RIP Bongani Mangcu

Fashion Swap at Cappello

Another of Christina's favourite parties, the fashion trade-off at Cappello.Photos by Tarjei Langeland.

Feiyue and Don't Party Wanna Take Us Out

It's true. If you do all the shit on the list and they pick you, you'll get something that looks a lot like this:

Annnnd a whole bunch of other stuff including a hummer limo and jeans. Er... yes please?!

MIXTAPE and Annihilation

If the gods be pleased with me I will have the finances and means of transportation to make it to these next gigs (I make being broke sound so classy sometimes)


MIXTAPE, run by The Pink Couch and Yawazzi is a party with some awesome twists held at The Albert Hall in Woodstock. Multimedia and art from some of the most innovative young creatives out there, DJs, films and some killer bands await us. Remember Jaques Strauss' illustrative genius in my last post? Well, that same band, The Great Apes are on the bill with my buddy Yusif Sayigh on vocals-- he's a monster, check them out if you haven't already.  Toby2Shoes and The Sleepers made the bill too, which isn't a surprise.I've never been able to complain about a jumping castle or pancakes before either, so I'm gonna arrive hungry... that's Thursday the 10th this month. Fetch!

...On the other hand we have a new project at Fiction called Annihilation. The guys from KOL (Mingus & DJ ID) are collaborating with the AWESOME DJ Low, and Disco and Dank of Sedge Warbler . You'll remember those names if you've heard of PH Fat... This one I gotta see. Damage is 20 bones before 11 and 30 thereafter which is so fine with me, and all drinks are half-off before 11. Yeah look, you can't go wrong here. Hip hop with a twist, and we're always down for new things.

Cape Town Creative: Jaques Strauss

Jaques Strauss is an animal. His illustrations are so amazing, I had to give him a mention. Living and working in Cape Town as an illustrator for  kids' clothing label, he's an interesting guy armed with a pen and a quirky ense of humour. The above was done for local band The Great Apes, which is how I found out about this little gem... Take a look at hi blog called Straat-Toe, he's got a bunch of interesting works there, including characters like Enjinhead, and some "fun with fonts."



Straat-Toe: Jaques Strauss

The Concrete Jungle Release

Well, my boy Mafiyana has finally finished his new album, Concrete Jungle and I think all of us are insanely proud of him... It's been a while, there's been a lot of hard work but this self funded production should be great. Rhyme an Reason a couple of weeks back saw him, Metabolism, Infinite Split Militia, Bonzaya and myself trying to bring back some concious sh*t. Seventies 80's felt great that night, everyone was feeling excited and the atmosphere was so charged with like-minded people. This Thursday he's gonna bring it home at Mojo in Observatory, and you know I'll be right there jamming it up. Kudos Maf!

No Edge Ups in South Africa

Asheru. Tonight, in my city. (I live in South Africa so this is kinda a big deal) In fact, I hadn't heard of him until one of my former lovers introduced me to old school hip hop. This man left a track called Braggin' Writes (Revisited) which featured J-Live, Grap Luva and Asheru himself off 7 Heads. This beat gave me heart palpitations; instant fan, it's pretty powerful. And he's performing tonight. In my city. Kinda a big deal.

>> Braggin' Writes (Revisited) <<

Photojournal Three: The Dutchesse at Zula

Topsy Turvy: Urban Mosadi

Topsy Turvy: Didi, The Vixen

Topsy Turvy: Tiger Lily

Topsy Turvy: The Adventures of Nonolooloo and the Girls

...An illustration of me by my girl Nonku. More to follow from the collection called Topsy Turvy. Beautiful no?

Photojournal Two: Friday Night at Didi's

Rhyme & Reason: May 28th

May 28th, we'll be bringing some old school joints and some fresh rhymes. Thanks to Mafiyana, Infinite Split Militia and Metabolism, I get to drop some tracks we've all been itching to hear.  These guys are very cool and they have flow for years... Swing by if you feel some concious shit.

Khuli Chana: Freshe Video Shoot

This had to be one of the most interesting experiences of my life. Khanyi asked me to help her out an take a spot in her music video so, naturally I was happy to be of assistance. I had no idea what we had to do when I got there (7am I must add), but on arrival and two coffees later, I was given a tiny dress... It turns out I had to dance with a bunch of girls and try to look pretty. Okay, I thought, could dig it. Turns out I was gonna be one of 6 girls in Khuli Chana's new video for a track called Freshe. It's a great song, I love it, but I had no idea who this cat was. Well I did my research and Khuli Chana is a young man who won best newcomer at the 2009 Channel O awards. That is pretty impressive, and I guess I now know why... The guy's got swag. Anyway, for this video he was collaborating with pH, Leo Large, along with Mahlatse and Tede and Ill Skillz, and coming to Cape Town seemed like a great idea to his manager Refiloe, who's on point and extremely easy to respect. Stylists everywhere, hair, make up, music, producers, photos... it was madness! From 6 in the morning to 6 at night, we were busy. I met some great girls, the guys were mad funny,  and everything wrapped up pretty well. Urban Mosadi and Kitsi were behind the styling, which consisted of Head Honcho, Shelflife and others stores on the same tip. Deon at hair and make up did an aweome job, he's such a sweetheart. All the hard work payed off and everything looked decent... When it gets released I'll link it up!

Take a listen >>>Freshe

Check out Urban Mosadi's blog for more visuals...

Ndumiso Sibanda

The most charming man I have ever encountered, Ndumiso Sibanda is a filmmaker on his way to greatness. Local hip hop owes him much to date for some amazing footage he's spent hours shooting, editing and directing. MC Mingus' video Final Warning, shot at Tagore's in Observatory was a great production, and his work on the 24 Hour Skills That Pay the Bills video effort had Ill-Literate-Skill collaborating with some of South Africa's finest talents, which includes photography by Max Mogale, styling by Caitlin "The Dutchesse" Hill and Tiger Lily, singer Zaki Ibrahim, producers Planet Earth, Nyambz, Sibot, pH and international hip hopper John Robinson of Scienz of Life. I have yet to see the video, but I'm anticipating it's dopeness... Also, in an outfit called Jou Ma Se Films, he's teamed up with a bunch of young and excitable filmmakers and put together some interesting productions, for one, acting in and directing Welkom By Die Schoemans,  pulling together a hilarious story and polishing it off with flair. Check out Welkom and Final Warning on the tube, I gotta say this young man's future looks bright.

Welkom By Die Schoemans
Final Warning: Mingus

PlayKayStat

This guy has intense beat selection. Flying Lotus, Little Dragon, 340ml with a little Red Hot Chili Pepper vibe, he's diverse and fresh. Hailing from Johannesburg, Kabelo Taukobong aka Kaystat is a DJ who's fresh on the scene in Cape Town. I happened to hear from a friend that he planned to move down here, so naturally I had to ask him to play at my gig, Zion. He killed it, in ways I didn't expect. Since then he's been swept up by Kool Out Live & Lounge along with Remy Gold who also played at Zion, and is picking up a lot of fans in his wake... Catch him at The Waiting Room or Zula on his designated Wednesday/Thursday nights.

Urban Mosadi

Stylist, photographer and friend, Tiisetso, aka Urban Mosadi has got visuals that inspire...

...and the banner is mad cool. Fetch!

2Bop

One brand I'm really loving right now is 2Bop, headed by Anthony Smith in Cape Town. Classic video games like Streetfighter, Tetris, Super Mario Brothers and that one with the penguin that jumps around are all responsible for this one, which is what inspired Mr. Smith from the beginning. Back in the day these games were bootlegged in South Africa, since we were once a bit slow on the uptake in terms of technology. At the time the arcades would take 20 cent pieces, which are loosely referred to as 2Bop. Cool neh? It's a fresh label, the designs are great and a lot of my friends are sporting his stuff (peer pressure y'know?) so I definitely wanna get in on that action...

Cape Town Creative: Max Mogale

Homeboy is king when it comes to visuals. Cape Town's Max Mogale, armed with camera and smart-ass wit, takes photos that make you jizz a little. Check him out for an eyegasm or two.

GuerrillaGrapher

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