant of the Zimbabwean artist, illustrator and designer R!OT (also known as Sindiso Nyoni).
Do people believe ex-prisoners can change their ways?
February 20, 2012 By 2 Comments
That was the question asked to people in Cape Town, South Africa, by the Prison Broadcasting Network (PBN), “a non-profit rehabilitation programme that teaches prisoners the skills to become employable when they are released.” I found the responses unsurprising. But the video has a twist.
The Tour of Rwanda
February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
A series by photographer Mjrka Boensch Bees about the 2011 cycling tour in Rwanda. (Remember Philip Gourevitch’s essay on the 2010 edition.) Here.
Campaigning: Reporters Without Borders
February 18, 2012 By 4 Comments
The new Reporters without Borders’ campaign reminds me of this International Society for Human Rights campaign (same ad agency?), but their appeal is clear. And so is their message. More here.
Spoek Mathambo’s World
February 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
No we’re not on a mini-Spoek Mathambo marathon today. Intrigued by Spoek’s remix of Seun Kuti and the trailer for his new album, we googled Spoek anew and stumbled upon this video of a 2011 presentation Spoek gave at TedxSoweto (it was only uploaded onto Youtube at the end of last month). What I find useful about the video is that it offers a compact picture of Spoek’s biography: from Soweto via the “suburban island” of Sandton to where he finds himself now as a sort of global electro-rapper. It’s worth the 20 odd minutes if you want to get a sense of his influences. He talks about his record collections, his dad’s record collections, local and international musical influences (including Max Normal/Waddy Jones of Die Antwoord fame), South Africa’s HIV culture of fear, cultures of kwaito and party, Ghanaian and Nigerian film posters (where he referenced his last album cover), the inspiration of Nigerian DIY (horror) movie culture, making Africa a smaller place through new media, the crucial point of representation (“the more that we don’t represent ourselves, the more people will make careers out of misrepresenting us or representing us the way they want to represent us”) and his collaboration with fellow South African, photographer Pieter Hugo (and Hugo’s critics). Hugo’s work is contrasted with that of American photographer Phyllis Galembo on West African masquerades and South African artist Michael MacGarry. He also gives his interpretation of ‘Umshini Wami’, and his fundamentals: “How am I representing myself? How am I representing the people of Africa? And is accuracy [when building a ‘speculative fiction’ through his work] important?”
Friday Music Bonus Edition
February 17, 2012 By 2 Comments
So drawn into the video (a plethora of faces, personalities and historic moments) Atlanta trio Algiers made for ‘Blood’, I forgot to pay attention to the lyrics the first time seeing it:
