Praise be to W magazine for its vanguardism! They have finally and single-handedly put the rest of the world on to how hip, cosmopolitan, and modern the city of Johannesburg truly is! At long last someone has acknowledged the existence of a “multiracial creative class utopia” in downtown Johannesburg. The city is even home to […]
What do you do as a South African tourist industry when the promised surge in visitors after the World Cup fails to materialize? You move your aim, target the local ‘upcoming individuals, independent couples and families’, draw up an ‘energetic, vibey and pacey’ campaign, get some of those upcoming individuals on board — and you […]
South African artists BLK JKS and Athi-Patra Ruga provide this month’s mixtape for the Italian architecture, art and design magazine Domus (other mixtapes in the past gave us musical snapshots of Buenos Aires, London, Melbourne, Milan, Harlem and Mexico City — all of them highly recommended, by the way). Listen to the mixtape on the […]
Things I have read quickly, seen or watched, listened to, been forwarded, did not really have the time to think about properly, here for your reading pleasure: * On Freedom Day, last Tuesday, South Africa’s government released this picture of the country’s president, Jacob Zuma, taking an Aids test. He tested negative. (The test was […]
Stuff I missed or was too tired to give adequate attention to over the last few days: * Great commentary on the proposed Hollywood biopic of Winnie Mandela starring Jennifer Hudson as the mother of the nation. [Black Agenda Report] * Why is Holland Cotter the only North American art critic that does justice to […]
The editing and cinematography for music videos by South African music acts keep on improving.. Take this new music video for the song “Molalatladi” by Johannesburg rockers, Blk Jks. Directed by Chell Stephen it is incorporates clips from “Sanza Hanza,” a documentary about the dangerous “sport” of train surfing in South Africa as well as […]
Esquire lists “Lakeside,” the first single of South African rock group, BLK JKS, among its list of “The 10 Best Song You Didn’t Hear This Year”: South Africa’s rebellious BLK JKS have jumbled tribal (sic) chants, churning guitars, and fringe-jazz flourishes into something otherworldly. Progressive-rock nostalgia isn’t just an American phenomenon.
