FIVE 75 Where youth culture lives
Looking forward
Issue 09
December 2018
The art of being yourself
Nonkululeko Sibande
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1. Your brain on social media 5. What’s next? 13. Karabo Utloa 17, Budgeting for December 23. Nonkululeko Sibande 39. Grow & glow in 2019 43. Global Citizen festival 49. Five music 55. V8 61. Hustler’s corner 65. The Request by Tsholofelo Molosi
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Five Squad Editor in Chief
Lawrence Adams
Design
Nkanyezi Gumede
Cover story photography Blacklit Media
Contributors
The Bluetick Mindset Five 75
Bokang Shika Dawn Barendse Lawrence Adams Nkanyezi Gumede Rethabile Kau Tsholofelo Molosi
Guest contributors Karabo Utloa
To advertise @we_are_ five_75
Lawrence Adams 074 853 3702
Editor’s note
December is very tricky. We know as a country that morals, budgets, and sobriety are things to be concerned with from January to November. In December we are living our best lives and siya mosha, we let loose and live in the present. Flings flourish and relationships are put on hold. This month we are looking at creative ways to keep within your budget, we explore the theme of self improvement as we head into the new year and we also look at how the new year and your new year’s resolutions affect your hustle. We ang out with Nonkululeko Sibande, an artist who uses hair as subject and medium to comment on the way women – and more especially black women – are represented in different spheres of society. She tells us all about how she feels about art, hair and her connection with the township. and we are also telling you about a substance you might be addicted to, spoiler alert: it has something to do with Dopamine and Social media. Peace and love
Biggie
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DOPAMINE noun
a compound present in the body as a neurotransmitter and a precursor of other substances including adrenaline.
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o I bet you are asking yourself “Where does FIVE 75 and it’s writers get the liver, the unmitigated gall to call me an addict?” Well you probably are, all thanks to your device and a small invention called “Social Media” What exactly is Dopamine? Dopamine is a molecule produced naturally and is behind our dreams and biggest secrets. Dopamine drives love,
lust, infidelity, attention and addiction to name a few. But it is the relationship between Dopamine and pleasure that we are mostly interested in. The question going through your mind at this moment is probably “ so… where does this relate to me?” There’s almost a 100% chance that you do use Social media and research shows that the use of social media releases high dopamine levels. Somehow sharing, liking, reacting
and comment to brands, people and communities gives you a high. The mixture of pleasure, reward and instant gratification is what has made social media such a hit.
So why is it bad?
Well people get a false sense of fulfilment. The mystery in when it will ping and who it will be from is enjoyable. Dopamine is the reward
hormone and the more you slide into dms, respond and be savage the more you get rewarded and it becomes an endless cycle of searching for gratification because it is short lived. Like the cool kids say old school is the new school, lets dumb it down a bit to calling someone when you want to talk to them, setting up appointments and having one to one heart to heart conversations
What’s next? Written by Nkanyezi Gumede Picture by Dmitri Popov
“You have more control over your own life than you would think”
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o you’ve done it. You’ve finished school or you degree or you’ve been promoted, you’ve moved onto the stage of your life. You’ve had a bit of a discovery and you’ve got no idea what to look forward to. You’ve got no idea what’s coming up next.
and unfortunately you can’t just click the “i” button to see what’s on your path in the new phase of life that you’ve just stepped into. It happens to the best of us. I like to think of it as a perk of being young. You still have the free reign to not know what you’re doing and be okay with it.
Your life is not a DSTV channel after all so there is no scheduled viewing
So don’t despair and don’t hesitate... To make big decisions, move to
different provinces or even countries, to love new people, to get rid of toxic ones, to start a business or to continue going to school. The beauty of individuality is that at the end of the day all this is your choice. You have a larger amount of control over your own life than you would think and that control can be exercised for your benefit or for your detriment. Be careful
As a fellow “what’snext”er I can give you but a few tips that, no matter what you’re doing next you should remember in order to survive.
1.
Never ever compare yourself to anyone else. That is guaranteed to kill you or at least your self esteem. You are running in your own lane and you’re not in a race so don’t mind anyone else’s pace.
2.
Don’t be scared to admit that you don’t know what’s going on, that is the first step to figuring it out and learning to deal with it. Eventually you’ll find that not knowing means you’ll have found an opportunity for growth and who would turn down one of those?
3.
The people you surround yourself with will make you so choose wisely. All the people in our lives contribute our environment and our environment makes up a substantial part of our worldview and our aspirations. So choose to be around the motivated, the driven, the hungry, the loving, the laughing, the giving and the ones you want to be like
4. 5.
Don’t say yes to everything that comes your way. Better yet, learn to say no. A friend of mine said to me while we were having a philosophical discussion that “going with the flow often leads you to places you don’t want to be in” so learn to say no (I’m struggling with this one myself so I’ll be learning along with you).
Be adaptable. Change is scary, I know. Especially when you’ve made a plan and life refuses to stick with it. That’s when you’ve got to know to adapt. You’ve got to adjust and sometimes to compromise. Things will definitely not always go the way you planned, in fact, most of the time they won’t so be ready to change your course as and when you need to
en br yo cap ave bu u s su . Sk ad t th urg late a w a p mi at e a s al ara pe ro t th you hea l of nt so op blem at y go d w the wa an me le w t ou fo ith ab na tri d m tim ho hat do r w out ov you lo es os es can ari n’t hat fea e. B ’ve se to tly yo s k , y th y u’ he es i now you r of eing got th ou ro ou ll n lp n w a b n o o ’ll w ’ll ee yo rd r an yt rav is. ha up ha d u g er do t w hi e Th ve at ve to et to n’t ith ng do is gr yo to say wh gr ha th or esn ste ow u a no ere ow ve a e r any ’t m p d . n. Bu ap t . e o t a t t o t you You solu adi ne ean t t o e he n b ti ne he ac m ee rin on ss en h s or d to g i fo to d pik th go n th r of e it e th ir id an e d al e l, ro eas wi ad n or
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Don’t make the mistake of thinking that life is one big puzzle you need to have figured out at once. It’s okay to get to a junction and not know which direction to take next. The key is to take a step then another and another and suddenly you’ll be running.
Cool people on Five presents
Karabo Utloa Miss Commonwealth finalist 2018
Local beauty, Karabo Utloa (25), has competed and placed Top 4 in the Miss Commonwealth South Africa 2018 pagaent on the 8th of December at the Summerplace Boutique hotel in Lambton, Germiston. Miss Commonwealth South Africa, a charity pageant and leadership program, opens doors for young ambassadors creating a new dawn for a generation of royals that will bring about transformation in South Africa.
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he was sponsored by various organisations including King LP Studios, Blacklit Media, Kusini Water and her circle of friends and family. The Notable work from Utloa’s campaign included: #YouGhatThis student exam support campaign sponsored by Kusini Water and in association with Wits SAICE Student Chapter that successfully set a sustenance and hydration station at
the 3rd and Final Year study centre of School of Civil Engineering, Wits University.
on the Noordwester Newspaper on 14/12/2018 #BlackFridayforCharity set up a toiletry stokvel with her colleagues to support Linen, Book, and Toy Drive the Shoebox Campaign that collected items to ran by Vision2020. 12 donate to the Leretlhabetse shoeboxes each filled with Victim Empowerment a toothbrush, toothpaste, centre in Letsopa, Ottosdal facecloth, soap bar and North West. A centre that deodorant were donated to raises awareness about, The Emfuleni Shelter for caters for and supports Boys in Vanderbijlpark. victims of crime and domestic violence, mostly She featured on local women and children. The radio stations Thetha FM drive’s success was featured , Hope FM and VUT FM,
she was invited to speak at the Elev8 Youth Ministry Career Talk at Word of Life Church in Arconpark, Big Little Steps Kasi Success Talks held at the Orange Farm Library. She attended the Nelson Mandela organisation’s IsiThunzi Sabafazi tribute and was invited to the #NoExcuse talk to join the fight against gender based violence in Roshnee. The pageant’s main focus was the development of young women in
South Africa. The organisation hosted a series of self-awareness and empowerment workshops for finalists. Miss Commonwealth SA and finalists helped hand out awards at the SA Men’s Awards at Carnival City as well as hosted an “I define myself ” session in Boksburg for 60 girls from the Kwa-Thema, Soweto, Zingce Foundation NPO of Katlehong where Karabo Utloa presented her #PoweroftheSash exercise
that probes young women to become self-aware and build their personal brands. Through the Miss Commonwealth South Africa Pageant, and with the support of all who believed in her and her, Utloa says she “took the opportunity to be moulded and edified, to become a charity ambassador who added value to the lives of those in need. It was also a stepping stone to learn and hone her skills and follow her dreams.”
Budgeting for December
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This article does not constitute as financial advice of any type it is an article on being street wise this December.
ecember is one big loop of saturdays that will not end. There are parties on almost a daily basis, friends to meet, weddings to attend and outfits to buy beacuse you have to look presentable all the time because you never know whats gonna happen or where you will end up. December needs a considerable amount of money because everything is happening simultaneously and there has to be contingencies for the things we don’t see coming. Now how does one prepare for something we know happens every year?
Saving
Well first way to prepare for Dezemba (the way of life) is to save money. All those unnecessary things you splurged on that you don’t use or no longer know what to do with are the things you should have opted not to buy. But if you didn’t save ska wara (don’t worry) we still got you.
Phuza abanye abantwana Well because Dezzy (December) is already here and vele it’s too late for you to save right now you’ll need to improvise. If you’re a woman get snatched and go get your party on and if you are a guy o momarele moreki (stay close to the person who is buying the alcohol) even if you are the one sent to go and get/buy ice don’t worry just be happy that you are partying.
Gazatta
When you are young and you and your friends can’t scream “Dankie Mali, dankie mpilo” you can still do something called “Gazette’ing” (contributing) to buy alcohol, paying transport and accommodation.
Protect your pocket from thirsty people There are those friends who mize (ignore) you when you speak about contributing. It is important that you put yourself and your December experience first. So make sure you guard your coolerbox from thirst this December by making it clear to them that ba tla nwa mmetsi (they will drink water) or o tla phuphura di ice (he will eat ice)
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NONKULULEKO SIBANDE Written by Nkanyezi Gumede
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as r ai isite h s qu ion e us ex ntat in o ke se en m h a re ev fro e w h m t p r tr is to re and he ly. S did a rk he rt in al e n o t a d ic h si a r w of ne dde em re s e he try fi be ad he d n in en in m ac w a ib ect m ia, as e e it urg S ’ bj om ed w lor sb y ay n su c m art xp ne s n o nd ial he re e an to N s ‘ a oc t t he to Joh o m s u w er f ha k e o o e sh ul ediu nd ugh eto ed h ity l t a ku m l a ro Sow rt l ers ct. h n w o th ica th in f a niv bje t o u b olit en up e o U su o e d e m v p o ew lo th th un w gr e at in o f k he Th rt e d c n la . S d. A gre a b r e s e of ort hoo Fin ’s d he th sp ild ed our i i ch ud on tw u o st er h g n h u eh W
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What do you think is the most profound thing art can teach us? Personally I think visuals speak to everyone, they’re a language we all understand despite age or race. Every artist tries to comment on social issues through their art. So it’s very easy for an artist to comment on these complex matters through visuals. Zapiro’s cartoons for example don’t require too much effort to understand.
What is the message would you want to send through your art? Well I am speaking about black South African women and the relationship between themselves and their hair and dealing with the representation of black women throughout history whether in the media or sports or whatever it may be and for some odd reason the black woman is always in the background. I saw this when I initially started on my work through referencing historical paintings. The black woman was always in the background with their hair being one of those racial markers that were especially suppressed. So my question is why must something that is my identity, my DNA, something that grows naturally be adjusted so that I can be accepted by western standards?
What element of your work makes it your own? I’ve got 8 aunts on my dad’s side who all happen to be hair dressers, so this hair thing is just in my family. In my third year drawing class I decided that rather than doing regular portraits of them I’d draw them the way I see them using hair as both subject and material because they love hair and they’re all about hair. I took a hair piece and cut into the kind of hair clumps you find on the floor after getting a haircut. I used those clumps to draw those portraits. I tapped into different issues in order to disrupt the norm.
What do you think people feel when they look at your work? That’s difficult to say because I’ve had a bunch of people come up to me and express different opinions about my work so I can’t generalise about how they feel. But I’ve noticed that the same black girl I’m speaking about will come up to me and express how much they relate to what it is I’m trying to say through my art. There is a wide perception that when black women relax their hair they are trying to be more white and honestly that’s not the case. Hair with black kids has even represented a right of passage for little girls because parents would be so protective over their children that they would not be allowed to do certain hairstyles. Once you were allowed to choose your own hairstyles you are seen as a woman. You’re grown up. These are things that aren’t always understood.
How has that worked out for you so far? I can definitely say that my work has spoken to the correct people because I’m currently working on a project for school girls which was inspired by the Pretoria Girls High School debacle. A lot of girls go through this experience where their natural state has to be altered for them to fit in and be accepted by the school which has a very big and very negative influence on their self esteem.
How much of an influence do you think art has on your life? I’ve always been a creative kid. I hardly went out as a child. I grew up on a farm so yeah there wasn’t much going out to do so I stayed inside with my creativity
Who are your biggest influencers? There is a Nigerian photographer that I had been studying for my thesis named Okhai Ojeikere who documented Nigerian hairstyles throughout history. His take was that he was intrigued by the Nigerian woman’s creativity and their take on the Nigerian political climate of the time Lorna Simpson, an American artist, is another one. She speaks more about the representation of women in society which is also an issue that I am tackling though hair. Locally there is a woman named Lebohang Motaung from APS which is a private art institution. She talks about a similar theme. I have studied her work quite closely.
The township has had a really big influence over your art and your life so are you trying to bring fine art to the township? No. I think I’m projecting to the world not only what we are but what goes on in the township. I feel as though the black man has always been spoken for and never has a chance to tell his story. We are always spoken for even in school textbooks and so as an artist art is the only time where you get to speak for yourself
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ith the new year almost upon us, it is time to evaluate 2018 in its entirety – I heard it has been the worst year to date (I agree!) – learn from it and move forward to greater and better things in 2019, this includes beauty, skills and looks. Despite 2018 draining the life out of each and every one of us, it did give us bomb beauty trends. Let’s keep the same energy in 2019. We got the fluffy eyebrow, the bold eyeshadow looks – yellow, orange, the works – the bold blush and of course, the blinding highlighters. However, considering that we are moving on to greater and better things, these trends should definitely be intensified. More fluff, more boldness, more daring, more blinding. In 2019 we’re coming for everything that 2018 said we couldn’t have – so, if you want to go for a violet highlighter that does not necessarily meet your skin tone, sis, go for it. If you decide to add a soft pink blush to your contour routine, who is gonna stop you in 2019? No one. Big tip: you do not have to shape your eyebrows for a fluffy brow – save time, money, and effort, with the same amount of likes as an Instagram brow, so why not my sister???
No one knows what the beauty industry holds for us in 2019 – new trends, looks and tricks, or perhaps throwback trends and looks could surface in what we hope to be the best year of our lives. But, whatever is out there waiting for us, do not forget to put individuality into your craft because no one can do you like you can do you If you have not yet tried any of the trends that 2018 gave us, you still have a few weeks to hop on them and do the most. If you have tried some of them, try the rest, and if you’ve tried all the beauty trends and looks of 2018, I hope 2019 inspires you to do more because you are clearly a gogetter. With that being said, may your 2019 be the year of grow ups, glow ups and even blow ups if that’s what you want. Just live, like your beauty looks – boldly.
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eople went in numbers to fill up FNB stadium for The Global Citizen Festival. Many people however had no idea what the cause behind this prestigious event was. There was more to the festival then just the performances, headliners and influencers. The Global Citizen Festival is an annual music festival that started in 2012 and is organized by the Global Poverty Project. It was founded by Ryan Gall and Hugh Evans. Gall said he was inspired by visiting Austin City Limits, an annual music
festival in Austin, Texas. On the 2nd of December 2018 70000 out of the 100000 seats were filled. The world was brought together at the FNB Stadium in Soweto for a night that went down in the history book of South Africa. Global Citizens were brought together for one of
the biggest festivals in the world. Some of the world’s biggest acts and influencers, and thousands of global citizens came to celebrate and to honour the centenary of the late former president Nelson Mandela. The lineup consisted of talents such as Ed Sheeran, BeyoncÊ, Jay-Z, Sho Madjozi,
Wizkid, Cassper Nyovest and Pharrell Williams to name but a few.
What does it mean to be a global citizen?
Besides attending the festival, Global Citizen is someone who is able to identify with being part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building this community with values, principles and practices, understanding that the world needs Global Citizens who
are engaged in the world and who stand for bringing about change and ending extreme poverty. This initiative requires many people coming together, identifying world issues and helping as citizens. Understanding that it takes a village to raise a child and that it first starts at home then
builds its way to serve the rest of the world. The global issues that are mainly targeted by Global Citizens to combat change are girls & women, health, education, finance & innovation, food & hunger, water & sanitation, environmental issues and Citizenship. These are the main issues that have been identified and the money that has been
raised will go towards fighting these causes for a better future for our generation and more generations to come. The Global Citizen Festival is a very great initiative for social responsibility and transformation. Our work does not only end at attending the festival as citizens but also to start getting involved in charity work or
also starting our own initiatives as South Africans identifying issues that need our attention as a country and working together to reach a common goal, fight for change and take responsibility. As South Africans if we work together we can definitely create a safer and better South Africa.
Five
Music Written by
Bokang Shika
Black Coffee’s Music Is definitely King Towards the end of November and throughout December we got an EP from the king of South African house himself Dj Black Coffee, it was sweet and short.
Stogie T on Sway in the morning Stogie T recently visiting sway and put to bed any questions of who is one of the most gifted MCs in SA hip hop history he went to the show and spit his 16.
Reason takes us straight into Azania
Reason took us to Azania and to top that off he tapped into vernac that sounds pretty incredible, Swizz Beatz also made a special appearance and it all mellows into something of a classic.
King Monada has us all idibalaing How can we forget the smash hit by King Monada called Malwedhe that sparked the idibala dance which got Africa and parts of the world idibaling.
Meek brings us the Champions Meek Mill recently dropped his latest offering titled Championships. The album switches from trap to storytelling to true bangers and of course it features heavyweights, and they all combine gracefully.
Global Citizen comes to South Africa The global citizen festival has hit the shores of the motherland. It is the biggest gathering of iconic artists from all over the world in one place since the 46664 concerts a while back.
Answeson Paak takes us on a tour of Oxnard Anderson Paak also recently offered Oxnard he featured Compton heavyweights like Kendrick and Dr Dre in a swirl of funky Californian summer hip hop, the kind of music that you play with the top down
Abuti Fill-Up does it again Abuti fill up tapped into his inner Doc Shebeleza and blessed South Africa with a kwaito album that went gold in a day. On top of the album release he filled up one of the most iconic stadiums in South Africa, Moses Mabhida stadium.
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Porsche 911 992
Porsche has release a pack of 911s for 2020 and they are brilliant. The new classic retains the looks that the marque is famous for. The round lights are back on the front of the car but the rear lights now have a light bar connecting them just like on the Macan and the other new Porsches coming forth. We really like the new look
JEEP GLADIATOR
Its been a long wait but Jeep has finally brought us another bakkie. Its called the Gladiator and its definitely a Jeep in every sense of the word. Its a rugged pff-roading juggernaut with a bigger pay-load and towing capacity than its rivals. It was revealed at this year’s LA auto show where it was showered with love from journalists and fans alike. The gladiator will be powered by a range of V6 diesel engines that were also announced at the auto show to make enough power and torque to get you into and out of any terrain. It looks a lot like a Wrangler huh? well isn’t that a good thing?
The Audi e-tron generation
We recently spoke about how the future was electric for the moroting industry in this segment and now we have proof that we might have been a bit wrong. The future isn’t the only electric one here, at Audi, the present is to. These are the new e-tron generation of cars from the German automaker. They unveiled the e-tron GT concept at the LA auto show this year and followed it up with the production ready e-tron crossover SUV IIt has actually been driven and tested nad is ready to go on sale). The big wigs at Audi have stated at the auto show that the e-tron GT concept car will bring forth a son... and a few saughters from 2020 onwards. For now its just a pretty face making 434KW of power.
Mercedes Benz AMG GTR Pro Sometimes hardcore just isn’t hardcore enough. The people at Mercedes Benz certainly felt that way about the beast of the green hell and decided that they should build a hardcore version of the hardcore version of an already fast car. It’s much lighter and much less green than the AMG GTR that it is based on. It looks like 2020 will be great
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Championships are won in the off season Written by Lawrence Adams
Yes! Dis Dizzy Tyd (it’s Festive season) and I know we all had a difficult year with 2018 taking several jabs at our relationships and just to add insult to injury, 2018 left us “pap” broke with our hustles and businesses not giving us what it is we want or not reaching the goals we set out last year around the same time and all you want to do is escape, go to a remote location, sleep, disconnect from everything and everyone and “recharge and believe me if you have been on the grind for the whole year I understand but before you go and chill and submerg yourself in alcohol let me first congratulae you on your ability to persist and try and persuade you to rest but not to
over compensate for the time you spent hustling by sleeping till late or partying for 3, 4 days consecutive without preparing for the year ahead. Why rest is important? You cannot be infinitely busy. At some point the body gives in, you stay not paying attention, you are unable to make good business decisions or to think processes through. Think of the brain like any other muscle. In order for a body builders muscle to grow he/she pumps iron but they do not exercise, lift and tone all the time they give their muscles time to heal and while the muscles heal they grow. So after so much time pounding away you can finally say that you
have reached to a point where you have to heal and that’s cool but there is a difference between healing and stopping. Just like in body building if you are able to bench press 80 Kg and you rest to heal for a long time it will be difficult for you to bench press that same amount when you get back. Champions are made in the offseasons My favorite Motivational speaker Eric Thomas (ET) shares a story of where the athlete in the commercial made a statement that changed his life. The athlete said “champions are made in the offseason”. There is no statement truer than this. We are all taking time off from the hustle, seeing family,celebrating wins, licking
wounds sustained from our losses. But those who use this time to reflect and learn, to expand their knowledge. This free time is a great opportunity for self introspection too, knowledge of self is important in the hustle, knowing what your short commings are and where your strengths lie, helps you work on weaknesses, align with those who are strong in those areas, without you neglecting the grind. So during this festive, chill, vibe and create monster vibrations but don’t forget to develop your self, exercise your brain muscles with conversation and books, plan ahead for the year 2019 and be great.
The Request by Tsholofelo Molosi
A path awaiting greatness. A path awaiting bloom. A path awaiting selflessness. A path neglecting doom. Tell me more about the past, I will tell you why you need to let it go, because the future is so vast, we need a new lens to let it show. Grass is greener where you water it, it never dries to the sun, meaning when you nurture yourself, you never miss the beat of a drum. Towards the end of this year, may we please shut more than one door, break the doorknobs and never pause. May we walk on greener grass that we ourselves have fertilised, may poets remember their bars and may the year 2019 be a pure delight.
THE END
