Viral Culture: Matt’s dance

A brand of football trickery and showmanship have only reaped bad results on the field for South African teams, but is also a great dance.

Screenshot.

We’ve been going on about Diski, but I couldn’t resist sharing yet another Diski-related video. Earlier this year, no less an authority than The New York Times defined Diski as “… football in township slang.” The site’s editor, Sean, doesn’t like Diski; he says in real life, this brand of football trickery and showmanship have only reaped bad results on the field for South African teams. In any case, this time featuring Matt Harding, of Where the Hell is Matt fame (you know, that guy that got paid to go around the world making ridiculous dance videos?) Not particularly interesting, but precisely the stuff that viral sensations are made of. Well, Matt has resurfaced in South Africa, where he was  apparently invited to come learn the diski dance.

Watch him not (completely) screw it up. Rhythm like you’ve never seen before, indeed.

Further Reading

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The rubble of empire

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Atayese

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Angola’s golden jubilee culminated in a multimillion-dollar match against Argentina. The price tag—and the secrecy around it—divided a nation already grappling with inequality.

Visiting Ngara

A redevelopment project in Nairobi’s Ngara district promises revival—but raises deeper questions about capital, memory, and who has the right to shape the city.

Gen Z’s electoral dilemma

Long dismissed as apathetic, Kenya’s youth forced a rupture in 2024. As the 2027 election approaches, their challenge is turning digital rebellion and street protest into political power.

A world reimagined in Black

By placing Kwame Nkrumah at the center of a global Black political network, Howard W. French reveals how the promise of pan-African emancipation was narrowed—and what its failure still costs Africa and the diaspora.