The issue of time

Time Keeps its own time

Clayton Perry's interview with Meshell Ndegeocello

...Clayton Perry: Your eighth studio project is entitled Devil’s Halo, which is named after an instrumental track on the album. Since the title track lacks lyrics, I’m curious to know the inspiration behind the mood the song sets.
Meshell Ndegeocello: I guess it’s all about contrast, expressing evil, good and bad and that there’s a calm that comes with accepting that. That’s what that particular track for me is. It’s like a lullaby of some sort. It just acknowledges that there are shades of gray. 

C.P: When I think about the album, as a whole, I think my favorite would have to be “Bright, Shiny Morning.” There’s a particular set of lyrics that resonated within me: “If I think I owe you something, get in line.” What life event led you to express that sentiment?

M.N: I’ve had lots of experiences that warrant that. It’s just the endless experience of people wanting something from you. If you had it, you’d be sure to give it, but sometimes I’m just left lost about what it is they want or feel that I owe them. I’ve had certain relationships where people feel I owe them something. And sometimes when I’m onstage, people want me to sing a song like my very first record, it’s kind of hard. They feel like I owe them something. I try to do the best I can when I’m onstage but it’s like, “Get in line.” 

C.P: I really like “Die Young,” too. On the track, you say, “I always pick the wrong way. It feels like the way to go.” Do you harbor a great deal of regrets?

M.S: I’m not one for regrets, but have you had a moment where you just feel like, “My God, I just keep making the wrong choice!”? You know in your heart that it felt right at the time. Once you’re further away from that experience, in hindsight, it was the right way to go even though everyone else around you felt it was wrong. But that’s back to the Devil’s Halo and the contrast. There are shades of gray. Maybe there is no right or wrong. We’re all just doing the best we can...


The interview continues here

  

Cnr Queen Victoria and Green Street, Cape Town - 29/10/2010

Amani Arts Festival 2010 (Photo)

The concept of ‘’evil’’ in Omoseye Bolaji’s works: An essay by Raphael Mokoena

It is no surprise, realising the world that we live in, that countless writers seem to give the impression that the theme of evil looms large in their works. I believe the same applies to a prolific African author like Omoseye Bolaji; with what appears to be an acute awareness of the phenomenon of evil never far from his mind.

This can not but be the case with writers who churn out works based on crime anyway; I have in mind especially the Tebogo Mokoena series created by Omoseye Bolaji where deaths, betrayals, treachery are often the order of the day. Tennesee Williams made the consciousness of evil more pronounced to the world in his works, but African writers like Wole Soyinka expounded on this phenomenon.

 

Wole Soyinka, the great African writer is a good example here, as this is an African writer that Omoseye Bolaji has freely confessed he has admired since his infancy. Soyinka, during an interview (1) himself tried to explain this awareness of evil, and clearly seems overwhelmed in the process: “My own personal observation that human beings are simply cannibals all over the world...eating up one another...the chastening rediscovery, the terrible knowledge – that given the chance, your best friends are capable of (evil)...”

Hence it is no surprise that in Omoseye Bolaji’s works of fiction, the least unlikely people - especially women! – often end up doing terrible things. We do see examples of such unconscionable killers in Tebogo Investigates (2000) and Tebogo and the Haka (2008). But this occurs in most of the books, including Ask Tebogo (2004) where a ‘gentleman’ is not only brutally killed, but also set on fire!

In Tebogo Fails (2003) we are confronted with such evil, as a killer testifies as to why he had to kill.  In the confession, we notice that the ‘Devil’ is mentioned many times: “It was the Devil’s work my brother. I am a man, my brother...a worthless man, admittedly...but when she came to my side, the Devil took over...she told me as much as she sobbed on the ground. Then the Devil took over and I found out that I was strangling her...God punish me!” (2)

Some observers have pointed out that there is plenty of cynicism and despair in Tebogo Fails, and People of the Townships (2003). It is interesting that during an interview (3), while asked about this, Bolaji said:

BOLAJI: Any fairly decent, sensitive person cannot be very happy with society. You see transcendental evil every time, with ‘friends’ brutally stabbing ‘friends’ for money, cell phones or whatever. Basic integrity is so thin on the ground, with betrayals being the order of the day across board. So many women behaving like vamps and digging early graves for themselves. Aids killing so many, with the cemeteries bursting at the seams. The list is endless!”

We must however realise that around this time, the author Omoseye Bolaji, was recovering or trying to recover from a terrible experience. He had come agonisingly close to death (the records show he was actually poisoned) and felt betrayed by certain people he had sacrificed so much for. Around this time, Charmaine Kolwane wrote a book about Bolaji (4); and if anything, Bolaji was even more harsh, more bitter, about human nature and evil whilst interviewed by Charmaine in the book. That he was more or less “down and out” at this time could be seen from the fact that in the years 2005, 2006, and 2007 virtually nothing creative (fiction) came from Bolaji’s pen.

Happily enough, over the last few years Omoseye Bolaji apparently regained his zest for life and for creative writing, and three more adventures of Tebogo ensued from his pen: Tebogo and the haka (2008) Tebogo and the epithalamion (2009) and Tebogo and the pantophagist (2010). Observers have speculated that this meant Bolaji’s health had become better during this time; but it should also be remembered that by 2008 Bolaji had been bestowed with a string of top-level awards (especially the Chancellor’s Medal from the University of the Free State) which would have gone a long way into setting his mindset on a more positive terrain.

 

Perhaps this positive mood reached a peak in Tebogo and the epithalamion (2009) a book which many readers have said is almost devoid of any real crime or degradation. This must have inspired Paul Lothane’s impressive article “Folksiness in Tebogo and the epithalamion”(5) where he goes on and on about the ‘‘feel good factor, ubuntu’’ in the work. In the latest work, Tebogo and the pantophagist (2010) there are no deaths too, and Tebogo starts the story by getting drunk and jollying in shebeens!

However it would be naive to presume that evil does not feature in these last two adventures, despite the fact that nobody is killed. Read the two books carefully and you will still see echoes of betrayal, dishonesty, greed, chicanery – and there is a harrowing account of a woman being raped in Tebogo and the pantophagist. Again, we must remember that even in the earlier adventures of Tebogo, the shebeen scenes and the jokes had always been there.

What Omoseye Bolaji demonstrated in the last two works of detective Tebogo (2009 and 2010) is that one does not necessarily need dead bodies or horrible crimes to put a mystery story together.  But I can not agree that the author is no longer preoccupied with themes suggestive of evil. Who knows whether the next adventure of Tebogo will be filled with death and gore?

NOTES

1. Wole Soyinka was speaking in the book, African Writers Talking (Heinemann 1988)

2.  See Tebogo Fails. Drufoma.  2003. (Page 52)

3.  Kopanang magazine. July 2005 edition. (Page 5)

4.  See Omoseye Bolaji: Channelling one’s thoughts onto paper. By Charmaine Kolwane. Phoenix Press.  2005. (Pages 37 - 38)

5.  The article “Folksiness in Tebogo and the epithalamion” is available on the Internet; and is also published in the book, OMOSEYE BOLAJI By Hector Kunene (2010)

Phoenix Village, Milnerton; Cape Town - Sometime in October 2010

Philip Kaufman's Henry and June

 

Memorable dialogue: 

June Miller: What don't I understand?
Anais Nin: That I love you.
June Miller: Love? You just want experience. 

You're a writer. You make love to whatever you need. 

You're just like Henry.

  

Why not bend the rules?

Tlokwe Sehume

One of the country’s most diverse musicians is undoubtedly Tlokwe Sehume.

His music is spiritual with a thrust on African indigenous music and instruments with a contemporary feel.

He says of his music “its music of the day before yesterday for a people of the day after tomorrow”.

He calls his music , ‘Mmino wa thaba’—Music of the mountains.

Tlokwe has a long-term project through his organization Medu Promotions, which he calls Medu-Nakeng , which aims to homogenise music of the different ethnic groupings of South Africa , and this project is underpinned and informed by research,for promotion and preservation of indigenous ethnic cultures.

Medu-Nakeng was performed in March 2003 to an enthusiastic audience , the follow up thereof was in September 2004 where the attendances had grown . The 2005 performance is in October from the 5th – 8th.

A perfectionist by nature, his work reaches out to the top end of any market – a world-music aficionados dream, spiritual and meaty to the very last drum beat.

Composer, arranger, producer , poet, and vocalist, Tlokwe combines his musical skills with the natural talent that is showcased through his playing of a myriad of classical and contemporary instruments, mostly indigenous . Tlokwe is adept at playing dipela (mbira), lekope (setorotoro), mvet, meropa ya Afrika, percussion, guitar, flute and keyboards – all instrumental in bringing his socially aware messages to life , through song.

Influences for Tlokwe’s work all stem from the rich land that is Africa – music of Bapedi with West African influences with a selection of dialects including Sepedi, isiZulu, isiTsonga, Sesotho, isiNdebele and ki-Swahili. Always an artist with a bold approach, Tlokwe is not afraid to address political and social topics through his music, confronting the oppressors and guiding people toward more enlightened opinions. His first two albums spawned hits that reached the very core of mankind – songs with handsome depth and flowing rhythms.

A brief history:
 
Tlokwe grew up in Pretoria and studied Musicology at university.
Tlokwe has performed and collaborated with some of the countries top musicians, including Vusi Mahlasela, Pops Mohamed, McCoy Mrubata, Zim Mgqawana and Hugh Masekela.
- His first album, Naga Ya Fsa won the SAMA Award for Best Pedi Album in 2001 and he received a further two nominations for his second album Ba Utlwile.
- His third album a collection of live performances is called Mmino wa thaba, which is also the name of the genre of music he makes
He has toured India, Cameroon, Hungary, France and Germany , performing.
The Moses Taiwa Molelekwa Arts Foundation invited Sehume to give a lecture on the mvet , a Cameroonian chordophone, which he plays.
Tlokwe was also invited by UNISA to do a performance on indigenous African instruments when it was hosting an Indigenous Knowledge Systems Conference in September 2003.
He has an 11piece backing band , which he calls Medu , but he is able to perform with a smaller ensemble like a quartet ,from his backing band Medu.
Tlokwe performed at the Villa CeliMontana Jazz Festival in Italy recently , in a line up that included Miriam Makeba , Mankunku Ngozi , Marcus Wyatt, Tucan Tucan and others. This was the South African week in the three months long festival , where South African music was showcased.
Tlokwe does workshops around the country through his Medu Promotions educating and empowering potential musicians about indigenous music instruments craftsmanship and highlighting the importance of intellectual property.
Still through Medu Promotions Sehume does research into South African indigenous ethnic music of the different cultures.
A new album is in the offing , where Tlokwe is playing mostly acoustic instruments like mbira , mvet , meropa ya Afrika.

This infomation appears on Morena Sehume's website

 

IDASA House, Spin Street - Cape Town (22/10/2010)

Botsotso Poetry Journal; submissions welcomed

Botsotso is a grouping of poets, writers and artists who wish to both create art as well as to generate the means for its public exposure and appreciation. We speak particularly of art that is of and about the varied cultures and life experiences of people in South Africa as expressed in the many languages spoken and written in our country. Botsotso is committed to a proliferation of styles and a multiplicity of themes and characters. Multidisciplinary art forms and performances are similarly embraced. The transition from a closed, authoritarian society to a pluralistic and democratic one offers artists an opportunity to explore the truths of our inner and social lives with a freedom that has not existed before. Flowing from this, the consequences and lessons of Apartheid must still be examined while the challenges of the current period throw up their difficulties, their complexities. Botsotso works with interaction: the different elements of the South African mosaic colliding, synthesizing - affected both by social forces and the individual's uniqueness.

*To visit the site please click here: Botsotso

 

African Artists Unite As One

The screening of The Uprising of Hangberg: Tuesday 26 Oct, 18:15 at Labia on Orange

Photo: Antoinette Engel ©

A topical documentary created by Aryan Kaganof (Internationally acclaimed Film Maker & Artist), Dylan Valley (Award-winning Director of Afrikaaps) & Community Representative, Greg Louw
Directors in attendance. Screening to be followed by a fascilitated audince discussion.
Admission: R30 (portion of proceeds to go to community of Hangberg)
(021 424 5927) to book
www.hangberg.co.za

 

A blast from the past: Colonel Abrahams' "Trapped"

"...I guess they think that I'm not good enough for you.
I can tell the way they act and their attitudes.
As the tears roll from my eyes I feel the hurt inside.
As I reach out to you saying I'm so confused.
Oh
oh
I'm trapped
like a fool I'm in a cage.
I can't get out
you see I'm trapped..."

 

AMANI Arts Festival 2010

The system

They expect the money to trace back to someone, and it will.
Everything traces back to someone.
It is just the way the system was designed.

Deon S. Skade

Bra' Dennis Mpale remebered

Condition 4 in using Ixia Park, Milnerton

Condition 3 in using Ixia Park, Milnerton

Ek, skheberesh: A letter to Andile Mngxitama – by Aryan Kaganof

Dear Andile,

As a kid I was taught to fear God, hate kaffirs and love money. I failed at all three. Instead I sacrificed all of my potential at the altar of non-participation in a world predicated on cant and the illusion of free will. This sacrifice was my gift to the god I don’t believe in. But no matter how outside of the system one pretends to be we’re all secretly, mutely, legitimizing that system until that great day when we take up arms and storm the barricades. Well at least that’s how I feel on my up days. On my down days I can’t imagine anything more ludicrous than taking up arms and perpetuating the same old rise-decline and inevitable fall that all revolutions merely play out. Which is partly why I’m at the launch of a pamphlet style publication called New Frank Talk 6, written by Andile Mngxitama in critique of the way the South African government sold its people out in order to be taken seriously by the “international community” (read: “the whites”).

Now the first thing one does at these revolutionary meetings is look around for the spies. Anybody who gets there on time is suspicious, anybody actually early is obviously with the CIA. That would be the two earnest white ladies in their mid-twenties to my left, one of whom is frantically taking notes in longhand (don’t see much of that these days), the other one taking photographs of everyone else in the room using a camera implanted in what used to be her right eye. Her name’s probably Bionic Woman. Then there are the three gents dressed in smart tailored black at the back, their necks rotating constantly, they’ve been trained not to miss a beat and consequently give themselves away almost before their recording wires are pushed “ON”.

The meeting commences with comrade Athi Mongezeleli Joja introducing comrade Reamogetse Jah’key Dichabe who introduces comrade Andile Mngxitama. The poor CIA lady on my left is struggling so hard to spell these unpronounceable names that the sweat beads from her forehead drop onto her page leaving ugly blotches that only serve to make those unpronounceable names unreadable as well.

In front of me a youngish man makes a poignant entry into the debate. “It’s hard to speak in this country. It’s hard to stand up and speak. We still talk a foreign language.” Comrade Andile winces, he’s got no time for this language stuff that tastes like nostalgia to him, he only wants to move on with what’s good for all black people now. But I can hear my mentor Bra’ Geoff Mphakathi’s strident voice intoning “Go fitlhela re bua maleme a rona ga go sepe se se tla re lokelang!” (Until we speak our own languages we are lost!) and a part of me wants to break down and weep. The meeting of course is conducted in English, in order to communicate across tribal divides but fundamentally this means that the content of the discussion is sieved into a colonial form. Black revolution is framed in white words. The tongues are all speaking in His Master’s Voice… and it really doesn’t matter what they are saying, the staging of the debate in a colonial language means that the black revolution will always be the property of whites.

But comrade Mngxitama is little interested in these philosophical nuances of language that he considers beside the point which is to galvanize black people into action now. He is not here to bury Biko nor to praise him. “We don’t care about the history of heroes.” A sister from Paarl who clearly stems from Poqo royalty stridently (and somewhat wryly) declares, “Black people have been queueing for so long for everything, now we gonna queue for revolution?” And she has a good point. How long? Gibson Kente wrote back in the seventies. In The Bus Queue was a choir standard back in the days of King Kong. Generations of South African blacks have been patiently standing in this metaphorical queue, occasionally slipping into symbolic disorder, but by and large (and contrary to the received white vision of them as unruly and anarchic) exhibiting an incomprehensible patience. It’s not that they have the patience of Job, the blacks exhibit the patience of stone.

When we drive convoy to Tagores in Obs Comrade Thabo lets slip to Comrade Mngxitama and I that he’s in a mystical mode tonight and that might explain why Comrade Joja did his best to keep Comrade Thabo away from the mic all through the meeting. Me I’m less inclined to fall for the spiritualism schtick and more inclined to believe my nose that tells me Comrade Thabo has been spliffing some mighty herb before during and after that political meeting and those of us with rastaman vibrations in our veins know that good weed and hard politics are two sauces that simply don’t mix.

At Tagores Tete’s Mbambisa’s Umthsakazi is playing; that’s the rousing opener from his 1976 classic Tete’s Big Sound. This is music that tells you you are in South Africa. Wherever that may be. Tells you that you are home. Whoever you might be. The barman from Jamaica is as unfriendly as unfriendly gets. Well that’s all right with me. I always feel compromised when people are friendly. What do they want? There’s inevitably an angle. I keep my trap shut and furiously try to figure it out before the fast one gets pulled. On me? Not a chance. I’m too wys for that. Not born yesterday. Born 46 years ago in fact. That’s a long time. Since before Pa fell off the bus.

Upstairs at Tagores the smell of skyf is thick and sweet but the comrades have forgotten to tell the whites they’re not welcome. It’s an amazing thing to watch. The whites always colonize any space they are in. It’s happening right now here in Tagores. There are only two of them but gradually the sound of black fire diminishes until it is only the cackling of the white hen in the middle of the room that can be heard. Everybody else is holding their breath. Is it politeness that damns the blacks? Or do they really deep in their hearts believe that whites have something interesting to say? Actually you can’t even hold this colonizing tendency against the whites. Would you hold it against a frog that it croaks?

Of course the white lady talking used to be a sangoma and that’s when I lose my pickle. I mean really, what language did her ancestors talk to her in? She lets rip with a howler: “It was isiXhosa. I didn’t understand a word they were saying…” Lunatics. These are the kind of people that would not find one single white person out there in the world of humans to take them seriously, but here in the heart of our Blackwash tribe there is a polite silence while this chick simply rabbits on and on. She’s delivering a litany of digressions. I wonder to myself, despairingly, will she ever get to the point? She grins, “Well I’m glad I gave you some material. How do I get in touch with my schizophrenic voices?” At least she knows she’s mad. Do any of the Blackwash comrades know how mad they are? I mean if they were sane they would have thrashed this white lady to within an inch of her life! Beaten her right here and now in Tagores with their belts and their shoes and their caps and their sticks! Instead it’s more zoned out politeness. Blacks zone out when whites talk. They zone out like they do when they are waiting for a bus. They have infinite patience because they’re not all there. Oh yes their black bodies occupy volume in space. But their black minds simply vanish. They go into that place where most of the universe is hiding. It’s called – and not by any accident let me tell you – dark matter. Yes it is true, most of the universe consists of black people waiting for some white person to shut up!

But I’m not going to!

I’m not finished yet!

(This by why of an auto-critique, you see, I’m no bladdy exception to the rule motherfuckers!)

Why do blacks even bother to engage with whites? Here opposite me in Tagores with Tete Mbambisa’s Stay Cool blazing out the speakers this white academic is lecturing comrade Athi about his oppression. As if Athi doesn’t know that, and how, he’s oppressed. The white always assumes that he’s got the real goods to offer. The white always holds the keys to the kingdom of true knowledge that is denied the black a priori because of his blackness. I have known white men to drive through a township once without stopping and come out on the other end EXPERTS ON TOWNSHIP BEHAVIOUR. Man they will write a 457 page book about their encounter with township life, they will appear on national television in talk shows discussing their “ENCOUNTER” with the blacks! A white who spends ten minutes with a black is an immediate expert on race relations. A black who has spent his or her entire life negotiating the white world is always and only a spectator at the trough of the real, at best able to nod mutely at his or her own exclusion from the Ta Ta Ma Chance glistening at the end of the white rainbow. But still they sit there quietly, lapping up this white verbal garbage that is pouring out of this lady’s mouth at twice the speed of light, let alone sound. I mean this lady is TALKING FAST. At some point she says “My father talks a lot” and I say “I’m very surprised” and she does not get it, she simply lacks any layer of self-reflection, there is no irony in this white, no interiority, it is all and only this monstrous colonizing exertion of verbal force outwards into the room. It is simply what she is, beyond her sympathies with the blacks, and even her literal kinship with them, she can do nothing else but COLONIZE. That is what whites are. Colonizers. If you are going to be with them you are going to accept that and be colonized. That’s it.

For the white radical, black desperate people are a captive audience. No whites would ever bother listening to his/her shrill ranting. So what and who’s not? Ultimately my interest is purely aesthetic. This smoky room upstairs at Tagores is pulsating with history. Tete Mbambisa’s 1976 classic Black Hero’s is playing. All around me the black heroes of now are playing out their tragic part in this great tragedy called South Africa. Everything is heightened now. It feels like how real life should. Comrade Mngxitama laughs deeply and points at the burly brudda Joja, “Comrade Athi is not disciplined. That’s why the comrades put him among the white people.” Then I get it. The whole thing’s a fucken comedy after all. Black suffering is a spiritual thing. Comrade Thabo was right after all. Whites are there as an ordeal to go through in order to get to the other side of the wide road of the soul where they will find… A CHICKEN. But not just any chicken, a chicken that speaks indigenous languages!!! “Go fitlhela re bua….” Bra’ geoff’s majestic voice roars at me from out of the dark soul of the night. It’s time to go home.

But back at my car I discover that Comrade Thabo has left all the New Frank Talks as well as his backpack filled with the molotov cocktails, the 5D and the 7D as well as all the ammunition underneath my 2 year old daughter’s portable car seat. I heft the backpack over my shoulder and lug the box full of anti-white propaganda back into the nicely crowded Tagores where Tete Mbambisa’s heroic Demdese is now playing. Drop all the goetes off with comrade Phumzile who frowns and asks “What are you doing with our books and our bombs?”

“Heish Phumz, Comrade Thabo forgot them in the car…”

“Oh right, well thanks boss.”

So it goes…

Finally back home and listening to the great Tete Mbambisa’s Unity – the final track on that classic 1976 album, I wonder, have you ever noticed how one white person’s personal tragedy is always more important than the entire black condition?

respectfully
ak46


*This letter was first published on Book SA, and subsequently on the Kagablog.

 

Condition 2 in using Ixia Park, Milnerton

Chief Omoseye Bolaji on "Writing in the first person"

"There is a tendency for many “pundits” to assume that once a work is written in the first person,, it smacks of autobiography. It is a theory that can be pure balderdash, tosh. Dick Francis’ and his dozens of thrilling, convincing novels written in the first person – what fool would suggest such works are strongly autobiographical?" O. Bolaji.

*This quote first appeared in the review Chief Bolaji did on Aryan Kaganof's book, Uselessly, which was published on the Kagablog.

.

Condition 1 in using Ixia Park, Milnerton

Fatal flaws in Hector Kunene’s Through the Tunnel: An article by Pule Lechesa

Pule Lechesa

Hector Kunene has rightly been praised by many for his promising work, Through the Tunnel. However I am yet to read even one critical piece or essay on the book, which is a great disservice to the author. As a new author he deserves his work to be evaluated in a critical manner, not just praised in ignorant fashion.

We have always pointed out that no writer, no matter how good, is immune from criticism. Thomas Hardy for example is one of the greatest writers the world has ever seen with his world class novels; yet even when he was at the height of his powers and he published Jude the Obscure the critics in his enlightened society tore the work apart – it was a real ‘onslaught of vituperative criticism’ as Hardy himself described it whilst alive

It is tragic indeed that basically so many people at grassroots level hardly read in our (black African) society, no matter how educated they are; hence we have situations where works full of many mistakes are praised, whilst more sophisticated readers, and especially the scholars and critics, can identify these mistakes very easily. Through the Tunnel is full of such mistakes

Take page 38 for example (containing the poem ‘I will portray’). The mistakes on this page are quite horrific; or how else do we describe a situation where almost TEN spelling mistakes appear on just one page? Of course the most painful error here is the misspelling of ‘portray’ many times on this page; but there are others, like ‘highlights’ instead of ‘highlight’

In case some readers out there start thinking that this is a random mistake, the unfortunate fact is that the legions of mistakes in the book start even before the book formally begins! It is irritating enough that the poet engages in extreme self-praise even on the blurb and the error-strewn ‘Hector Kunene biography’. Indeed the page (page 3) is very embarrassing with so many illogical and syntactical mistakes.

Sentences such as ‘The poem Bloody corpuscles  is about alarming the use of the specific words when talking especially to the young ones’ and ‘His poems are mainly in English but he throws in Zulu poems...which are normally shared at occasionally’ are meaningless and will make the purists of the English language flinch with shock.

With logic also often thin on the ground, the perceptive reader is left perplexed on a regular basis as he or she reads this book. A poem like ‘Cheating Standard’ might well have a message, but one suspects that only the poet knows what it is. At the very end of the poem the poet tries to explain what it is all about, but we are still none the wiser, as we are confronted with another confusing, quite meaningless sentence – ‘This friend ended up having a baby with this guy whilst married to his wife few months after this poem was inspired’ (page 23)

What the hell is this? we wonder. Is ‘this friend’ male or female? Surely a male can not have a baby, so we assume it is a woman; but can a woman be married ‘to his wife’ as the rest of the sentence ‘explains’? And how can all this (the betrayal) have happened months AFTER the poem was inspired? Doesn’t the poet mean that his poem was inspired after this betrayal? No matter how you look at it, there is no coherence here.

Indeed it is a common mistake with people who use languages like English formally whilst writing, to want to flaunt their knowledge, and hence they often go off in a tangent, and end up in a confused muddle. Additionally there are problems with similar sounding words which often lead some writers to add to their mistakes.

Alas, such is the case in Through the Tunnel too. There is no point in pointing out dozens of such mistakes in this book, but two shall suffice here. On page 17 the poet wants to write ‘at first sight it was’ but ends up writing ‘site’; again on page 37,(line 6) he confuses ‘live’ with ‘leave’ and ends up writing ‘you live me in a state...’

The desire for the poet to display his ‘flair for words’ often ends in confusion and embarrassment, as we have pointed out. The ‘big words’ hardly go hand in hand with common sense or real poetry. In the poem ‘Paradigm in paradise’ we can only assume that the poet, whilst showing the world that he knows such a ‘big’ word, is amusing himself, but not the intelligent reader. Lines such as ‘perpetual lifestyle sarcastic to the ancestors who fought’ are in no way poetry.

That the poet is confident, very confident, is clear enough from the book; but the problem is when this confidence strays into the arena of arrogance which should not be tolerated. Indeed in more enlightened societies a poem like ‘Gays and games’ (page 32) would land the poet in serious trouble from countless quarters!

One can only shake one's head sadly at this juncture, realising that the hoary statement ‘if you want to hide something from a black man put it in a book’ might well be true. Or how do we explain a poem like ‘Gays and games’ in this modern world? The disdain and arrogance of the poet shines through in lines like ’Gays and games or lesbians and less beings’? Again the poet makes a mistake here, as he clearly wants to write ‘lesser beings’ – but the effect is still the same; a very dangerous, insensitive poem.

Time and again, it has been shown that the best poets, whilst writing in English as a mother tongue, or as a ‘foreign language’ focus on a coherent message, with brilliant imagery, at least. Good poetry is not about big words or trying to sound clever – that is why even in the Free State the likes of Lebohang Thaisi will continue to be respected for their brilliant simplicity and lyricism in their published poetry. One can only hope that Mr Hector Kunene will try to focus less on ‘sounding bombastic and clever’, and more on writing moving poetry that will linger in the mind.

* Pule Lechesa, often referred to as the foremost literary critic in the Free State, is the author of critical books like Four Free State Authors, and The evolution of Free State Black Literature

Busi Mhlongo's Babhemu

Ixia Park, Milnerton - 09/10/2010

In conversation with the Ill-Human-Nati Getuies

Dmus and Maniak on the album cover

The Mexicano Restaurant in Bloem Street is what I may term an afterthought venue to conduct an interview with Dmus and Maniak of the vivacious Rare-Hop group Ill-Human-Nati Getuies. It's an interview that almost did not happen with this Cape Town based duo, as we only confirmed that we're meeting on the same day of the interview. I can only blame myself for that as we had spoken a few weeks earlier about the meeting, which I could not follow through due to other engagement. Fortunately, I have my voice recorder in the bag on the day we meet and do not fuss at all about the camera I don't have. I remember my camera phone and feel sufficiently equipped, at least for the basics.

We meet in Long street which is already growing with exuberance; two fellows who have an unassuming presence about them. Dmus is quick to smile, while Maniak appears reserved. I suggest Mexicano for our meeting and they both don’t have a problem with the idea.

After ordering refreshments, I introduce myself again and share the purpose of the interview. They both don't have a problem with it as with their initial agreement on the telephone a few weeks earlier. Dmus' easy smile makes me feel at home, like I'm a brother in the same course. Maniak keeps a vigilant face, a display I later dismiss as a mere phlegmatic expression and nothing more.

'How did the name ill-human-Nati Getuies come about?' I ask them. I had been dying to find out. Perhaps there's an association to the infamous theory of the Free Masons.
‘‘Ill’ means skill,’ says Dmus discarding my preconceptions.
'Like in the rap slang,' adds Maniak with a warm expression.
‘And ‘Human’ is for human being. And Nati is a Xhosa word for ‘us’. So we’re Getuies, Ill-Human-Nati Getuies,’ says Demus with a proud smile.
‘And what’s the essence of Sintuie?’ I enquire.
From there our conversation glides on. These fellows know what they are all about and express their ideas and motivation to work with an infectious passion - I'm totally taken by their charisma.

Maniak: Sintuie means ‘sense’.  All the things we tackle we do so with our senses.  It can also mean brother’s keeper or witness.

Deon: How long have you guys been together as a duo?

Dmus: It’s going to be four years now.

Maniak: And in the four years we’ve opened for The Wailers when they were here. And two other groups called The Rudimentals and Black Market.

Deon: Who else have you guys worked with on this and other project?

Dmus: We performed with Black Market, three guys coming together and trying new stuff with music, you know. One plays the organ and the keyboard – Experimental thing yah.
This band was looking for a vocalist. In fact, they were particularly looking for MC’s. It’s something different you know. It’s like a bit of James Brown; a different type of sound you know.

Maniak: And we even performed at the FIFA Fan Fest as well as a couple of other places with Beat Bangers and Black Noise.

Deon: Is this the first album release?

Dmus: No, this is not our first album. This would be the first album we release in the mainstream. We would like to get it into music stores. We want to advertise it on a big scale too.

Maniak: We had an album before this one and it was very underground. That one was called Getuiness, the message.

Deon: How did Getuiness do in terms of appeal and sales performance?

Dmus: We just released a few CDs on the underground level, you know. Just to get the people to know the music and to make them know there’s a group called Getuies coming out soon.
We’re going to press around hundred CDs of that album so that we can re-introduce ourselves, you know.

Deon: How did Sintuie come about and what do you call the music that you do?

Maniak: We decided to do the Sintuie album and did not want to share only the message with the listeners; we wanted them to have also fun. You can either dance to it or you can just listen to the tracks. That’s the concept we used to create it. We also created a new genre. We call it Rare-Hop. It’s like hip hop and reggae fusion.

Dmus: We also used different types of beats that listeners can dance to.

Deon: How is the album doing at the moment?

Dmus: Yoh! It’s like there’s a demand for that sound man.

Maniak: That’s why we also wanted to create a better album with Sintuie, cause we really wanna take it out there, you see.

Deon: I imagine it’s very challenging to do all the things related to the album on your own. How has the journey been for you guys?

Maniak: It’s been tough but we put everything in it because the more dedicated you are about your stuff, the further you’ll take it.

Dmus: And at the end of the day you learn every time when you do that. It’s like okay, next time when we print CDs we should know whether they will sell or not. For example, if you print 100 CDs or so, you should already know how many people are going to buy those discs. You must have maybe 30 or 40 people waiting to buy the album already, you know.

Dmus and Maniak keepin' it real

Deon: So this means that you guys need to strategise better for this venture to be successful?

Dmus: Yeah.

Maniak: At the same time we have to like write new material. We have to create new beats all the time. We also have to perform and have our paperwork together – it’s a lot of work. We also have to go out and sell the music on top of that.

Dmus: That’s why we try to work some stuff out. For example, we say Maniak you’re gonna work on the beats. And I’m gonna sell the stuff; you know what I’m saying.

Deon: It’s a lot of work then?

Maniak: Yah it is! Sometimes we go to radio interviews at 10 at night, and we have to use the train to get there and don’t even have means to get back home – Everything is crazy.

Dmus: These are the sacrifices we have to make my bru.

Deon: What drives you to go through such challenges then?

Dmus: I think it’s the love for the music, even the love for our people that drives us to get our stuff out there.

Maniak: And the thing is we also wanna prove that it doesn’t mean that where you come from is where you have to end up. If you really want something to happen and you put an effort in it, it can happen. We’ve been though a lot of negative stuff as well, but now it’s like yoh! We’ve seen all the negatives and went through it all. So we try to be positive.

Dmus: This is also to counter the next negativity that may come our way. When it comes we like, hey! come on let’s work it my bru. The more you focus on the positive things the negative won’t touch you.

Deon: So what you’re saying is that your past experiences have helped shape you to be who you are today?

Dmus: Yah! That’s basically what it’s all about, because we’ve dealt with a lot of stuff individually, and now we’re together and are still dealing with stuff. We learn to counter those things.

Maniak: For example, this past weekend I was in Mitchell’s Plain. I was with my old friends I hadn’t seen in a long time due to being busy with music. They respect me for taking a step forward. They know I came out from where they also came from, and there’s a difference in me because those were also my circumstances.

Dmus: They don’t understand how he came out of that situation. I was also going through stuff like that. Music also changed me, you know. It’s like yoh! I wasn’t away for a long time from my ghetto, but the gap of where I was and where I got to was big when I came back from recording some stuff with Grenver Williams for High Voltage Entertainment; he produced Goddesa.  We worked with cats from Switzerland and they released Rogue State of Mind, a project where cats from Cape Town met cats from Switzerland. I was also working on a solo album at the time called 360 Degrees of Music. People are not to be blamed for the opportunities they don’t see. And sadly those opportunities they don’t see make them turn to negative things which surround them all the time. That is why they are stuck there. It’s like they look through a small hole while there’s a bigger view around, you know what I’m saying. And I’m thinking yoh! My bru; check where I was before. I’m still in Cape Town but it changed my way of thinking as well just by getting out of that psychological chamber, you know what I’m saying.

Dmus and Maniak calling for peace

Deon: What inspires your music?

Maniak: There’s a lot of my music that’s inspired by the fact that when I was born it was still apartheid era. Maybe I was fourteen when apartheid ended. So in other words like they say with children; the first five years of a kid’s life is very important. So it’s like till fourteen you were told you can’t do this or that because people were limited by the system. So now you get to a certain age and they say hey, everything is free and it’s liberation and stuff. But you were already moulded and were a victim of that system that limited you in everything.

Dmus: So, it becomes a serious task in getting you out of that state of mind.

Maniak: There was no government thingie to help those people get over that because a lot of people were still stuck in that mindset and they carried it over to their children. They are limited now without even knowing because they are not educated enough. The children grow up with the same thing and it carries on and on. And now people go like: ‘hey these kids are crazy.  Why are they like this? Everything is free – they are crazy.’ They forget that they inflicted the wounds on the people and were cruel. And there was no rehabilitation for that, you see. That is why it is really difficult, especially for the coloured community. And that is why they are behind and doing drugs because it’s confusing.
There are couple of songs where I talk about this stuff, you see. And I can’t blame my brothers for even acting the way they do; robbing, killing and shooting cause that’s the only thing they know. They’re also frustrated because there are no answers to their questions.

Dmus: There basically is but they are not surrounded by positive things. So they are leaving a certain amount of people with those questions without giving them any answers my bru. How are they going to deal with all those questions, you know what I’m saying. So now they can’t answer any question and they say: ‘kyk hier, we’re going to live like this now’.

Maniak: And that is going to create more wars because it grows so rapidly

Deon: Talking of that, your music has got such a strong message that seems to articulate the frustrations of the community. Was that your aim when you created this sound?

Dmus: Yah! That’s basically it. There are a lot of people who know a lot of stuff man. People who know certain things in the ghetto, you know. But they don’t get the opportunity to practise that.

Maniak: Even if there’s a good thing that wanna come out of that it will be very difficult for it to get out because it is surrounded by the same negative things.

Deon: Still on the issue of articulating the frustrations of the community. What do you guys think of the Hangberg shootings?

Dmus: My bru, people have lived there all the years. And suddenly there are new plans coming down and they somma want the people to go. Where should the people go? It’s not fair man!

Deon: Back to the music; why did you guys not approach the record company for your new album but instead chose to do it on your own?

Dmus: Kyk hier, record companies suck people dry my bru. They show you the money, but you don’t get it all. Kyk hier, they show you that there’s a million rand, but my bru; believe me you won’t get that million rand. When it comes to you, you only gonna get about R500 000 (chuckles) where’s the rest my bru? The lawyers and all the people must be paid and stuff, you know.

Maniak: We didn’t want to do that because it’s like we put in a lot of work and energy into our music, (Dmus emphasises energy) and everything in it because we love it. It’s become like our kid and we don’t want anyone to take care of our kid - we can do it ourselves.

Deon: So you’ve got big plans with this album?

Dmus: Yah! Because at the end of the day it’s not only for us man. It’s a lot of people who are depending on us for survival. You know they depend on our breakthrough.

Maniak: We’re now in labour pains; call it that. And something beautiful is going to be born. We feel we’re in the last couple of months to the big day.

Dmus: When things start to happen for us, there would be a lot of work created by us for others.

Deon: So you’re really doing this thing?

Maniak: Yah, we can make our own stuff and create our own market.

Dmus: We wanna create our own system within the system man; you know what I’m saying (laughs)

Maniak: I even went to Khayelitsha and Nyanga, and performed with some guys there. We were eating spitbraai and I felt wow! What could be keeping us from such things? We can take this to the next level, but we need help and the people who see the bigger picture because in the system there’s also corruption and everything else.

Dmus: For now we need to give out mos, in order to get mos; we can’t just come and take. Because we want to show others who come after us that this thing is possible.

Maniak: We’d like to believe that things happen for a reason. And the way stuff has been happening for us you can see there’s been a natural power involved. And we don’t even do this for the money but for the next generation. The money is just the accessory from the real thing.


Deon: How has the reception of your music been like in your area?
 
Maniak: It’s difficult for me to walk around the streets sometimes. One day we were in the newspaper and it was front page. We thought that the lady was going to make it second or third page; we were on front page.

Dmus: I have to hide when out in the streets my bru. Now people think we have money.

Deon: And the sales of the album; how is that coming along?

Maniak: We sold a lot. We took some of them to taxi ranks.

Deon: Do you guys get sponsorship for your videos?

Dmus: We do them ourselves man. At the end of the day we’re like, yoh! We did it.

Maniak: And we learn all of that by just doing. I’m also surprised with what we do. When I look back at what we did I’m like yoh! We did this my bru it’s hectic!

Deon: How did you guys end up working with Emile from Black Noise?

Dmus: We performed a lot and thought there’s a calling for the music and the things we do man. He was working on a project and he did not think of some other people he could work with but us.

Maniak: Because he knows our type of music. You can see our music is us.

Dmus: And it’s hard to get that from other people man. Artists and the music are not the same. One person asked me once on what I was doing with my dreams and I said haai man! I’m living my dreams.

Deon: Good one. Do you guys ever perform outside Cape Town?

Dmus: No, we haven’t performed outside Cape Town yet.

Maniak: But they gonna take us to George on the 4th of November.

Deon: Are there any artists you would like to work with?

Dmus: I would like to work with Proverb and that cat from Blk Sonshine. What’s his name?

Deon: Neo Muyanga?

Dmus: Yeah man! That’s the guy.

Deon: And you Maniak?

Maniak: Locally, there’s this one guy, his music is really good; Simon Witbooi. They call him Simon Silence Witbooi. He’s converted but he’s an MC. And he talks about heavy stuff. He actually won an award at the Hip Hop Indaba. He’s very good at free-styling.

Dmus: I would also like to do a track with Damian Marley.

Deon: Lastly guys, how much are your CDs selling for?

Dmus: Sintuie is R100 and Getuieness R60.

Deon: And how do music lovers get hold of these CDs?

Dmus: There’s gonna be two stores in Cape Town that will be selling our music. One is South African Music Shop. I don’t remember the other one.

Deon: I would like to take this opportunity to thank you guys for your valuable time and great interview. Good luck with all your future plans.

Dmus: Aah! Thank you man!

Maniak: Thanks man!

For enquiries and CD sales contact the group at: getuies@gmail.com and riskodmus@gmail.com
You may also join them on Facebook to view their videos and listen to their music.

© Deon Simphiwe Skade

Hacked all the way from China, at least according to the report below

The Uprising of Hangberg

Bo-Kaap, Cape Town - 21/09/2010

Rooted from the heart with gusto: An article by Flaxman Qoopane

An anthology of poetry “Rooted from The Heart” by poet Nthabiseng (Jah-Rose) Jafta, has been launched at a glittering gala dinner at the Café Society, Waterfront in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

The Master of ceremonies was Itumeleng Modise who is a well known comedian. Speaking at the launch of the book of her daughter, Matselane Jafta, from Phelindaba Location in Mangaung said: “As the family of Jafta, we are happy to be invited to be part of the launch of the book of my child”

Goitsemang Pholo, from the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation in the Free State rendered inspirational words. He said he felt it was important for him to be part of the launching of the book of Jah Rose. “The achievement of the poet will motivate many young women in the Province to follow the footsteps of Jah Rose.”

Flaxman Qoopane, veteran poet, journalist and author presented a speech and connected Nthabiseng Jafta with quotations of other female poets.

The book reviewer and the seller was Hector Kunene, the well known poet and columnist. The highlight of the occasion included the performances by the female guitarist and singer Belinda Van Zweindrech, actor Alcapone Pieterson, Dela-Zee, Peace Jafta a popular soloist and poet Lebogang Motloung.

Jah Rose entertained, educated and inspired the audience with her performance of some of her poetry. In conclusion, Jah Rose thanked the management of the Café Society and the staff for giving her the venue for the book launch. She also thanked everybody who contributed to the success of the launch of her anthology “Rooted

(c) Flaxman Qoopane


This article first appeared on Raselebeli Khotseng's blog

Paul Hanmer's Trains To Taung

Larry Heard (aka Mr Fingers) Music Mix

Larry Heard aka Mr Fingers

 

 

"Hi, This is Ray Dilla and you're listening to Mr Fingers Music Mix; unique sound for unique individuals"

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Church Street, Bo-Kaap - Cape Town (05/10/2010)

Botsotso Poetry Evening at Lobby Books

Date: 13 October 2010
Time: 18:00
Venue: Lobby Books, 6 Spin Street (Cape Town CBD)
Featured Artists: Liesl Jobson, Cosmas Mairosi, Aryan Kaganof, Zizipo Mgobo, Suzy Bell, Deon S. Skade, Kai Lossgott , etc

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Hangberg March, Hout Bay - 03/10/2010

Hundreds of concerned citizens joined a march in protest of the brutalities and mayhem shown by the police on the residents of Hangberg, Hout Bay. In spite the heat of the day, they marched on demanding justice.
Old pertinent issues of housing were very much visible as depicted above.
(Below are more photos from event)

Koeberg Road, Milnerton - 03/10/2010

Georgia Anne Muldrow on being alone

"They are afraid of being alone. That's why people are afraid of dying
- it's not the death, it's being alone," Georgia Anne Muldrow


Interviewed here

Would it matter?

Who?

What?

Where?

When?

How?

Otherwise, it would not matter.

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Thandiswa Mazwai's brilliance at the PASS event

Thandiswa Mazwai has redefined the sound that had already been top class in her two previous album releases. Now, it has eased into an organic flow of a genre we may call her own; except I would not want to name it - it may be best that it remains unnamed. I presume it may upset her apple cart too, knowing how much energy she's been putting in creating the music. The last thing she may need would be someone trying to define her art on her behalf.
This constant redefinition was inspiringly evident in her performance at the Pan African Space Station event held at the Slave Church in Cape Town on 01 October 2010.

Performing with a three piece band that comprised of a double bass player, a keyboardist and a drummer, all of whom were treading on a very high musical plane, gave an unforgettably charged show.
Miss Mazwai was charting a new path with this amazing band. Both her vocals and stage presence elegantly navigated the ensemble into a sanctuary that even the audience was allowed to share in. Her range as a performer has reached an impressive level of aesthetics. If one may draw parallels between last night's PASS performance with one of the earlier shows she did, like the 2006 edition of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, which I think was extremely remarkable, I'd say: she had been taking giant leaps.

The songs she performed were given a life possessed by the approving spirits of ancestors; all whom she paid homage to with grace and style during the show.
This small piece of writing is by no means an analysis of her incredible music. It is but a heartfelt acknowledgement of the beauty her music is. She's indeed one of Africa's brightest stars.
May she be blessed with more abundance and artistic prosperity - Ithongo livumile!

© Deon Simphiwe Skade

Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow in South Africa

 

Going up: Bo-Kaap, Cape Town - 01/10/2010

Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dudely Perkins' perfomance at PASS - 30/09/2010

Georgia Anne Muldrow, Dj G and Dudely Perkins (Declaime) rocking the Albert Hall

Watching Georgia Anne Muldrow perform live with her partner, Dudely Perkins, is like watching two gods sing. The clarity in their voices makes for a mesmerising experience.

Muldrow finds no effort in hitting the highest note, which she easily allows to descend to the lowest one when the music encourages so, only to raise it again. These elevations carry impeccable crispness and clarity. Her free-form singing puts her in a musical class of her own, and the same can be said of Perkins' deliverance.
The pace of his flow, together with the tone and content of his voice make for a stunning listening experience.

They have an amazingly inspirational chemistry that discards any wonder one may have on how they manage to produce so much music. It is evident that their passion carry them through as they rightfully said at the Pan African Space Station in Cape Town.
They are thus an important ingredient to the success of music in pointing it to the right direction, as it also continues to redefine itself. I celebrate their brilliance with exuberance!

Deon Simphiwe Skade