FREE!
RISING IT’S ABOUT TIME
SUMMER 14 Issue 9 livemag.co.za
2O years of
MUSIC, FASHION, TV + ORIGINALITY
Regulars | Live Challenge
CONTENTS
0710 31 39 Regulars
02 03 04 05
Ed’s Note Contributors News & Views: Be a VIP Loves & Loathes: Beauties and Beasts Dummies Guide: Jam Those Freshman Blues
06 07 09 10
Must Grabs: Summer Lovin’ Mzansi Diamonds: Best in Wet Day in the Life: Gaaitjie Live Challenge: Befriending A Ball Python
Features
12 Top 10 Dick(tator)s Features 14 Photo Essay: Then & Now 18 50 Shades of Brown 20 Designing Our Future 22 Cover Story: ZA Rising 27 Elections 101 31 Fashion: Summer School 35 Piracy: Not such a Serious Crime?
36 38 39 40
Who’s your Daddy?
46 48 LiveStyle
44 45 46 48
Future Sports Live Reads & Movies: Be Inspired! Live Sounds: Hits to Beat the Summer Heat Live Jabs: Let’s Talk About Trust, Baby
In Pursuit of Change Photo Essay: Cast in Skin Hustle Handbook
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CONTRI
Regulars | Ed’s Note
ED’S NOTE
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Words Buhle Mweli | Design Thabo Xinindlu Photographer Kgabo Kganyago
aving already worked at LIVE for six months, I thought working on this issue, our ninth, would be super organic – notwithstanding that it would be my first stint as editor. But working on this issue turned out to be one of the most stimulating things I’ve done in my life.
The sun was beaming enviously outdoors on most days when we were busy putting virtual ink to paper. And there was so much to consider for year 2014 in SA. National milestones like the upcoming elections (we’ve broken some of the issues down in Elections101 p27); born frees voting for the first time (Now & Then p14); and Cape Town’s 2014 World Design Capital title (Designing Our Future p20) all provoked endless debate in the office. All of this led us to think about SA’s culture evolution 20 years after democracy, which became the theme – and cover story – for this issue (ZA Rising p22). In our last week prior to print, we lost two SA legends, Madiba and David Matlala. Both men have passed on the baton, and I anticipate a better nation, created and realized by every young person in SA. Meanwhile, fantasising about an office on the beach’s edge helped me along during the most challenging weeks. Hibernating indoors in summer is unheard of though, especially
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when there are countless public pools waiting to be explored (Best in Wet p7). And while summer holidays are the best excuse to show off your fashion sense, some people get it so wrong; our Loves and Loathes (p5) helps you avoid making the same mistakes. Even though the sun is still shining, it’s back to school, so our Summer School fashion spread (p31) will come in handy for #Hip2bSquare readers who want to rock only the best and most diverse season trends while learning. While many of us have recently been at family get-togethers, reality is not all folks have families to enjoy the holidays with (Who’s Your Daddy? p36). Whether you’re with family or friends at this time, our reviews of inspirational books and movies (p45) will leave you feeling hopeful. And if you’re looking to salvage what’s left of that holiday vibe, our Hits to Beat the Summer Heat (p46) will provide some excuses to dance the edge off.
Editor-in-Chief
Buhle Mweli (25) @BezuluBuhle
Editor (Joburg)
@Ayanda_Felem
Lesedi Lee Molefi (22) @leemoll
Mthakazi Sibongukohle Makalima (22)
Assistant Features Editor
Designers and Illustrators
Gugu Nonjinge (20) @Gee_Skitii
Digital Editor & Writer Sabelo Mkhabela (24)
@SabzaPassword
Chief Subeditor & Writer
Simphiwe Zuma (23)
@DeepWarrior_CPT Thabo Xinindlu (23) Phumlani Mtabe (23) Mbongeni Fongoqa (25)
@theCLOCKWISEkid
Zizo Ntuku (25) @zamasangoz
Photographers
Photo Editors & Photographers
Thulasizwe Blacknation Simelane (22) @Blacknation_SA Nzolo Bidla (24) @Iam_Mr_eZEE Leon Lee Tshiza (24)
Andy Mkosi (23) @AndyMkosi (CT) Siyabonga Mkhasibe (25)
@todar88 (JHB)
Social Media Editors & Writers Abel Dantyi (23)
@abel_dantyi (CT) Nomsa Motale (23)
@MsImSODOpe (JHB)
Fashion Editor & Writer
Sinovuyo Sese (20) @Sino_Sese
Considering all the ups and ups, laughs and tears and learning curves over the past nine months, I can honestly say I am privileged to have worked with (it really feels like a partnership) Live Mag SA. As I bid farewell to all the contributors, mentors and management to embark on a new journey as assistant editor at HSM, all I can say is Thank You! And I’ll definitely be back for the popcorn.
Robyn Frost (24) @frosttheradioDJ Ayanda Frances Felem (25)
Stylist & Writer Colleen Balchin (24)
@cocolovesdanger
Writers Aluwani Ratshiungo (22)
@miss_ratshi Lethabo Afrika Bogatsu (20)
@CallMeAfriKa Thapelo Mosiuoa (21)
@Thapelo_Mosiuoa
@Lee_Tshiza Siphelo Tototo (24) Kgabo Kganyago (23)
Other Contributors
Patrick Simba, Matthew Alexander, Reanetse Kolisang
Live SA YouTube Tracey Southgate (20)
@traceySouthgate Mendile Mera Mpunzi (24)
@mmpunzi Katlego Kganyago (21) Sinawo Siwisa (21)
Mentors
Senior Editorial: Lee Middleton Editorial (Joburg): Busisiwe Ntintili Digital & Social Media: Linda Nkosi Photography: Ed Suter &
Adam Kent Wiest
YouTube: Tamara MacLachlan &
Bulelani Mvoto
BUTORS
MEET SOME OF OUR FIRST-TIME CONTRIBUTORS:
Mthakazi Sibongokuhle Makalima
Mthakazi is an aspiring writer from Tsolo, in the Eastern Cape. She came to Cape Town in 2011 to study, and is currently working towards a diploma in journalism at Damelin. She is interested in community service as she believes in giving back to the community. She sees herself writing for some of Mzanzi’s big publications such as DRUM, True Love and Move.
Phumlani Mtabe
Phumlani is a graphic designer from Mthatha, Eastern Cape. He moved to Cape Town in 2001 to study, and just graduated with a BA in graphic design from the Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography. He has been involved in projects and campaigns such as Film School Africa, cciba and Serve The City.
Siyabonga Mkhasibe
Photographer Siyabonga Mkhasibe switched from accounting to photography, aspiring to get into Art Direction. ”One key learning I took from the Live experience was how a simple idea can evolve into powerful, moving and thought-provoking content that somehow prompts people to act in a certain way. Writers, photographers and content creators are pretty powerful people!”
Special Thanks to:
Zwelethu Jolobe, Charles Webster, Tzvi Karp, Kay “DJ Doowop” Morgan, Suicide Monkey, DJ Fresh & all who contributed time or pics to our cover story, Laura Windvogel,
Mathahle and Kellyn at Marie Claire, Gareth Pon, Trevor Stuurman, Roger Young, Inka Kendzia, Michael Pearson, Kelly Lodewyks, Richard Mills, Percy Mabandu, Gregory Nicolson, Chris Saunders, Justin McGee, Neo Motloung, Tom Kennedy, Qhakaza, Sarah Mann, Tom Porter, Thabiso Mohare, Henrike Grohs, Makgomotho Ngwasheng, City Varsity College, Sacred Heart College Johannesburg, Jasmine Adam at Media 24, Damien Schuman, Sithembele & team, Marikana Boys, Booka T Entertainment, Jeanine & Cameron at Nu Metro, Patrick Conroy, Cecil Lyons, Charlotte Kilbane, Nuruniesa Allie at eNCA, Ikamva Youth, Andries from Mad World, Ntombi Mponda, Petronella Sono, Natasha Miller, Janine Geldenhuys and all at Metropolitan, SANDF, Johann Schwella, Matt Riley, Raf Newman and all at 140 BBDO, Helen Turvey, Karien Bezuidenhout, Karen Gabriels, Wendy Stoffels and all at the Shuttleworth Foundation, Mark Shuttleworth.
Publisher: Gavin Weale Business Director: Claire Conroy Youth Development Producer: Shallom Johnson (CT) Account Manager: Sid Sidwaba (JHB) PR & Marketing Manager: Beth O’Connor Account Executive: Polly Sekwala (JHB) Sales & Marketing Executive, and Distribution Manager: Papi Mireli Office Manager: Veronica Shumane (CT) Marketing Intern: Lunga Makayi (CT) For advertising enquiries, please call (021) 480 0400/email papi@livityafrica.com www.livity.co.uk www.livemag.co.za
Contributors
ABOUT LIVE LIVE is a media platform for the youth, by the youth. You – yes you – could get your work published, just like all the names you’ll spot as you page through this copy. LIVE’s three-month unpaid internships offer experience in the publishing and media industries, preparation for real working environments, all under professional mentorship. Our full-time team is based in Cape Town, while part-time positions are offered in Johannesburg and Cape Town. From writers to photographers, graphic designers to video editors to stylists, everyone finds his or her niche. If you’re between the ages of 18-25 and have a passion for the media industry (don’t panic, no experience required): apply now! We also accept submissions from across the nation. So whether you want to contribute one story or apply to join our team, go to livemag. co.za/contribute-now and show us what you’re made of!
CONNECT WITH US Website www.livemag.co.za YouTube LiveMagSA Facebook Live Magazine SA Twitter @LiveMagSA GOOGLE+ Live Magazine SA Instagram @LiveMagSA Soundcloud LiveMag-SA
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News & Views | Regulars
“ELECTIONS 2014” Words that make us sigh. Maybe it’s because so many of our peers are living on the streets in addiction and poverty. Or perhaps because we’re still stuck on public transport where we don’t feel safe. Or is it your best friend, so talented and bright, still working at a restaurant because she can’t pay varsity fees? And then there’s your brother who was murdered for being gay. Have we lost hope of seeing change that should have occurred already? Even though most of us don’t relate to politics, all these issues are political. And if we want to fix them, we have to stand up and participate (“those dishes aren’t going to wash themselves…”). That doesn’t mean becoming a politician or using “comrade” in casual conversation. Participation means caring about the society you live in, and doing what you can – big or small – to make a difference. United, we could be unstoppable. Unstoppable, we all become VIPs.
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POWER
VOTINGIS
LIVE invites you to be a new breed of VIP. How? By joining our campaign to make a difference. Consider this a call to action. To think, to talk, to share. To make change and to participate. And to vote. If you’re one of many who feels no party represents you, we have some ideas about how to express this, both on and off our ballots.
Our main point? We need our voices to be heard. Some of our plans for action include posting our concerns on a special Facebook page, tweeting solutions, making t-shirts and posters, and writing stories or making videos about the real VIPs (people making change) in your community.
Words Katlego Kganyango Design & Illustration Phumlani Mtabe
IT’S TIme. Check livemag.co.za to see how you can become a VIP.
Is voting the only way to be heard? livemag.co.za/voyelections
Dummies Guide Loves & Loathes
Summer Fashion:
Phew! This is gonna be one hell of a ride
“Ke Summer boss!” We’ve done away with the layers and indoor melancholy. But not all summer fashion refreshes. Live presents the bittersweet of summer. Words Buhle Mweli | Design Simphiwe Zuma | Photography Kgabo Kganyago
loves: shady business: Sunnies, goggles, nerdiez, aviators, amazaza or shades: whichever name tickles your fancy, we love them and abuse them and hope they'll last longer than the countless mcflurries we'll be chugging back under that relentless sun. show off a lil’: Unlike winter when dressing up is such a mission (and only remains hidden under coats and scarves), summer invites you to open your closet treasure trove. Time for those sleeveless dresses, wedges and bright shorts, not to mention all the necklaces, rings and bracelets that can come out and play. Wet and wild: Don’t be scurred my African people, this one includes you too. Whether it’s a brief toe-wiggle at the beach, or a showy backstroke at the pool, the water’s edge is the place to be. Beachwear is not limited to barely-there bikinis and tiny trunks. Regardless of your shape and size, pick something comfortable (think shorts, vests, sarongs) and head to the big blue in confidence, the breeze gently calling your name.
loathes: hairy potter: Ashy legs and hairy armpits will once again be the order of the day as ladies and guys take the “less is more” phrase a tad too far. So let’s all invest in lotion and shaving cream and live happily summer after. tight situation: Stockings are not tights, and tights are not pants. This is a mantra to live by. nip it in the crotch: Men clad in bright blue skinny jeans with a crotch impression that would make even Somizi “Somgaga” blush (if you’re unfamiliar, do yourself a favour and google him good people): not cool! As the days get hotter, so will the uncomfortably tight bright skinnies resurface in numbers. In the name of crotches nationwide, let us unite against the abuse of skinnies. It begins with us!
dummies guide to JAMming THOSE
FRESHMAN BLUES Words Abel Dantyi Illustration Simphiwe Zuma Buckle up, it’s gonna Be a long ride Those long orientation sessions are actually useful, mapping out where your classes and libraries are, how to join clubs, and providing a chance to meet classmates. african time is not ayoBa Being late for your first lecture is a sweet recipe for disaster. However you travel, plan to arrive half an hour earlier than necessary. Don't be the guy wasting time conspiring lies for late-coming. moolah i-scarce mfethu (it pays to save) The year is starting and you're so broke you can't even pay attention. And now you need textbooks! Check the noticeboards in the corridor for old textbooks sold by previous students: much cheaper and no extra charge for the love notes scribbled in pink highlighter. Breaking the BuBBle Get to know the goths, izikhothane, hippies, etc. Uni is the time to experiment with the choice assorted of friendship. Who knows? Maybe you're a skater at heart. someone plZ dial 911!! Okay, your first day’s results may have been worse than Julius Malema writing an English test, but there is help. Groups like the Peer Helpers can make all the days an easier ride. Find them in the student packi booklet from orientation. More summer no-no’s Livemag.co.za/summernono
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Regulars |Must Grabs
SUMMER L VIN’
GIRL 1: GIRLY
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Jenny dress R249 @Cotton On Denim vest R299 @Jay Jays Indigo beaded sandals R699 @Accesorize Multi-compartment purse R499 @Accesorize Stone triangle R85.00 @Accessorize Scallop filigree necklace R299 @Accessorize Indigo shield bracelet R299 @Accesssorize Smithing studs R260 @A Ring To It
GIRL 2: EDGY
JLennon round sunglasses R69.95 @Jay Jays Grunge rip shorts R275 @Cotton On Cropped top R80 @Jay Jays Matilda denim vest R299 @Cotton On Spike necklace R230 @Sass Diva Cord-wrapped bangle R175 @Sass Diva Bar diamond ring R760 @A Ring To It
THE GUY: CASUAL
Shorts R250 @Jay Jays Logan shirt R249 @Cotton On Denim vest R350 @Woolworths Vaughn backpack R199 @Cotton On Wood and silver mens band R1700 @A Ring To It Watch model’s own Boots model’s own
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We’ve all had a juicy summer fling or two...share your stories with us and stand a chance to win an Enka Square bag from Township!
Longer days and sultry nights call for one easy piece that you can dress up or down. A denim vest will keep you looking cool and feeling fresh all summer long. Words Sinovuyo Sese | Design Thabo Xinindlu | Photographer Kgabo Kganyago | Hair & Makeup Artist Lesley Ann Solomons | Models Mandy Jalex, Sibusiso Sibanda, Sindiswa Sowambi
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Summer Lovin’, behind the scenes youtube.com/LiveMagSA
Email your story by March 15th, 2014 to: win@livemag.co.za. T&Cs apply, check www.livemag.co.za for more details or to post your story.
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Best in Wet
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Mzansi Diamonds
When we start to sweat, we need to get wet!
Words Colleen Balchin & Khaya Mdoda | Photography Thulasizwe Blacknation Simelane & Siphelo Tototo | Design Thabo Xinindlu CA PE
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Zoo Lake Swimming Pool One of the city’s oldest public pools, Zoo Lake is a hidden gem in Joburg’s park district. Join the water polo club or get in touch for swimming lessons with Aquatics Manager, lifesaver and community good-guy, Gus Malgas. Catch a tan on the lush lawn overlooking a valley of jacaranda trees or flag an icie from the old-school indie-owned bicycle cart. Suburban bliss. Cnr Prince of Wales and Parkwood Drive, Parkwood / Open 10-6 daily in summer / Entrance R8 adults R5 children / 011 646 8495
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Khayelitsha Swimming Pool In the heart of Khayelitsha, this complex enjoys crystal clear water and grassy grounds perfect for a game of soccer. With a 50m main pool, a kiddies pool, changing rooms and a first-aid room, the facilities are first-class. In peak season eight lifeguards man the fun, while local DJs showcase their latest tracks. If you’re looking for a Kasi swimming vibe, this pool is the place to be. Walter Sisulu Drive, Khayelitsha Open 10-5 daily / Entrance R5 adults, R1 children / 021 367 0909
Ellis Park Public Swimming Pool Johannesburg’s major swimming facility offers three heated pools: a standard 25m, an Olympic 50m and a deep plunge pool (for scuba lessons). A waist-deep splash pool is great for those keeping their highlights or weave dry. Work it out in the roped-off lanes, or break it down with school kids cooling off. Chatty lifeguards and a great mix of characters make this a real community pool. For that post-splash lus, a tuck shop sells boerie rolls, Simba chips and Cokes. Cnr North Park Lane and Erin St, New Doornfontein / Open 7-7 daily in summer / Entrance R10 adults R8 children / 011 402 5565
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Sea Point Pavillion Pool Considered one of the country’s most beautiful public pool complexes, this breathtaking landmark overlooks the Atlantic Ocean splashing on one side, with “that mountain” towering over the other. In the festive season hundreds of people – very rainbow nation-esque – fill the premises, chilling on the green grass and bringing an energetic vibe. A 50m Olympic pool, two splash pools for kids and a 20m diving pool mean there’s something for everyone. The unheated water in all pools comes from the ocean, so expect a pleasantly salty cool swim. Sea Point Pavillion, Lower Beach Rd, Sea Point / Open 7-7 daily in summer / Entrance R20 adults, R10 children, free for under 3 / 021 434 3341
CAPE TO
Rachel Finlayson Pool Recently refurbished in an effort to enhance accessibility in Durban’s Node 3, these saltwater pools stand out on the city’s popular Golden Mile. Colloquially known as the Beach Baths, the pools were renamed for South Africa’s 1928 Olympic swimming coach. The complex features a 50m pool, a 1.2m-deep learn-toswim pool and a kiddies splash pool. The pools also neighbour a well-kept park and boast ample parking facilities on the oftencrowded strip. Mellow as we know Durban to be, the pools’ saltwater chlorination is gentle on the skin and eyes. Although not heated, Durban’s stunning tropical climate keeps the water easy all year ‘round. 133 Lower Marine Parade, North Beach / Open 6 - 7 daily in summer / Entrance R7.50 / 031 335 3712
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Sunny summer has hit its stride and we’re sweating through our sandals again. Luckily for us, public pools are a national treasure that everyone can enjoy. Goedkoop, hassle-free and surprisingly well-maintained, we’ve picked the kif-est cool-offs in town.
Want to be out in the sun without getting wet? livemag.co.za/sunbabies
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14-16 February 2014
Day in the Life
Gaaitjie Words Robyn Frost | Design Simphiwe Zuma | Photography Andy Mkhosi “Bellville! Parow! Bellville!’’ he shouts. His voice can be heard across the city (strong vocal cords are necessary for this job). He has eyes sharp enough to see your tiniest signals, even from down and across the road (and he knows your waves don’t mean hello). His chivalry applies to all: being female is not the criteria for him to open the door for you, in fact it’s just his job. He is a gaaitjie, also known as a “sliding door operator”. But being a taxi driver’s right-hand man involves more than just opening a door. This is a day in the life of a gaaitjie. “Kom jy saam?’’ Emeraan Williams (aka, “Juicy”) is one of thousands of gaaitjies (according to the Transport Education Authority of South Africa, 185 000 people work in SA’s taxi industry). He arrives to his “mobile office” – one of many parked minivans at the taxi rank near Cape Town Station – by 6am. The sounds of engines surround Emeraan as he starts his first task of “loading the van” (with people, that is), grabbing a pack of cigarettes from a vendor at the same time. Just as you’re thinking this will be the only silent taxi ride you’ve ever experienced, the driver, Kevin, plugs in a car-shaped radio tuned to Heart 104.9fm.
Fare collector, sliding door operator or gaaitjie: whatever you call them, they are part of your day. Getting to work wouldn’t be the same without them, but what is their work day like?
Julian Naidoo’s voice fills the air, announcing traffic delays and congestion, bringing a smile to Kevin’s face as the route to Bellville is proclaimed clear. With a turn of a key, the trip from the CBD to the northern suburbs begins. “Hy gaan saam,” Emeraan tells Kevin, spotting a man signalling on the side of the road in Parow. Kevin swerves, making it quick, as the man is in the red “no stopping” area, and there are traffic cops around. “There is an 80% chance of getting a fine on this route,” Kevin whispers, explaining that he can be fined R750 for stopping in the red area. Meanwhile, Emeraan takes care of the customer. “Where you going to, sir?” he asks the man who has just taken a seat. The guy’s answer isn’t highly descriptive, as there are numerous “Shoprites” on the way to Bellville. Amazingly, the gaaitjie knows exactly which one he wants. “You must know the route and the fee for the specific distances,’’ Emeraan says, explaining that if the man wanted to go to the other Shoprite, he would have paid more. As far as job-searching criteria go, you can forget about the usual CV and interview approach if you want to be a gaaitjie. Emeraan got the job over a decade ago by asking some drivers he knew. There aren’t any gaaitjie schools or how-to manuals: gaaitjies learn on the job. But anyone who can count
and is familiar with the routes and different fares attached to those routes can become a gaaitjie. At one point Kevin and his wife formed a team. He showed her the ropes, gave her the routes to study and offered a minimum wage of R150 a day. Hiring one’s wife as gaaitjie isn’t the norm though, and her wage was “helped” by her connection to the driver. Normally the money made by a gaaitjie depends on the route and how many customers come onboard. On a good day – like at month’s end when more people use taxis – a gaaitijie can make up to R350 for a 12-hour day. But it’s also possible to end the day with an empty wallet if targets aren’t met. “If you don’t make enough money, you work later,” explains Emeraan. “It’s hard here man,” he says, shaking his head. Gaaitjies are known as fun and entertaining characters. Watching Emeraan scan the streets for customers and cops while collecting fares and making change and small talk, it’s hard to believe that he may go home without his due. The appearance of Cape Town’s City Hall and the mountain behind tell us we’ve made it back to the CBD. Kevin angles in to join a line of taxis. This time, the turn of a key signals the journey’s end. “Thank you Town,” Emeraan says, sliding the door open for the few passengers remaining on board. “It’s an honest day’s work.”
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Regulars | Live Challenge
befriending A
ball python A dog is a man’s best friend, but what about a snake? Befriending a ball python is one thing a sane person wouldn’t think of. But I took the challenge.
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Words Gugu Nonjinge | Design Thabo Xinindlu | Photography Andy Mkosi
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death, I shall fear no evil…” Meanwhile my photographer Andy and our two YouTube team members teased me: “What if one of the snakes slips into your bag and you only see it when you get home”. Thanks guys!
Walking onto the grounds of Imhoff Farm (outside Kommetjie, down the Cape Peninsula), my eyes were caught by a painting of a snake that sent chills down my spine. I immediately felt sick, wondering if I was actually ready to overcome my phobia. I silently started praying. “Dear God, as I walk through the valley of the shadow of
Venturing past a cheese factory, horse and camel stable and finally a coffee shop, we arrived at the snake park at the back of the property. I held Andy’s hand tightly, suspiciously eyeing patches of long grass that looked like perfect reptile habitat, my every step careful and conscious: I didn’t want to stomp on a mamba’s tail or find myself in a tricky situation with a zebra cobra. A lady with a snake around her neck came out of nowhere. “Hello Gugu,” she said, a huge smile
he night before the actual day was the worst: I dreamt a huge cobra was next to me. As a child I had horrible dreams about snakes, but it had been a long time since I had one of those dreams. Fast forward a decade to the offices of Live Mag, where every issue someone faces her fears in what we call a Live Challenge.
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on her face. Just the sight of her “necklace” made me start shaking, overwhelmed by a desire to scream and laugh at the same time. “Come on Gugu, Jason is actually scared of you more than you are scared of him,” said Tracey Bodington, who runs the Imhoff Snake and Reptile Rehabilitation Centre. She held her arm out so the snake could position its body. The reptile in question – a male ball python – was covered in beautiful dark and light brown patterns, its white belly scattered with black dots. “Lay out your hands, breathe in and just relax,” said Tracey, who had taken us to the reptile enclosure. With the dark, cold eyes of a ball python staring at me, and a 3.5m
Though l knew snakes are cold blooded, I somehow never expected his body to actually feel cold.
Am I dead yet?? yellow anaconda in a glass cage behind me, relaxation was impossible. Though Tracey explained that these pythons are not venomous and many make them pets, all I could think of were stories of how adult pythons can go months without a meal and how their digestive systems have evolved to suck the calcium from their prey’s skeleton. I didn’t know when Jason had his last meal, but I certainly didn’t want to be his next one. Closing my eyes, I held my hands out to let Tracey wrap Jason around my neck. The first sensation of snakey weight on my left shoulder caused me to scream. “Take it, please,” I cried, panicking and breathless. Everyone started laughing at me, but a few
hahha, you’re sooo close to my heart.. seconds later I was calm. The second time Jason was wrapped around my neck I kept on telling myself: “It’s just a dog, just a dog”, keeping in my mind an image of an animal I love. But with Jason’s head on my palm and his heartbeat thumping against my neck, I quickly snapped out of my puppy fantasy. He was real: 1.5 metres of real scaly smooth skin against mine. And though l knew snakes are cold blooded, I somehow never expected his body to actually feel cold. At that moment it sank in that I had one of nature’s most feared creatures around my neck. Part of me wanted to throw the snake to the ground and start shouting “Yhuu inyoka!” (OMG, a snake!), like any normal Nguni person. The other part was Gugu holds a snake! youtube.com/LiveMagSA
super excited to have a snake resting on my shoulders. I slowly realised that Jason really was harmless. He was wrapped around my neck for a good 45 minutes and didn’t bite me or try to suck the calcium from my bones. He kept moving – sliding towards my back and resting his head on my shoulder – and I had to continually reposition him to avoid dropping him, which made me smile a bit, even as I was still shaking. It was when I extended my arm for him to slide down so he could wrap himself around me that I realised we were starting to get along. Not only had I overcome my fear of snakes, I can boldly say that I befriended a ball python. Check these weird phobias livemag.co.za
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call 0877 40 5031 m.studentflights.co.za studentflights.co.za
O 1 P TO DICK(TATOR)S Feature
Wicked men made funny, LIVE searches to see the lighter side of a dark story Words Matthew Alexander | Design Simphiwe Zuma | Illustration Reanetse Kholisang
F
rom the weird to the ruthless to the really hard to pronounce, quite a few of the top ten power abusers on our list were actually voted into power at some point (long long ago in a galaxy far far away?). Food for thought as elections approach.
VOTE VOTE
Isaias Afewerki (1993-present): Eritrea
Voted into power in 1993 after helping Eritrea gain independence from Ethiopia, Aferwerki has since become a classic dictator, rigging national elections for the worst, or just cancelling them (he banished national elections for four decades in 2008). His citizens are poorer because of a war he started with Ethiopia that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, a fact that unites the people in a common hatred and desire to emigrate.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (1979-present): Equatorial Guinea
Teodoro is Africa’s longest man in power, having un-gratefully served since 1979. You could say he was a step up from predecessor Francisco Macias Nguema, who sentenced thousands to death, except Teodoro helped Francisco out with that one. A quote from one of his aids on state-owned radio says it all: “He can decide to kill without anyone calling him to account and without going to hell, because it is God himself with whom he is in permanent contact, and who gives him this strength”. Wow.
Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov (2007-present): Turkmenistan
The name alone should’ve been an indicator to NOT vote for him. Ever been to a dentist and been poked with a metal drill, feeling helpless as your mouth is stabbed? The Turkmenis feel that way every single day because Berdymukhammedov’s only qualification is dentistry! He continues to lie about “fair” elections (his last “win” came at a whopping 97%. Shenanigans?) and suppresses media scrutiny around allegations of torture of human rights activists. Time for a national root canal.
Crown Prince Abdullah (2005-present): Saudi Arabia
Prince Abdullah controls the world’s largest oil reserves, which means he has the world’s most powerful leaders sucking up to him. Since his rule of power there’s never been a national election, and beheading is an accepted punishment for crimes from witchcraft to drunkenness to murder.
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The Shaik’s (Schabir and Chippy): South Africa
You’re probably wondering why they’re here. Well, if you receive a “get out of jail free” card because of your ties to the president (aka, the dirty secrets you know), you deserve to be on this list (plus we have a soft spot for fellow SAffers). The Shaiks have been involved in more fraudulent activities than I have fingers and toes, but my two faves are the arms deal and how easily Schabir’s fake cough got him out of serving time.
Islam Karimov (1991-present): Uzbekistan
This presidential dude is crazy. As in boil people alive – or freeze them to death – crazy. Ever had one of those days where you’re walking the dog, enjoying the sun and next minute maybe boiling a person or two? I guess it depends on the mood: boil or freeze? Freeze or boil?
Kim Jong-un (2011- present): North Korea
We should thank the pudgy little “Supreme Leader”, who inherited the world’s most repressive nation, for serving as punchline to every joke or meme this year (google him + disneyland or basketball – looks like repressing your people doesn't mean you can’t love make-believe!). Trying to stop people from defecting to South Korea (or anywhere) by killing them, constantly threatening to bomb his neighbours and bribing families to spy on each other are but a few of his regime’s tactics.
Robert Mugabe (1980-present): Zimbabwe
Uncle Bob from up the road is one scary guy whose rigged elections are the only reason he’s still in power. His nation’s currency (Zim dollar) is the butt of many jokes, but believe you me, the man is not kidding around. Zim’s economy might be in the trenches, but at least his land reform has worked… (just kidding; and yes, Julius, that was for you). And if you believe his claims of uplifting his people, just go to the Marange diamond fields, where the price for being a local varies from eviction to death.
Silvio Berlusconi (1994-2011): Italy
Berlusconi used his political influence to secure the release of a young Moroccan girl known as Ruby, who was an underaged sex worker. Talk about a hook up. As it turned out, he employed Ruby for his “Bunga Bunga” parties. So beyond abusing his power to take advantage of an underage girl, we have to ask: what in the big man above’s name is a Bunga Bunga party? It’s almost as ridiculous as having the name Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
Omar al-Bashir (1989-present): Sudan
If an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest for attempting to decimate three non-Arabic ethnicities wasn’t enough, al-Bashir has also been accused by ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of keeping 25 million refugees in camps under “genocide conditions”. On a lighter note, he’s also robbing his people of the right to free speech by authorising the military to aim at protesters with live ammunition. Our advice to him? Remember Gaddafi.
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Photo Essay
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Then and Now Words Sabelo Mkhabela | Design Reanetse Kolisang | Photography Andy Mkosi
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Brendon Van Zyl (20) Unemployed:
I’m going to vote for education to be free.
Brenda Van Zyl (53) Unemployed:
There has been a slight change in South Africa since 1994, but the government has failed us too many times in a lot of ways.
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Siyasanda Matshisi (20) Unemployed:
I want homophobic attacks to end in South Africa. Homophobia is not 20 years of democracy.
Phindiwe Matshisi (37) Domestic worker:
In ‘94, I was voting for freedom and for free and equal education for our children. We are [still] not free in South Africa, crime is a big problem, especially in the townships.
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Xola Njengele (20) Student:
I’m going to vote for the EFF for Malema to take back our land because, right now, white people are ruling us.
Thulani Njengele (39) Unemployed:
In ‘94, I was happy to vote for the first black president. In terms of change, there’s been a huge difference between then and now. For instance, colour doesn’t determine where one can go or be. It doesn’t determine what kind of job, what school you send your kids to. In 2014, I’ll be voting against corruption and poor service delivery.
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Phillip Ngcamu (20) Radio intern:
I will vote for the Democratic Alliance party because they deliver services to the citizens of the Western Cape.
Pretty Ngcamu (36) Domestic worker:
I want to vote for a party that will unite South Africa regardless of whether you are black or white, not a party that will take us back to oppression. It doesn’t matter which party it is.
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After 20 years of democracy in South Africa, we asked born-frees – who, for the first time, will be eligible to vote in the 2014 elections – what they will be voting for. We also asked their parents – most of whose own first time at the polls was in 1994 – how they felt, then and now.
Vuyolwethu Dubese (20) TV presenter:
Things are gradually changing in South Africa. Government should set realistic goals.
Nontobeko Dubese (48) Teacher:
As a teacher (which makes me a nurse, a parent, a mentor...everything actually), I voted for us to be appreciated and paid more. I haven’t seen much change, even though I’ve been voting, so I don’t think I’m voting in 2014.
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5O Feature
SHADES OF BROWN
What measures will you go to in order to be beautiful? LIVE investigates. Words Zizo Ntuku | Reporting Mthakazi Makalima | Design Thabo Xinindlu | Photography Andy Mkosi As black South Africans we often see light skinned models in magazines, television, billboards and newspapers; the likes of Pearl Thusi, Terry Pheto, JoAnne Reyneke – the list goes on. Local celebrity Kelly Khumalo made headlines when she appeared in tabloids and magazines with her hands visibly darker than her face. It was alleged that she was using a cheap bleaching product called Caro light, available on the black market for under R30. Even for those of us blessed with beautiful dark skin, the pressure to conform to the idea that light is right – and that bleaching your face or whole body is normal – can be hard to resist. Skin bleaching refers to the use of chemical substances in an attempt to lighten or “even out” one’s skin tone. It can be done through medical procedure (laser treatments, cryosurgery, etc) or by using commercially available tablets, creams and homemade remedies. “Within three days I could see the difference and my skin became light and felt beautiful,” said naturally very dark Nomasonto Williams* (28) from Stellenbosch, talking about her experience using Extra Claire. “People could see that I’m from Cape Town, not some village girl,” said Nomasonto, who started using the product in late 2009 in preparation for getting married. Her mother suggested that she use it, and Nomasonto has never looked back. Today her skin is pale with a flush, as if someone dripped pink lemonade on an ivory carpet. The cream has thinned her skin, making the veins visible; but her neck, hands and legs remain her natural dark skin tone. Nomasonto’s two different shades are a perfect example of what is called “fanta face/ coca-cola body”. Believing that light is beautiful, Andiswa Mabala* (22) started bleaching her face four years ago when she was still in matric. At first her skin lightened, but the glow only lasted three months. One night she woke
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up, her face itchy and hot. By the following morning the beloved cream had turned into a monster, having made her face blister badly. “I never thought my smile would turn into tears. When I took a mirror to see what was wrong, I was shocked and devastated. I stayed home for a week trying to reverse what the cream has done,” said Andiswa, who stopped using the cream immediately and sought medical help. “The prescribed medication really helped, and I was able to go to matric ball looking good. Ever since then I am very careful of what I use on my face because i don’t want a repeat of what happened.” Dark skinned women and men around the world undergo medical procedures, be it laser treatments or skin resurfacing surgery, to reduce their melanin count to make their skin lighter. But those who can’t afford to consult doctors resort to skin lightening or bleaching creams. Easily accessible, some of these creams contain steroids and even mercury (which is toxic), and are not dermatologically approved or even legal. Extra Clair, Caro light, Bio clair and Movate are all popular creams sold on the streets rather than in leading cosmetics stores. Unlike other popular lighteners with smaller amounts of hydroquinone (eg, Ponds, Estee Lauder, etc), these black market creams have been banned due to high levels of hydroquinone, which by law can only be administered by dermatologists. Other products contain mercury compounds, which are illegal and have been banned by the government. According to Dr Dilshaad Asmal, a dermatologist from Rondebosch Medical Centre, skin lightening creams function by stopping the skin from producing melanin (which is what gives your skin its tone or pigment), and can be very harmful when used improperly or for a long time. Hydroquinone’s side effects include blistering, bumpiness, increased sensitivity to sun, and even a condition called ochronosis, which produces bluish-black marks on the skin. The damage can be irreversible. “Some products which are over-the-counter...don’t
have medical proof [that they] will work,” said Asmal, who also warned against buying products on the internet. According to voxxi.com, skin lightening can be addictive, and people obsessively use the products in a never-ending quest for a pale complexion. Like a drug, the more you use the creams and the lighter you become, the more you want to use them. People enjoy the compliments about their “improved” complexion, making it even more difficult to stop. Nomasonto is living proof. “Extra Clair did make my skin beautiful, but now the problem is that my colour changed to peach. My face looked yellow and pale, people started asking what I was using. So I decided to cut down from using it every day. I now use the cream once or twice a week because when I don’t use it at all, my skin turns dark,” she said, looking embarrassed, but still obsessively touching her face.
“I never thought my smile would turn into tears. When I took a mirror to see what was wrong, I was shocked and devastated. I stayed home for a week trying to reverse what the cream has done”
And it’s not only women who are addicted. “There is this customer [who] always comes to buy movate. I can see it’s for himself, because...his skin is lighter than before,” said a sales lady from a cosmetics store that has dedicated four shelves to these creams. Shocking as it is, the bleaching trend has been taken to such an extreme that some people bleach their armpits and even their genitals. People unhappy in their own skin are resorting to sometimes dangerous measures to change themselves. But the damage isn’t just skin deep. The desire for light skin also affects one’s self esteem. It’s time we go back to black and embrace our own beauty.
* Names changed to protect identity
The strange things people do for beauty? livemag.co.za/beautyex
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Feature
With a haunting legacy of segregation in SA, does design present a solution? Words Buhle Mweli | Photographer Siphelo Tototo | Design & Illustration Phumlani Mtabe I recently took a short trip from Camps Bay – an affluent suburb sandwiched between the famous Table Mountain and the seemingly eternal blue ocean – to Khayelitsha, Cape Town’s biggest township, a seemingly eternal spread of informal settlements squeezed into what can appear a trap of poverty and crime. Mesmerized by homes that could
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house Patrice Motsepe himself, we maneuvered away from town and along the N2, the mansions transforming into shacks, the lovely boutiques into corner spaza shops, and the upscale “designer” cafes into shebeens. The physical layout of SA’s cities and the socalled “built environment” is a long-standing
culprit in continuing apartheid’s segregation agenda. This disparity between city and township – a familiar contrast throughout South Africa – is especially obvious in Cape Town, recipient of the World Design Capital 2014 award (WDC2014). You may have noticed a peculiar black and yellow logo on banners at airports or in the pages of trendy
is made. This definition seems limiting. The consensus from most designers is that design is a process and way of thinking that helps people find solutions. Whether talking about high-end fashion and interior design, or the way a food garden is built or music is made, design essentially involves finding solutions. “I don’t want to know about some designer chair in Europe,” says Stephen Lamb, creator of The Green Shack. “This is South Africa, and I want to know about things that are relevant to South Africans.” Gugulethu Mhlungu, stakeholder engagement manager for the WDC2014, mentions Sizwe Nzima – a great example of a South African using design to find solutions to relevant problems. A young entrepreneur who recognised a gap and sought to fill it, Sizwe fetches medication for families in Khayelitsha by bicycle. And that is essentially what design should do: fix problems (hopefully in an elegant way).
Is design a tool that can help solve some of our problems as a nation? And what is design anyway? The Future Of Our Cities
magazines: what’s it all about? It represents this award, given to cities bettering society through design. Design can either bring people together or separate them. “Education and housing are some of the biggest issues that we face as South Africans, and design can be used to develop them with care,” asserts Zahira Asmal, founder of Designing South Africa (D_ZA), an organization that facilitates talks between communities, government, designers and architects to improve circumstances faced by disadvantaged South Africans. The disparities between the rich and poor are always astounding, but SA’s inequality ranks among the worst in the world, with the richest 10% of the population taking home 54% of our national earnings (1995-2008), according to the Development Indicators 2009. So we have to ask: after 20 years of democracy, is design a tool that can help solve some of our problems as a nation? And what is design anyway? According to Oxford, design is a plan or drawing that shows the look and function of a building, garment or object before it
It’s time to seize the opportunity to use the tools of design to make our spaces and society accessible, equitable and integrated. From complex issues such as the improvement of transport across all of Cape Town (eg, implementing the new MyCiti bus system where it’s most needed, from CBD to all townships), to simple solutions around signage, design can play a pivotal role in improving people’s lives. “During the apartheid era signs like: Whites Only! were used to separate us. In 1994 when those signs were taken down, what replaced them?” Asmal asks. We can start by putting simple posters in public spaces that read: White, Black, Asian: all welcome. It seems trivial, but places like Cape Town – a city with a reputation of being colour unfriendly – could benefit a great deal from such actions. “Townships are not part of Cape Town, they are separate. We deal with crime, poverty and lack of employment here. The government tells us it takes time to change those problems, but it doesn’t take time to build malls and fancy places in town,” notes Yonga Mdoyi, a 17-year-old student from Gugulethu. Helen Zille, premier of the Western Cape was once quoted as saying that the delivery of
services in the province is the best in the country. But for whom?
Designing solutions So what is a design solution? What does it look like practically? One example is The Green Shack, a project Lamb started a few years ago. A designer with a background in project management and fire prevention, Lamb wanted to make informal housing safer. His ideas manifested into corrugated iron structures with elevated floors (to prevent flooding), and walls planted with vertical gardens, providing much-needed food, insulation and fire protection (fires are a huge problem in informal settlements across SA). “This is not a debate around housing, but safety and warmth,” explains Lamb, who came under fire for “perpetuating” the informal settlement problem. “Reality is, informal settlements are homes, and in these homes people are born, and some even die waiting for RDP (Rural Development Project) houses. We want to see fewer of these deaths.” Using this concept, Lamb’s organization Touching the Earth Lightly has built three of these houses and a creche in Khayelitsha. Taking over a country drowning in debt in 1994 and promising housing and basic services to millions, our government has met with major success. But without changing policies – around how RDP houses are being designed and built and who gets those contracts, for example – design can’t transform lives in SA. “The government is building houses, but what about the services? Adequate sanitation, parks for recreation and schools,” notes Asmal. Most communities in South Africa don’t care about an exquisite chair. South Africa is a unique country with its own needs. What design means in a country like France is not what design needs to be here. High-end design may provide employment for people, but as a city and nation, we must be clear about where our priorities lie. The WDC2014 is a great platform for people to suggest that the government focus on design that changes lives. We need to lobby our government: meaning approach ward councillors and mayors and ask the right questions. As Lamb put it, “Love them or hate them, government [officials] are people too. Rather than approaching them with complaints, approach them with solutions.” And maybe for designers and local government alike, the challenge is “to not only care, but to dare,”as Lamb has concluded. We are privileged to have initiatives such as the Design Indaba, WDC2014 and even Open Design Cape Town, but those initiatives should be a platform to discuss and find solutions for issues that really matter, not a stage for the elite to pat themselves on the back for another interestingly constructed leather couch. So Cape Town is World Design Capital. But what the hell does this mean? livemag.co.za/boxbox
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| Cover Story FeatureStory Cover
RISING
ZA culture is far removed from what it was 20 years ago. More exciting than what we are now, however, is how we got here. Words Lee Molefi | Reporting Aluwani Ratshiungo, Thapelo Mosuioa | Design Fongoqa Mbongeni Photographers Lee Molefi, Siyabonga Mkhasibe, Andy Mkosi
The world watches attentively from London to New York, Paris to Beijing and Buenos Aires to Lagos, as Nelson Mandela steers South Africa toward a modern political miracle the world is yet to encounter, let alone imagine. At home, the mood is more tense, less certain, yet electric. White fears housed in suburban homes with cassette radios streaming the traditionally white Radio 5 (5FM) are juxtaposed against black hopes for the future forming against the backdrop of dusty township streets and an emerging kwaito music.There is little inbetween. The common reality – flashing on TV screens, written in newspapers and shouting from the radio – is that apartheid is now over. Fast-forward to 2014 and 5FM’s leading personalities are DJ Fresh and Gareth Cliff. Locally produced house, hip hop, dubstep, RnB and alternative rock rule the airwaves. MTV has an African incarnation and local fashion has exploded into the mainstream. The marketing guys – previously able to dissect SA’s demographic at ease from a distance – now have a welcome headache trying to define, culturally, what a South African truly is these days. Defining the shifts that South Africa’s pop culture mainstream has experienced over the past twenty years, LIVE spoke to DJ Fresh, Tzvi Karp, Kutlwano Ditsele, David Tlale, Chris Saunders, Desmond Dube, Kagiso Lediga and DJ Doowop, in an effort to find out who we have become twenty years of freedom of expression later.
It’s 1994:
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“Nee Baas, don’t call me kaffir” It was the early-mid 90s when a new genre of music was being sold from car boots littered with cassettes at taxi ranks. With the political dust settling and Nelson Mandela elected president of a “rainbow nation”, kwaito music had shifted into the mainstream, taking its place alongside the likes of Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Yvonne Chaka Chaka. Trompies, Boom Shaka and Arthur Mafokate – confident, defiant and eye-catching – emerged as the innovators of the genre, whose brash, raw sound captured the newfound sense of freedom and opportunity for expression that spoke to millions everywhere. At the same time, TV shows like Generations and later Suburban Bliss were expressing the aspirations of our new democracy, echoing the shift taking place in the country’s collective psyche against the backdrop of promises of a “new South Africa”. The revolution, however, would be on the radio. A year after South Africa’s first democratic elections, nothing better illustrated this new era than Arthur Mafokate’s first hit single “Kaffir”. Blasting out of radios to an audience raised mostly under apartheid, the song defined the genre’s revolutionary tone. “It was bold,” Jay Savage of Sony/ATV Publishing declares. “Not only did it make a legitimate statement about black identity that represented the mindset of the time, but it was a figurative nod to freedom of speech.” Laid over typically low-tempo house beats, the lyrics – “Nee baas, don’t call me kaffirrrr” – said it all. Speaking defiantly for a new generation, the song captured the sense that for the first time ever, black people could look in any direction, at any person, and express themselves clearly without fear. Only two years later in the suburbs of Bertrams, a cash-strapped yet ground-breaking idea was emerging. Blasting kwaito and broadcasting news around township culture with all the energy and curiosity of the youth it spoke to, YFM exploded onto the scene in 1997, drawing 600,000 listeners within 48 days of airing. “Kwaito [music] came into the mainstream in dribs and drabs until October 1997 when YFM was born,” recalls 5FM jock and ZA house-music legend, DJ Fresh. “Without a doubt [it] gave young people a voice,” he adds. Meanwhile, in Johannesburg suburbs north of Soweto and Cape Town homes south of Khayelitsha, traditionally white national station Radio 5 (later 5FM) was on a different yet equally epic quest for identity. Though the country remained largely divided, SA’s readmission to the global community had instigated the pursuit of a South African identity that would hold its own against the influx of international content suddenly pouring in. “There was no local stuff on Radio 5 or TV in the 90s,” affirms Savage. “There was talk of quotas and bringing more local material onto the radio and TV, but it seemed an ideal no one was really committed to.”
It was against this backdrop that YFM – the first deliberately Kasi platform that showcased SA’s emerging youth culture in a way never seen before – became a critical template for other radio, TV and media platforms. In the mid to late 90s, the newly restructured national broadcaster designated SABC1 as its youth channel. Reflecting ZA’s (ongoing) quest for a non-racial identity, the station famously featured a cast of 12 presenters from different racial and economic backgrounds performing music videos of popular contemporary songs, each edition ending with the tagline “Simunye, oh, We Are One!”. Though the mainstream would take time to jump on the “local is lekker” wagon, black and white artists alike were slowly building followings through vibrant local circuits. Thriving on the underground and campus radio stations, South African rock bands such
For all the rainbow nation talk since 94, the radical leap of YFM icon DJ Fresh to the once-white radio station 5FM provided a real indication of the racial borders finally breaking down in ZA culture
as Tweak and Arno Carstens’ Springbok Nude Girls dominated traditionally white festivals such as Oppikoppi, counterparts to the likes of Brenda Fassie, Lebo Mathosa, TKZee, Mandoza and Arthur Mafokate, who ruled the black circuit (eg, Hillbrow’s Razzmatazz and township bashes). The zeitgeist culminated in 1998, when YFM launched Y Mag, a print incarnation of YFM, which did for fashion, politics and lifestyle what the station had done for music. Featuring kwaito sensation TKZee on its first cover, the brand expanded to profile fashion labels such as Magents & Loxion Kulca, street art by notable political graffitti artists such as Faith 47 and Banksy and an emerging South African stand-up comedy industry. Though music – kwaito in particular – dominated mainstream culture at the time, the film, TV and comedy industries would soon have their time in the sun as the 21st century approached.
1994 - Nelson Mandela dons a Batik style shirt to the dress rehearsal of the inauguration of South Africa’s first democratic parliament. - Generations airs for first time. 1995 - Arthur Mafokate’s hit “Kaffir” is released. In the song, Arthur asks his boss/white man (baas) to stop calling him Kaffir. - DSTV launched with 17 channels. 1996 - First SA Fashion Week held. Now South Africa’s longest standing industry event, it was the first to provide local designers and brands a platform to launch their collections to buyers and the media in runway shows. - Suburban Bliss airs 1997 - Clothing brand, Loxion Kulca, “original kasi wear”, is founded by Wandi Nzimande and Sechaba Mogale. - YFM launches. 1998 - South Africa’s first free-to-air channel, ETV, launches. - TKZee release “Shibobo” with S.A striker Benni McCarthy in celebration of South Africa qualifying for its first Soccer World Cup. It remains the fastest-selling CD single by an SA artist in history. - SABC 3 soapie, Isidingo: The Need, launches. - YMag launches. 1999 - Yizo Yizo airs on SABC 1. - The Phat Joe Show airs on the recently launched eTV.
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21st Century Vibes After partying like it was 1999 (and it was), South Africans crossed into the new millenium to the thud and beat of the country’s first true crossover hit, Mandoza’s “Nkalakatha”. The massively popular tune (translating as “Top Dog”) shot to the top of charts on both traditionally black and white stations, and was often referred to as the “other” national anthem because of how often it was played at rugby games. The song, most importantly, became a symbol of the cross-racial unity South Africans had long hoped for. White people dancing awkwardly to the high-tempo beats and bass drops backing Mandoza’s hoarse vocals hinted at the possibility that the country could get beyond outdated notions of racial identity and forge a new common identity à-la Desmond Tutu’s vision. On the not-so-bright side, South Africa found itself in the midst of a battle with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. By 2002, our HIV/AIDS infection rate was the highest in the world. As symbolized by the death of Nkosi Johnson in 2001, the epidemic predominantly affected young people. A 12-year-old child activist who campaigned globally for destigmatization and treatment of HIV/AIDS, Johnson left the world in a spellbound, teary silence in 2000, when, dressed in a shiny suit and sneakers, he delivered an iconic speech at the 13th International Aids Conference in Durban. With HIV/AIDS becoming central to the country’s condition, a greater awareness of its impact began to reflect in everything from the music of kwaito star Zola (credited with “re-philosophizing” the genre), to the Oscar-nominated film Yesterday (about an HIV-positive woman who dreams of seeing her daughter attend school for the first time before her death). Meanwhile, a whole range of social challenges were airing on the TV show no one could ignore: Yizo Yizo. Stringing together themes such as rape, crime, HIV/AIDS, wealth and education, this SABC1 hit, which ran from 1999 to 2004, forced South Africans to reflect frankly on the challenges we were facing post-apartheid. “Yizo Yizo was definitely revolutionary TV,” agrees DJ Fresh. “It took TV where it had never been before in terms of black youth culture.” Raising eyebrows as much for its reflection of urban life as it did for its cinematic brilliance, the show laid bare the new realities young South Africans were contending with to “make it”.
2000 - Mandoza releases Nkalakatha, The title track becomes a crossover hit. - Stoned Cherrie, an afro-urban culture fashion brand established by Nkhensani Nkosi, emerges, offering to “translate old ideas into something new and provide nostalgia”. - Sun Goddess founded to “harvest stories and images of South African traditions through fashion”. - First Cape Town International Jazz Fest (then called North Sea Jazz Festival). 2001 - Leon Schuster’s Mr Bones becomes the highest grossing South African movie at R33 Million. - Bongo Maffin’s 4th album Bongolution is released internationally through Sony Music International & Lightyear Entertainment. HIV/AIDS icon, Nkosi Johnson dies at age 12. 2003 - Skwatta Kamp release Mkhukhu Funkshen, the first full-length studio album by a hip hop group signed to major label. - Pure Monate Show airs. - Stoned Cherrie goes big with its hugely successful range of t-shirts featuring covers of Drum magazine and the use of Steve Biko’s image. 2004 - Yesterday (film) released and is nominated for an Academy Award. - “Black diamonds” term is coined. - South Africa celebrates ten years of democracy. - Music icon Brenda Fassie passes away, aged 39. 2005 - Instant messaging app Mxit becomes a massive phenomenon. Reaches over 1 million users and later becomes the largest social media network in Africa with 10 million users in 2012. - MTV Base is launched across Africa. - Rapper Pitch Black Afro releases Styling Gel, the first hip hop album to sell 100 000 copies & go platinum in South Africa. - South African film Tsotsi (film) wins an Academy award.
or “Black Diamonds” as they were popularly named. Redefining what it could mean to be black in SA, this aspirant, sophisticated group adopted lifestyles that ranged far beyond the townships, kwaito, jazz and other “typically” black tastes and lifestyle choices. “Money brings you more options,” notes SA comedy legend Kagiso Lediga. “Naturally [because of this] we started to align ourselves with different ideals of identity.” Though often criticised for excess, the black diamonds shook up notions of black identity, undoing stereotypes and blurring the lines like never before. The black diamonds also seriously catalysed the growth of the local fashion industry. Circa 2003, brands such as Converse All Stars, Nike and Dickies – all international brands – still dominated fashion must-have lists, and the lack of a localized voice in fashion was glaring. This changed emphatically with the sudden popularity of brands like Stoned Cherrie, Sun Goddess and Loxion Kulca. Though all these brands were launched in the late 90s/ early 2000s, they finally came into their own with demand from a black middle class. In particular, Stoned Cherrie (established by glamour couple Zam and Nkhensani Nkosi in the year 2000) raised the flag for local fashion with its highly successful 2003-launch of t-shirts featuring reproductions of 1950s-era Drum magazine covers. “There was definitely a shift in fashion when Stoned Cherrie and Sun Goddess came in,” recalls revered contemporary designer David Tlale. “Though young black people were always fashionconscious, we now owned fashion brands. For the first time, fashion was an economic tool, and we were creating fashion with a uniquely local voice.” Local was finally lekker. During this same era, Tuesday nights in Melville bars were giving rise to a beast of ZA culture that survives to this day: the mainstream comedy industry. Featuring the talents of David Kau, John Vlismas, Kagiso Lediga, Nik Rabinowitz and Phat Joe Kambule, the industry investigated our society’s challenges in ways that thrilled and fascinated. With figures like Zapiro added to the mix, South African satire and comedy became a critical voice compelling South Africans to laugh at themselves when reflecting on issues like race or corruption in politics – still deeply sensitive topics. That era also saw the release of notable local films such as Bakgat, Bunny Chow and Leon Schuster’s Mr Bones. The latter grossed R33 million, making it the highest grossing South African film of all time, until beaten 7 years later by its own sequel, Mr Bones 2, which brought in R35 million. That Mr Bones 2 is surpassed only by Titanic as the highest grossing movie on the South African film circuit EVER denotes the importance of the South African comedy industry to local entertainment, attitudes and culture.
By 2004, some South Africans were making it just fine, however. After the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing’s 4 Million & Rising document was released, newspapers sensationalised the arrival of the black middle class,
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ZA Culture: explored, celebrated, defined @ livemag.co.za/za-rising/
2006 - YFM DJ Fresh moves to 5FM. - Maskandi duo Shwi Nomtekhala revolutionises urban music by bringing Mbaqanga into the mainstream. Their debut album Wangisiza Baba along with the title track becomes a major hit. - Khaya Dlanga launches his youtube vlog, which covers topics about race and the South African economy. Barack Obama answers one of his questions during a Youtube interview. 2007 - Ama Kip Kip becomes a cult streetwear brand. - Hip Hop group Jozi release their highlysuccesful debut album, Muthaland Crunk, which fuses traditional South African sounds with hip hop beats. 2008 - Bongo Maffin performs at the presentation of the 9 host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Vienna during the 2008 Euro Cup in Austria. 2010 - DJ Fresh, Euphonik and other SA DJs are invited to the Winter Music Conference in Miami, Florida for the first time. - SA hosts FIFA World Cup, the world goes vuvuzela crazy. - Die Antwoord and “Zef” rap go viral
The Big (Cultural) Bang Theory For all the rainbow nation talk since 94, the radical leap of YFM icon DJ Fresh to the once-white radio station 5FM provided a real indication of the racial borders finally breaking down in ZA culture. True to that spirit, by the time Brickz’“Sweety My Baby” reached 5FM’s charts, the oddity of hearing a tune by Zebra & Giraffe immediately follow was hardly surprising. Reflecting our growing eagerness to explore subculture and taste unlimited by race, music, once again, was the first place the youth’s mood was expressed. From Danny K & Mandoza’s collaboration in 2005, Danny K and Kabelo’s album in 2009, Jam Sandwich in 2010 and the JR/Jack Parow/Straatligkinders collaborations in 2011, the crossover trend that squashed racial and sub-cultural borders in the name of art was established. Alongside this cross-cultural creative explosion, whispers of kwaito’s demise were rife. For many, however, the genre’s slipping in the charts (circa 2007) represented an expansion of tastes and options rather than a sign of cultural decline. House and hip hop were now the business. Big business. All you had to do was listen to SABC1’s late night music programming (or Channel O and MTV Base) to connect with the wide range of challengers to kwaito: music from the likes of Black Coffee, Goldfish and hip-hop group Jozi, not to mention international artists and reality TV shows that referenced hip hop and house culture far more than they did kwaito. Bringing us directly into the global spotlight, the 2010 FIFA World Cup invigorated South African culture in a way that was as far reaching as it was profound.“Phillip was coming!” as much to Paarl and Upington as to Joburg and Cape Town; most remarkably, crime stats dipped across the nation. When that year’s Super 14 final between the Blue Bulls and Stormers was played in Soweto shortly before the World Cup began, the stage was al-
2011 - The African print trend goes global after Solange Knowles wears a Babatunde African print cap to the New York Fashion Week. - Motswako Rapper Hip Hop Pantsula aka HHP is nominated for a BET (Black Entertainment Television) Award in the Best International Act – Africa category. - Spoek Mathambo nominated in the Best African Act category at the 2011 Music of Black Origin Awards for debut album Mshini Wam.
ready set, bringing South Africans together in a show of cross-generational, cross-religious and cross-racial support for Bafana Bafana that still gives many goosebumps today. By the quarter-finals, the vuvuzela was a proud global symbol of how “afro-pessimistic” predictions of disaster in the run up to the games had been squashed by the already riveting success of the tournament. The instrument sprang up at tennis matches, rugby games and football matches all over the world, while the iPhone app “2010 Vuvuzela” became wildly popular, reaching 6th on the US iTunes store. The tournament upended both local and international notions of what South Africans could achieve, reminding many of the social and political miracle that we are. On the technological front, decreasing data costs meant that the ZA culture zeitgeist found friends online, even after Ayoba fever died down. Apps like Mxit, blogging platforms, YouTube and social media made way for further unfiltered cross-cultural interaction among young South Africans, breaking geographic barriers and effectively exposing different groups to the same trends and topics. Fashion designer and one of the Mail & Guardian’s most inspiring young people of 2013, Tzvi Karp agrees: “[Previously] Everyone had these preconceived ideas about identity. That if you’re black you dress a certain way and if you’re white you dress a certain way, but that way of thinking has become primitive,” he enthuses. The same phenomenon was also manifesting on the physical plane with investment and interest in neighbourhoods like Joburg’s Braamfontein and Cape Town’s Woodstock, turning these urban areas into centres of youth culture where people of all races could descend for fashion, food, music and art.“Today, fashion itself has become democratised. We all shop in the same places!” Tzvi continues.“Back in the day you’d buy at a thrift shop because you didn’t have much money, but today you have [even] rich people shopping vintage. It’s crazy.” From the radical shift of 5FM to the unity shown during the 2010 World Cup, all the way to the rise of cross-racial collaborative arts and youth districts in our cities, the shake-up in South Africa’s cultural identity over the latter parts of the last decade is undeniable.
cing n a d eoplely to... p e t Whi awkward arse e o h s ’ dozanted at thhe n a M ls hi at t t h t a c y t o i v sibil uld ge pos ntry co dated cou ond out acial bey ons of r noti identity
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Cover Story
The Future It’s an average day in Braamfontein – a student village and arts capital in the heart of Joburg, where middle class, multi-racial twenty-somethings dressed in hip-hop and hipster threads roam the streets freely, stepping in and out of coffee shops, bars, art galleries and fashion boutiques that could easily belong in any of the world’s urban hotspots. “Today, I couldn’t tell the difference between a music video by AKA and Lil Wayne,” says Kagiso Lediga. “It’s really a good and a bad thing because [though] we have proven to ourselves that we can compete with others in the international community, this may have come at the price of losing our unique ‘South African-ness’.” Aluwani Rathsiungo, a Live Mag reporter, shares some of those concerns. Recalling the visit to SA by internet sensation The Sartorialist, and his comment that Braamfontein was “just” like the rest of the world, Aluwani wonders: “Though he meant it as a compliment, why is it that we are trying to be like the rest of the world?” The “Braamfontein reality”, though positive and real for some, is also one that most young people in SA’s townships and rural areas would probably struggle to identify with. So it isn’t difficult to imagine why Kagiso stresses the need for our urban generation – usually at the forefront of shifting dynamics – to identify with South Africa’s core local issues in order to continue to grow ZA culture in a broader sense. “We’ve built all these roads but don’t have any cars on them,” Kagiso insists, referring to the many platforms available for expression today. “We need young people to create groundbreaking content and ideas that will bring about the next cultural boom that has to happen.”
2013 - Mafikizolo release their comeback album Reunited and are nominated for 2 Channel O awards, a MOBO (Music Of Black Origin) award and an MTV EMA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) award - Toya Delazy and Donald are nominated for BET awards. - Galxboy, Butan wear and Head Honcho are just a few examples of fashion brands run by the youth which are currently at the forefront of youth/urban culture.These are particularly popular amongst the Hip Hop subculture. - Vintage clothing explodes as a cross-cultural trend. - Countless blogs such as Cigarettes and Concepts and Kasieculture make the internet continually more important to ZA’s evolving cultural landscape.
So what is the next step? “South Africa needs to get out of the ‘first time in SA’ mentality, we need to stop going ‘It’s the first time this or that has happened in SA, so it must be good’, or that something is too ‘radical’ or outlandish for South Africa. That’s how we can get truly original and chart our own path,” Tzvi asserts. YFM’s Kay Morgan, aka DJ Doowap – whose Dubstep 99 show famously replaced the Kwaito 99 chart on the station in 2013, making her a symbol of SA’s changing cultural dynamic – agrees. “I wish we were braver,” she says. “We don’t make songs or say things that challenge our society’s most important issues or the government or ourselves anymore,” she laments, explaining how issues like HIV/AIDS, institutionalized racism and corrupt governance – all still relevant despite the strides made over the past twenty years – are too often ignored in our pop culture mainstream. Speaking of original ZA culture, the izikhothane subculture, which got bad press in May 2012 after a 3rd Degree documentary depicted its destruction of expensive clothing and smartphones, definitely says something
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Makeup Busisiwe Vilakazi | Styling Bongani Mogari | Thanks to Fruitcakes Vintage Store (Fashion Kapitol) & Linear Italiana (Carlton Centre)
about what’s going on in SA these days. “I liked it,” says Tzvi. “It can’t be seen at face value. For me it represented showing blatant disregard for material wealth in a society where poverty is a central theme of everyday life.” However radical it may appear, izikhothane is hardly surprising when you consider our country’s vast economic disparities and our culture’s obsession with materialism. “For me, it was a defiant stand against [black] attitudes toward money. It was an assertive proclamation from rather poor people that money won’t [continue to] have any power over them,” comments Thapelo Mosioua, another reporter at Live Mag. Kagiso sees it differently, saying that the sub-culture “disappointed” him. “It’s depressing…. it’s just wasteful,” he declares. Whatever we make of it, izikhothane was very ZA. As ZA as the collaborative art projects through which many were introduced to the subculture, as ZA as South Africa’s intense preoccupation with material wealth today, and as ZA as our history of contentious expression has always been.
, inating reality lture is a fasc s ago, ar ye 20 In 2014, SA cu as w from what it e far removed mocratic ag tered the de en e W ly. ul etoric – rh thankf n” tio na of “rainbow nseto a chorus ould be inco one’s race w d at th an l s ea tie id ni e th portu eir identity, op Kagiso d an quential to th ap ow Karp, DJ Do lifestyle. Tzvi come very ree that we’ve t ag l al ga ible ideal, ye Ledi ed cr in is eving th daries un bo close to achi e th inue to push “be braver”, need to cont owap’s call to Do DJ ed he and essfully throw we’re to succ lity, especially if omic inequa ues like econ iss all d ith w an n DS w AI do , HIV/ ption, racism h from ut yo crime, corru ng ki oc rriers still bl ciothe other ba l over their so plete contro m co g in in ga stiny. economic de r wever, it’s clea h African, ho ut t So es g qu un ic yo ep As a in our we carry on otivated to me that as set for the m is ge sta e d build an te for identity, th va ong us to inno st twenty pa and brave am e th of s ible shift on the incred re of innovar brilliant cultu ou ill ith W s. ar ye tacular, we w for the spec tions, no g tion and eye in ist ex shatter prer continue to y through ou on our societ g it tin d en an , m m ds co d wor n, screens an music, fashio g. will be rivetin is ZA. Because THAT
Live Challenge
ELECTIONS Your first time is always memorable. But this one won’t be in the bedroom and should be made without the persuasion of others. So don’t lose your head, keep your clothes on and remember that x marks the ‘spot’. Words Matthew Alexander, Abel Dantyi, Robyn Frost & Ayanda Felem| Design Simphiwe Zuma Photography Siyabonga Mkhasibe, Siphelo Tototo & Leon Tshiza
1O1 Like the born frees, democracy has grown up. With 2014 marking two decades of freedom in our country, the time for experimenting is over. Elections are on the way and you better make sure you’re on your mark. Some new parties have joined the race, but how have we benefited from those already in the running? For those of you still fumbling in the dark, LIVE has taken the dom out of being free. Amandla, Awethu!
36 Summer 2O13
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Regulars Live Challenge Feature | |Elections 101
Democracy: a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Originated from the Latin, demokratia, meaning “the people’s power” – Oxford Dictionary Are you free (or are you dom)? A long walk to freedom
Before 1994, our land was the furthest thing from a democracy. The power did not lie with the people, but with a ruling white minority. People of colour could not vote or have a seat in parliament. If you were not born white, your voice did not matter. Of course we know all that now. But if democracy is “the people’s power”, I have to ask: are we living in a democracy now? Lately my people don’t feel very empowered. For example: everyone keeps saying that they won't vote because they haven't seen change yet. But do we honestly think change comes by sitting at home watching TV while a minority of concerned citizens brave the long queues to participate in the conversations we as a country need to have? Others say their one vote doesn’t matter, but they’re wrong. With nearly 60% of SA’s population under 35-years-old, and nearly 30% aged 15-34, our votes actually could decide who our next president is. It’s time we as the youth of SA held our government accountable by casting our votes based on informed decisions.
So how do you make an informed decision?
We sometimes fail to see the bigger picture when it comes to political parties: what’s really going on behind the empty promises and
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Words Matthew Alexander
flashy rallies. First of all, remember that we’re a new breed of South Africans. We can put a party in power that represents our beliefs as post-apartheid individuals. We don’t have to choose based on colour, but rather on a set of standards – honesty, integrity, and a desire to work for the good of the people would be a nice start.
“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities’’ - Nelson Mandela
Ask the right questions
This means paying attention to the news about your party regarding issues such as service delivery, support of education reform and corruption. Some other good questions: •How well does your party perform in your area? •How quickly does the party’s municipality respond to queries? •How dedicated is the party leader to the specific causes you care about, and what is the party’s record in voting for those things? •Does the party understand that it’s meant to work for you, the citizen, not the other way around?
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FROM DOMPASS TO ID Words Ayanda Felem
1994:
the year no one will forget, the beginning of our democracy. The ANC was the party to take the country forward under Madiba’s leadership. Fast-forward to 2014. What’s happened? LIVE spoke to born frees and seasoned voters across the country, to see how our country’s motivation to vote has changed over the years. Nosisa Dyantyi (49), Eastern Cape
We voted to be free at last and have a black government. At the time, things were bad; when you were going to the shop, school or town, white police could catch you and force you to eat soap. We wanted free education. I guess everyone in this country whether black or white wanted a change.
What have they done for me, lately? Words Abel Dantyi
“What have you done for me, lately?”Janet Jackson’s song poses the question Mzansi’s youth have been asking of the government for some time now. LIVE chatted with Muhammad Khalid Sayed from the ANC Youth League and Thorne Godinho from the DA Youth League to find out what our ruling party and its main opposition have done for us in the past five years.
JOB CREATION
ANC: Fought for the establishment of National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), which aims to equip young entrepreneurs with business skills to help grow their businesses and create jobs. DA: Fought for the implementation of the youth wage subsidy, which the DA predicts will create over 400 000 jobs. The subsidy has yet to be implemented, due to Cosatu’s opposition. Also empowering youth through entrepreneurial competitions: Yearly entrepreneurial competitions allow young people to submit business ideas that can be funded up to R10 000. The idea must be practical in the long run and create jobs.
EDUCATION
ANC: Allocated student loans such as NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme), which pays tuition fees for disadvantaged students who can’t afford to pay their way at universities. Also allocated bursaries to students who can’t afford tuition fees at FET colleges. DA: Fought for the zero-tax campaign, which removed the tax on academic textbooks so students could afford them. The DA’s Student Organisation (DASO) at the University of Pretoria also spent over R400 000 to help students who would be kicked out because they can’t afford to pay tuition
fees, and to fund a textbook library and help with transport costs for inner-city students.
CRIME
The ANC’s Sayed says: “The high rate of crime in this country is very bad, but as the youth league, both national and provincial, we will address the underlying problems like drugs and unemployment.” The DA’s Godinho agrees with Sayed, stating; “As DA youth, we are fighting the high level of crime by eliminating the underlying issues such as unemployment by having entrepreneur competitions and the youth wage subsidy.”
COMMITMENT TO YOUTH ISSUES
“ANC youth league is not neglecting the youth, but needs to get rid of the DA first; naturally in order to improve the lives of young people, we cannot have the DA in power, and it is the only way we can improve the lives of the youth,” asserts Sayed. Meanwhile, Godinho claims: “ANC is the greatest stumbling block in getting the work done. DA policies cater for the youth of Mzansi, and not about competing with the opposition.” With all this finger pointing back and forth, one wonders how much either of them really care about doing anything for youth issues.
Noluthando Mnyamana (48),Western Cape
My first vote was in 1994 for the ANC. I voted for the change in the country from the apartheid government. For example: Free education, free hospitals and the ability to work anywhere and go anywhere without carrying what was known as Dompass. To be free was all we wanted. Siphokazi Mambukwe (36), Gauteng
We wanted free education and freedom in everything. Education was the worst, so we wanted to make change for the better in South Africa. Sibonakaliso Mthiyane (36), KZN
I voted for change. I was young, and I usually saw the police coming to our town and beating and abusing people. So when they said in 1994 there will be a democratic election, I was looking forward to vote for change. Abongile Beyi (20), Eastern Cape
I will participate in [the] election by voting. I believe if you want see change you must get voting. We need to see more female leaders, we have to show the world our skills. The current government is doing great, we are studying and they gave us new houses, so they are working. Abongile Ngqokweni (19), KZN
I don’t know yet [if I will vote], because what the current government is doing is pushing us away. But… I want to see the change.
According to politics professor at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits), Sheila Meintjes, “Competition between parties is what politics is all about. But the youth leagues should come together and make sure they cater to the issues of the youth such as job creation and access to education.”
Tshepiso Setshedi (19), Gauteng
On the flipside: there’s a big gap for the new parties to satisfy the demands of the youth of Mzansi Afrika. The question is: are we ready for change?
Ndiphiwe Cezile (17), Western Cape
I want to see the change, especially in education, for instance the provinces like Eastern Cape, they should be more hands-on in education and be more inspired and encouraging to young people. I’m looking forward to vote never mind what the current government is doing. But I won’t vote for the current [government], I haven’t seen anything from them. They are full of empty promises.
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Feature | Elections 101
New Kids on the Block While you may think that politics can be compared to the recent toilet wars in Cape Town – generally full of s*&t – this year’s election is bound to be more interesting than most with three new parties shaking up the political sphere.
AGANG: Building a New South Africa?
The first of the new parties to emerge is Agang, led by Dr Mamphela Ramphele. Wellknown for being the mother of two children of slain apartheid hero, Steve Biko, she also has served as the Vice Chancellor of UCT and was a managing director at the World Bank. Worth over R55 million (she voluntarily declared her assets in June 2013), this doctor turned businesswoman has a house in Camps Bay, a great career and money – things that are a dream for many South Africans. Given all that, it’s not surprising that the youth may feel disconnected from her. In a recent interview with News24, Ramphele insisted that: "being comfortable or having a measure of wealth is not a barrier to linking with poor people. What is a barrier is the abuse of power and stealing from poor people as government has done consistently". Agang, which means “to build” in Sesotho, aims to create a county of our dreams. Half of the country’s youth are without jobs. Agang says the government has robbed young people of their rightful future by managing the education system inefficiently. They added that 20 years is too long to wait for decent jobs, quality education and health care.
Their plan?
• To make government accountable • Invest in massive infrastructure and at the same time create jobs • Cut red tape associated with starting new businesses • Convert some public schools into vocational schools so SA’s youth have access to the education they need to be successful in the workforce • Establish skills development programmes • Fund on-the-job training for young South Africans struggling to enter the workforce
ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS: The Red Beret Army
If Agang appears moderate, enter the Red Berets, led by firebrand Julius Malema. He shot to political fame as ANCYL leader in 2008 but was ousted five years later due to hate speech, tax evasion, recent fraud charges and general misbehavior. In mid2013, Malema founded his own party, The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). The men in red berets (Juju’s signature look) are focusing on the rights of the poor unemployed black youth, without much mention of anyone else. Juju says the red berets signify the blood of South Africans that was shed during apartheid and continues to be shed in the peoples’ fight for economic emancipation. He
30 Summer 2O14
Words Robyn Frost
talks about fights like the Marikana massacre, but doesn’t offer solutions to how emancipation will be won.
So what’s the EFF-ing idea?
EFF claims to bring together “revolutionary, fearless, radical and militant activists to achieve economic freedom”. Their stated agenda includes: • Free education up to undergraduate level • Free housing, sanitation and health care • Open and accountable corruption-free government Speaking of corruption and accountability, Malema is still facing corruption charges stemming from claims that he manipulated government tenders in Limpopo, and he reportedly owes the tax man R16 million. With his case continuing into 2014, JuJu will have this hanging over his head during the campaign. The party claims to be a today’s version of The Black Consciousness Movement, but we wonder what the original founder Steve Biko (Dr Ramphele’s baby daddy!) would think of Juju claiming that throne.
PATRIOTIC ALLIANCE Gangsters in the House?
When Agang (that’s pronounced Ah-ghang, not a gang) was launched, it was still safe to say that there would be no gangsters in government. That was until the launch of the Patriotic Alliance, which is led by a convicted fraudster-turned-businessman, Gayton Mckenzie, and previous EFF member and sushi king, Kenny Kunene. The party’s (controversial) leadership also includes members from the Ses-en-twintig gang, the most notable being convicted gang leader, Rashid Staggie. No, we are not having you on. According to PA’s Mckenzie, “A coloured person who still votes for the DA has an indescribable love of kissing white arse.” With 19 new parties hoping for seats in parliament, the fruits of their campaigns will only be seen at the polls. But one thing is for sure, the newcomers will challenge both the ANC and the DA. “The potential for these parties to make an impact is there,” says Zwelethu Jolobe, political science lecturer at the University of Cape Town, referring to Agang and the EFF. What we say? Prepare for a political showdown.
Registration
1O1
Everyone freaks out when they hear the words “Registration process”. Don’t be a freak, let LIVE break it down. WHO CAN REGISTER TO VOTE?: Anyone over the age of 16, but you can only vote if you are 18. You must bring your green barcoded South African ID book, Temporary ID Certificate (TIC), or a smartcard ID with you when you go to register. HOW DO I CHECK IF I’M REGISTERED (OR WHERE I’M REGISTERED): If you’ve already voted or registered before but aren’t sure about the details, send an SMS with your ID number to 32810. You can also check your registration status online. To see where you’re registered, contact your nearest Electoral Municipal Office, or look online (address below). If you’ve just registered for the first time, you can SMS the same number to confirm that your registration has gone through. IMPORTANT: You only need to register once, unless your home address has changed since you last registered, in which case you must re-register. WHERE/HOW DO I REGISTER? At your correct voting station on registration weekend, which is February 8-9, 2014. To find your correct voting station, go to: maps.elections. org.za/vsfinder/ or call 0800 11 8000. You can also apply to register at your local Municipal Electoral Office during normal business hours, but phone first to make an appointment. IMPORTANT: You can't register at national or provincial offices, only municipal offices. Whatever you do, be sure to register on or before 5pm of the day the election date is announced (you can keep track of that by checking the Government Gazette). WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I REGISTER? Fill out the voters registration form. Your ID will be scanned and a barcoded sticker will be stuck to them. You have now applied to register. Your application will be processed within seven days. Go to www.elections.org.za for more info on all the above
Still freaked? Check our dummies guide livemag.co.za/vote2014 00
Live Challenge Fashion
Floral dress R440, meandyou; Socks, stylist’s own; Tomy takkies R129, Jay Jays
Summer School Your ideal varsity wardrobe tutorial
Stylist & Words Colleen Balchin | Photographer Siyabonga Mkhasibe | Designer Reanetse Kolisang | Makeup Jess Van Kerkhof, Face to Face Models Eric and Shawnee, Alushi Models; Nicole Rudd, Sheron Nare, Aluwani Ratshiungo, Johanna Reichelt, Ramon McHardy
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Fashion
Ramon: Shirt R500, Vest R279, Chinos R799, Watch R999, Satchel R1899, all Stache; Sneakers R1400, Puma Shawnee: Top R399, meandyou; Jersey price on request, LVJ; Shorts R599, Stache; Boots, model’s own; Ear piece R140, meandyou; Sterling silver bracelet R269, Accessorize; Cross ring R45, Jay Jays
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Sheron: Dress price on request, Miss Ratshi; Cross necklace R50, Key necklace R50, both Jay Jays; Bangle (for two) R119, Accessorize; Rings R39-R59, Jay Jays Nikki: Dress R420, meandyou; Hat, stylist’s own; Sunglasses R69, Jay Jays; Silver neckpiece R219, meandyou; Boots R1049, Palladium
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Fashion
Jojo: 5panel R480, Dip St; Windbreaker R1200, Puma; Tank R420, Dip St; Shorts R350, Puma; Kicks R1100, Puma Eric: Baseball top R1500, Dip St; Joggers price on request, LVJ
34 Summer 2O14
Watch our behind the scenes documentary youtube.com/LiveMagSa
The perfect school wardrobe @ livemag.co.za/summer-school
PIRACY:
Not Such a Serious Crime?
We’ve all seen them in busy spots of the city, counterfeit discs displayed on a tarp or in a box. Are they just guys making a living, or thieves stealing from artists? Words Sabelo Mkhabela | Design Simphiwe Zuma | Photography Kgabo Kganyago
Pirates, most of them foreign, are in this business for one reason – survival. None of them indicated any love for the job. “I don’t like this job. I’ve been arrested and had my stuff taken by the cops, but I still do it because I have no other means to get money,” clarified Simba*. They all echoed the same sentiment about being trapped in the job for survival. Most have been arrested or seen their stock confiscated, but with no other means to keep the lights on, they keep returning to the business.
P
iracy, we are all guilty of it. Be it software, music, movies or games: we’ve all obtained them illegally at some point. Take a look at your music or movie collection. You’re special if the majority of your disks (if you still use those) aren’t pirated. You may have gotten them from a friend or even bought them on the streets, unaware you were supporting crime. Or perhaps you didn’t care. Intrigued by the piracy industry, I took to Cape Town’s streets to investigate. Apart from learning a few things about the business, I discovered that CD and DVD pirates are angry people: only one of five interviews didn’t end with hostile tirades being hurled at me. As I would learn later, “troubles” with the police are responsible for the pirates always being on their toes. Ironically, as I made my way towards my first pirate, a policeman passed the stall without a single word. He didn’t even cringe at the sight of an illegal act committed right under his nose. In pirate-speak, this was a “good cop” – one who understands that pirates are only helping less privileged citizens get music and films at an affordable price (pirated DVDs and CDs go for R10 per unit, as opposed to originals, which start at R100 per unit).
“I can’t give you an exact figure, but what I can tell you is that this is what I do for a living. I pay for my rent, buy groceries and take care of my family with this money,” said Armando* when asked how much he earned selling pirated disks. A tall dark-skinned Zimbabwean in his late thirties, Armando was the only pirate who answered most of my questions without promising to do bad things to me if I carried on being inquisitive. His modest claims about his earnings contradicted a couple of other pirates, who expressed total dissatisfaction with their income. But maybe that’s just a sellers’ lament. Maybe the mysterious producers are making more.
Speaking of the mysterious producers, if you thought the guy who sells you a Big Nuz CD is the same guy who burns it, you are very mistaken. All of the pirates I met said they were employed by “someone” who provided the stock. My curiosity about the details remains sadly unsatisfied, as no one would reveal anything about employers or how and where the music and videos are obtained. Only Armando answered, but his reply wasn’t juicy: “We get the music and films from anywhere we can, just like you and everyone else. We get some films from the internet, and if it is in high demand, we buy it and duplicate it,” he explained. I still had my doubts.
“I can’t give you an exact figure but what I can tell you is that this is what I do for a living. I pay for my rent, buy groceries and take care of my family with this money” In 2006, artists such as respected poet Mzwakhe Mbuli, and legendary gospel star Rebecca Malope, joined a plethora of other concerned artists, taking the law into their own hands and embarking on street raids to destroy counterfeit CDs and DVDs around Newton, Johannesburg in an effort dubbed “Operation Dudula”. It’s disturbing how piracy is a crime that’s fought by an “All rights reserved...blah blah...” disclaimer and basically no other means. A “virtual” theft, its seriousness seems mostly overlooked. “If I can go up [to the taxi rank] with you now, you’d see how they would run,” claimed a Cape Town police officer when asked why piracy was not seriously combated. “The best we can do is to hit them in the pocket by confiscating their stock to destabilise their businesses,” he said. “Also, there’s a lot of them, so arresting them creates a lot of paperwork,” he added. I got the impression that piracy is not viewed very seriously. I’m still not sure if piracy is difficult to combat or just not prioritised. Or is it both? My money is on the latter. Whatever my opinion is, millions of rands are being lost annually due to piracy. According to RISA (Recording Industry of South Africa), the South African music industry loses approximately R500-million each year due to piracy. Now if that isn’t a lot of money to you, you probably think e-tolls is a great idea. Speaking with the pirates wasn’t smooth. A majority of them weren’t comfortable being asked questions about their businesses. I did understand why. I surely don’t look like a cop, but hey, I could’ve been undercover. All that said, the day after my interviews, the streets were clear of pirates. But we all know that by the time this article gets published, the pirates will be back and it will be business as usual. Bills won’t pay themselves. *Names changed to protect identity How criminal is it? Livemag.co.za/piratebay
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Feature
DADDY ISSUES
Your dad left when you were 12. Now you’ve got daddy issues – don’t deny it. But how much can you blame your father’s absence for the decisions you make and the life you lead?
Words Lethabo Afrika Bogatsu | Design & Illustration Thabo Xinindlu
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F
or most of my life, I was extremely jealous of my friends whose fathers played significant roles in their day-to-day lives: from picking them up at after-care, to dropping them at the movies. While Father’s Day was always awkward for me, my friends enjoyed making coffee in one of those “World’s Best Dad” mugs sold at Cardies. But daddy, mommy and 2.5 children plus dog has never been a true reflection of the South African family. According to a study by the Human Sciences Research Council and the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa has the lowest marriage rate and the second highest rate of father absenteeism on the continent. Stats SA says nine million children (48% of those under the age of 15) are growing up with absent but living fathers. Extramarital affairs, divorce, estrangement and pregnancy outside of marriage are some of the reasons shared with many other countries. But the family situation in South Africa is made worse by our legacy of colonisation and apartheid’s migrant labour system, which aimed to keep the black family separate. Regardless of why father absenteeism happens, like every social ill, its effects manifest in many ways.
DADDY ISSUES
We’ve all heard of “daddy issues”, but there’s a widespread view that only girls have them. When an ex-boyfriend told me that my inability to be intimate came from my deep-seated resentment towards my father, I kicked him in the nuts. I found it completely ludicrous that he could blame our relationship problems on my deadbeat daddy. After a while though, I realised that there was some truth to his observation. Research by Princeton University psychologist Sara Mclanahan on the effects of father absenteeism shows that young women with absent fathers have more difficulty establishing and maintaining healthy relationships. Lynette Swanepool, psychologist at the University Of Johannesburg’s PsyCad facility agrees, adding: “Many young girls find themselves looking for a father figure in a relationship. They often look for a person who will provide that masculine love and affection that they did not receive from their fathers.” Often these women act out their paternal resentment in romantic relationships.
When an ex-boyfriend told me that my inability to be intimate came from my deep-seated resentment towards my father, I kicked him in the nuts. Take this group of girlfriends as an example. Ntombi* (26), a self-proclaimed control freak, has a habit of prematurely ending relationships as she would rather “be the dumper than the dumpee.” Dineo* (21), described by ex-boyfriends as “extremely insecure”, thinks she’s not worthy of love since her father wasn’t around to give her any. Roxanne* (25), whose father was a serial cheater, spends most of her time going through her boyfriend’s phone and emails in the hopes of catching him in the act and proving that all men are the same.
BOYS DON’T CRY
Daddy issues aren’t limited to women. “It’s really hard trying to discipline him when he misbehaves,” says single mother Octavia Manana (35) of her 10-year-old son. “He came home from school with a blue eye and a missing tooth, and told me ‘you think I look bad, you should see the other boy, Ngim’shayile! (I rearranged his face!).’” Manana suppresses a chuckle, but continues: “I don’t like to blame his father’s absence for his behaviour, but I think he would be better behaved if his father was still in his life to teach him right from wrong.” With all the laughter disappearing from her expression, she goes on to admit: “There’s only so much I can do. My mama told me @ livemag.co.za/mama-told
I can’t teach him how to be a man. I can do a lot, but not that.” Daddy issues grow with you, they don’t just disappear once you get over puberty. Jabu’s* father left when he was 12. At the age of 15, Jabu dropped out of high school. Now at 23, he’s got a criminal record and makes a living from petty crime. “Umam’ uyazama mara (My mom tries but) she can’t always afford to give me all the things my siblings and I want. That’s why I need to go out there and hustle,” says this eldest son who explains that because his dad wasn’t around, he took it upon himself to fill the role of provider.
ACROSS COLOUR LINES
According to Stats SA’s General Household Survey 2010, father absenteeism is most prevalent in black families. In 2009, black children under the age of 15 had the highest rate of absent fathers at 70%, compared to 47% for coloured, 17% for whites and 15% for Indian children. Jo Glanville (24) is just one example of the 17%. Her father left when she was 12 and came back into her life when she was 20. She speaks candidly about how her relationship with her father swayed from one of resentment to hero-worship. There was no moderation. “Even though you don’t see them often, when you do, their imprint is so much stronger than with someone you see regularly,” she says, explaining that she would hold onto things he’d say, even in passing. She remembers her dad commenting that he found fat people disgusting. This careless comment meant so much that in her teen years she struggled with an eating disorder. Only much later was Jo able to dismantle the influence of his absence, and create her own identity without the need to impress him.
South Africa has... the second highest rate of father absenteeism on the continent FATHER FIGURES
“I was really excited to finally have someone I could call my dad,” recalls Siphokazi Mthembu* (23), who remembers feeling jealous of her friends from nuclear families until her mother remarried when Siphokazi was 12. “I no longer felt as though I was missing something. My dad and I may not be related by blood, but we share so much more. He has taught me so much, especially about boys.” Perhaps it’s time to stop being ashamed of the fact that most of us don’t come from picture-perfect nuclear families. Our biological fathers might not be there to teach us how to ride bikes or to watch soccer with, but we still have stepfathers, uncles, big brothers and granddads to buy socks, ties and boxers for on father’s day.
* Names changed to protect identity
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Feature
In Pursuit of Change Too-often labelled job thieves and parasites, foreigners in SA are often creating job opportunities and making positive change in the lives of ordinary South Africans. Words Sinovuyo Sese | Design Simphiwe Zuma | Photography Kgabo Kganyago & Siphelo Tototo
S
ince the end of apartheid, foreigners from the continent and all over the world have increasingly made South Africa their home. According to the 2011 Census, 3.3% of the people in SA were not South African (the figure jumps to 7.4% in Gauteng). Although some locals believe that immigrants are “taking over” business and have attacked them, LIVE thinks the skills they bring – alongside the passion to improve their lives – adds to SA’s society, culture and economy.
inspiring words for passersby. “You have to conceive it to believe it. I saw it first in my mind. I saw it second in my behaviour. I saw it third in my action. Success is a measure of how you conquer your fear” were the words written that day.
“
In this country, we as foreign nationals need to do more to integrate ourselves into South African society and transfer some of our skills to unemployed youths
”
This 33-year-old entrepreneur, poet and music-industry agent from DRC-Congo is one of many foreigners who has taken the initiative to bring good to his adopted country. Forced to leave DRC due to civil war, he came to South Africa – a country whose history and films had always inspired him – 15 years ago. Intending to improve his life but speaking only French, Baguma got his first job as a car guard. Earning as little as R75 a day, he says it was enough to buy KFC for supper. As his English improved, he sought other opportunities, including selling t-shirts at the Waterfront, and eventually working for a company in Gansbaai, where he educated tourists about sharks. Through these jobs, he gained skills and the confidence to interact with the world. “In this country, we as foreign nationals need to do more to integrate ourselves into South African society and transfer some of our skills to unemployed youth,” said this creative activist, who believes that the country’s future is the youth.
With paintings of Mandela and various African prints adorning the walls, Lucky Fish is a place where arts meets passion, love and togetherness. Situated on Long Street, this unique shop sells printed t-shirts, various arts and crafts, and books about photography, music and art. “I prefer calling it Ubuntu, because it is a calabash of love,” said owner, Rodriguez Baguma, describing his business. A Congolese Rasta with an exquisite sense of style, Baguma is colour-blocking a pink tee and green trousers on this sunny spring day in Cape Town. Chatting with customers, he explains “the blackboard of life” – a chalkboard outside the shop where he writes
38 Summer 2O14
[inspired me] to make a change through education,” said the teacher who regularly hosts sessions with learners, where he listens to problems, personal or academic, and helps where he can.
There are many ways in which foreigners can play a part. While some choose art and entrepreneurship, others enlighten through education. Dressed casually in brown trousers and a leather jacket, 44-year-old Mhandu Simplicio is a teacher at Luhlaza High School. Problems in his native Zimbabwe made him come to SA, and he now works as a Maths and Science teacher for grade 10-12s. “When I grew up, my teacher from primary school
Education isn’t the only place foreigners can assist in South Africa. Our country has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the world, and is still working to provide better care to those infected. Moving to SA in 2007 to conduct HIV/TB research with the Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research School of Public Health, Nigerian-born Brit, Dr Tollulah Oni (33) had previously practised internal and emergency medicine at home in England and overseas in Australia. Recently completing a Masters in Public Health and a PhD in Medicine/Epidemiology, this overachiever saw the need for skills like hers in SA, and decided to stay. Oni now studies how diseases interact and change, particularly focusing on the relationship between HIV, TB and emerging chronic diseases (eg, diabetes) within the South African population. “The world is a complex place, therefore it is important to be open to change and also be able to make change,” declared this enthusiastic young doctor with a bright smile. And she is sure to make a difference, having recently been selected as one of ten new members of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS), which helps decide how to best use science to benefit society. Through her involvement, Oni hopes to improve HIV/TB medication in the public health system, and to increase public knowledge about HIV/TB. Foreigners – increasingly part of our South African culture – immigrate for different reasons. While some come to improve their lives, others come to improve the lives of South Africans. Working together, we can all make a change.
Photo Essay
Cast in Skin
Words & Photography Siyabonga Mkhasibe | Assistant Photography Nzolo Bidla | Design Simphiwe Zuma
Body modification is integral to cultures across the world, and tattoos – sometimes plain, sometimes elaborate, always personal – serve as amulets, status symbols, declarations of love, and pure adornment. LIVE celebrates this expression. 39
Photo Feature Essay | Photo Essay
1 “Ink is my skin tone, it’s the colour of me, my ink identifies me, makes me unique, but above all, it expresses my deepest intentions.” Jay
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2 “Kataliya is my guardian and she always has my back. After my grandfather passed away, this tattoo took on a more important meaning, it became a commemoration of him.” Karyn
3&4 “My flesh is a mess unless it’s dressed and blessed by an impressive sketch.” Roche
The ultimate self expression @ livemag.co.za/cast-skin
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Advertorial | Brought to you by British Council Connect ZA
THE
hustle Handbook
“Started from the bottom, now we’re here,” is one track we’re all waiting to sing along with, knowing we’ve finally“made it”.But Drake left out the instructions that tell us how to get there. Words Gugu Nonjinge, Sabelo Mkhabela, Abel Dantyi, Buble Mweli | Design Phumlani Mtabe | Photography Courtesy of artists No one expects success to be as simple as following ten steps in a Hustle Handbook, but it helps to have one! With the help of British Council Connect ZA, LIVE has created multiple platforms – in the mag, online and at events in Jozi and Cape Town – where budding creatives can get answers and tips from those who have hustled their way to success. For this first installment of the Hustle Handbook, we caught up with three dream-chasers who have kept it real while working their way to the top
Gary Van Wyk (32)
THEHUSTLERS HUSTLERS
Photographer at 21 Icons
Gary van Wyk is a Cape Town-based documentary photographer from the Cape Flats whose work has been published in numerous international magazines and newspapers. At 17, he travelled to London, where his love for photography was aroused. Returning to Cape Town, he studied photography at Peninsula Technikon (now known as Cape Peninsula University of Technology), and during his final year he worked as an intern for Independent Newspaper. Gary now works with 21 Icons, a project celebrating international icons through film and photography.
Nomfusi (27)
Afro-pop Musician Nomfusi rose from being a simple girl from the dusty streets of Khayelitsha outside Cape Town to being a multiple SAMA and Metro FM Award-winning afro-pop sensation. This singer-songwriter has performed across the globe from England to Canada, wowing crowds wherever she goes.
Laduma Ngxokolo (27)
Founder, Creative Director and Head Designer of MaXhosa Knitwear
Born in Port Elizabeth, the Xhosa-Influenced knitwear designer for Amakrwala (Xhosa initiates), Laduma Ngxokolo had his first experience in designing when he studied at Lawson Brown High School. In 2010, Laduma won the South African national leg of the South African Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC) Design Competition which earned him a trip to London where he was awarded first prize in the international competition. He is now known globally for his men’s knitwear range.
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What the hell is success anyway?
Success is doing what you as an individual love.“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”: this is a quote [by Confucius that] I believe in. I personally think that when you are able to survive and make a living from what you’re doing, then you have made it. Making it isn’t about being well known or famous, it’s about setting goals and achieving them even though when one reaches those goals they still aim higher. I doubt I even know what having made it means [GARY VAN WYK]
I personally define success as living a fulfilled life: knowing how you got where you are as a creative, and being able to live with yourself and the decisions you’ve made. [NOMFUSI]
Success is when one achieves [the] results that they ultimately desire; therefore, when one reaches that stage one would definitely feel like they have “made it”. [LADUMA NGXOKOLO]
Using digital tools? I use Facebook and I also have a website. I wouldn’t call myself a brand – I let my work speak for me. Tips: Make sure that your website is a reflection of your work, work ethic, and personality. Make it professional. I try to make it about the pictures, more than about myself. I upload pictures on facebook and my website and that’s how I get work. It really helps - also because I get immediate feedback on my work and people get to comment and encourage you [GARY VAN WYK]
Social networks have bridged the gap between the artist and the audience. Of course you have to use them creatively for them to work for you, keep enticing people, keep them interested [NOMFUSI].
We are currently using digital tools such as Instagram,Tumblr, Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest and Vimeo to inform our followers about the ideology and aesthetic [and] help us communicate our brand. We are mainly focused on more visual digital tools like Instagram, Pinterest & Tumblr because we are in the design business. Although digital tools are easy to use, they still do require creative input that should make shared information appeal to [your] target market. Digital tools also have the following important advantages: One can illustrate a three-dimensional presentation of what a particular brand is about. Brands can connect with their market directly and find out what they are into. They can share information with their market instantly. [LADUMA NGXOKOLO]
connectza.tumblr.com facebook.com/ZAConnect twitter.com/Connect_ZA spoken word fan? Creative hustles @ youtube.com/livemagsa
CREATIVE CATALYSTS Word N Sound
Founded by Afurakan Mohare, Qhakaza Mthembu and Mduduzi Mvemve, the Word N Sound poetry and music series is a platform for the spoken word podium. SA’s premier platform for emerging South African wordsmiths and performers! @WordNSound wordnsound.wordpress.com
Bozza Mobile
Africa’s most trusted mobile and digital marketplace for creatives to connect, collect and share the best of what’s happening on the continent. @Bebozza bebozza.tumblr.com
BAT Centre
An arts and culture community centre in Durban’s small-craft harbour, The Bartel Arts Trust community art centre provides skills training, promotion and exposure for disadvantaged and emerging artists. www.batcentre.co.za
Bush Radio 89.5
Africa’s oldest community radio station project, Cape Town’s Bush Radio offers internships as a development opportunity for young broadcasting and communication scholars from all over the world. Interns get valuable experience alongside some of the most dedicated young media practitioners in South Africa. @BushRadio bushradio.wordpress.com
CReATIVe NeTWORkINg Live Magazine SA and British Council Connect ZA are continuing a series of FREE “creative networking” sessions in CPT and JHB throughout 2014. The sessions provide young creative hustlers a chance to engage with a panel of established industry professionals and arts practitioners, who will offer career advice on different themes each time. Check livemag.co.za to find out when the next session is on and who will be there!
CheCk LIVe’s hustLe handbook onLIne at: livemag.co.za/word-n-sound-creativesession-review/ and livemag.co.za/ creative-hustle-review/ for more tips on how to make digital tools work for you, plus reviews of interesting events, profiles on rising creatives, useful organisations and other resources to hustle your way to success, however you define it.
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LifeStyle| Sports
Future Sports
TENNIS
rse- ing o h and becom e g n i box adually g peopl , s i Tenn are gr g youn nows, g n ridin lar amo a. Who k fill our ll popu uth Afric ay they’ . a a in So e one d Rihannmphiwe Zum i b may ums likem | Design S i le stads Ayanda LFeee Tshiza d Wor graphy to o h P
Internationally tennis is widely played and celebrated. And in South Africa? Not so much. Besides the fact that sports such as soccer and rugby take the cup, most communities in SA still don’t have much accessibility when it comes to tennis. “I wouldn't call [tennis] unpopular, it's just that we don't get many young people from the townships who play it,” says Zaida Beukes, president of Western Province Tennis. Curious to try your backhand? Beukes says: “Contact me! We take any age, and would like to see more young people from the townships show interest.” Tennis will keep you fit, both physically and mentally, as it involves a lot of quick moves, great coordination and thinking. The game is played on a court, with opponents on either side of the net. It’s played in a minimum of three matches, with each match including seven “sets”.
Tennis anyone?
• The ball is only in play for a total of about 20 minutes in an average two and a half hour tennis match. • It’s played on rectangular courts made of grass or clay. • Originates in Great Britain.
BOXING
Boxing requires great physical fitness, mental stamina and a deep trust in yourself. It can be extremely dangerous, and boxers have sustained serious injury or even been killed in the ring (remember when Mike Tyson bit an opponent's ear?). But it’s also an amazing workout and will seriously boost your confidence. The sport has battled with scandals of mismanagement of funds, corruption and lack of financial support, but gyms are increasingly popping up. “Young people are interested in boxing and we have the capacity to accommodate more. Our aim is to bring the game to the townships and rural areas,” says Premier Boxing League Boss, Dicksy Ngqula.
In the ring:
•A fight usually consists of 4, 10 or 12 rounds, with each round lasting three minutes (with one minute rest between rounds). •One of the first Olympic sports, the first records of boxing as a sport come from 688BC! •Rounds end when one boxer is knocked out or has admitted defeat by raising two fingers.
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HORSE RACING
Horse racing has long been popular as a sport both to watch and bet on. But how do you get to be in the race? Siyabonga Duma (23) fell in in love with the sport when the team from Free State Horse Racing visited his school. “If you want to become a jockey, you have to love and always watch horse racing, and be at the racecourse all the time so you can learn by observing,” the young jockey explained. “Horse racing is a difficult but fun sport,” he continued, explaining that the distance the horses race varies from 1-3 km, and can include anywhere from 10 to 15 horses. Winning jockeys in most SA races are awarded up to R5 000, though the biggest races – the Vodacom Durban July and J&B Met “make big money”.
Off to the races
•Unlike other sports, there is no league. •The only sport in SA that’s legal to bet on. •Races are ongoing, usually happening once in a month.
Books& Movies
Be inspired! LIVE’s summer picks for books and movies that make us reflect on what’s important in life and leave us inspired.
Words Zizo Ntuku & Mthakazi Makalima | Design Simphiwe Zuma | Photography Siphelo Tototo & Lee Tshiza
LITTLE BEE
BY: Chris Cleave Simon And Schuster Paperbacks, 2008 368pp RATING: A heartwarming story of humour and hope, Little Bee is the story of the unlikely friendship between two women from very different worlds. A Nigerian refugee in London, the title character Little Bee is alone without a single pound. Sarah, a young mother and editor, randomly met Little Bee on a Nigerian beach a year before, and is the only person Little Bee now knows. Using both women as narrators, Cleave lets us inside these believable characters’ minds. Little Bee’s perseverance and optimism in the face of war and losing her family is very inspiring, making me appreciate my life and country. My one issue was Cleave’s portrayal of Africa, which came off as a jungle with no technology. [ZN]
WE NEED NEW NAMES
BY: Noviolet Bulawayo Little Brown & Company, 2013 304pp RATING: This novel tells the story of 10-year-old Darling and her friends. Growing up in Zimbabwe, they spend their days making up games and stealing guavas from the rich to fill their stomachs. Darling dreams of going to America to live with her aunt in a better life. Having grown up in a rural area, I related to Darling’s world, finding the story inspiring as I know how it feels to have big dreams but come from a small unpromising place. In the end Darling reminds us that where you come from doesn’t matter as much as where you go. [MM]
JOBS
Director: Joshua Michael Stern 128 minutes, 2013 Rating: If you don’t know the entrepreneur, you surely know his brand. This is the extraordinary story of Steve Jobs (played by Ashton Kutcher), the groundbreaking entrepreneur who let nothing stop him from reaching his goals and making Apple one of the most coveted brands in the world. The movie starts with Steve introducing the iPod at an Apple town hall meeting, then flashes back to Reed College, where Steve dropped out in 1974 due to the high expense of tuition. This film will inspire those with ideas banging in their heads. However, it’s probably only truly interesting for people curious about how Apple became the tech giant that it is today. [MM]
SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN Director: Malik Bendjelloul 86 minutes, 2012 RATING:
More popular than The Rolling Stones in 1970s South Africa, music legend Sixtos Rodriguez (aka Sugarman) sold over half a million albums here, but remained practically unknown in his native USA. This documentary follows the quest by two of his Cape Town fans, trying to find out if the rumour of his death in the 90s was true, eventually tracking him down to Detroit, Michigan (USA). The film’s portrayal of Rodriguez is that of a real man of mystery living a quiet and simple life. His success came very late in his music career, and his commitment to creating art rather than worrying over the rewards that come from it is truly inspirational. The film reminds us that the “American dream” doesn’t happen for everyone, and in the arts industry, you are only as good as your last work. [ZN]
GREAT SOUTH AFRICAN TEACHERS BY: Jonathan Jansen Bookstorm Limited/Pan MacMillan, 2011 294pp RATING:
A compilation of letters from former students about teachers who went beyond the call of duty, this unique book celebrates outstanding teachers through stories from ordinary South Africans. From private and public schools, urban and rural, black and white, Great South African Teachers brings memories of our own school years and that one teacher who played a positive role in our lives. Inspirational for anyone wishing to pursue a career in teaching, the stories unfortunately end up being quite similar, which can become a bit boring. [ZN]
THING S
Directo NEVER SA ID r: Cha rl 111 m in, 201 es Murray 3 RATIN G: An asp iring p o riage, Kalind et in a troub ra (Sha le haunte nola H d mard by a ampto misca by her n) is rr h ia u ge an follows used h sband, Ron d abu Kalind n is ie fi , s a t ra as a fo of takin man w sed , a shy rm of s ho g girl fro peech m Cali nightm her poems . fornia to New are ma who d The film York, a rriage where rea s she o a so ma vercom ms ny wom nd lives her those dream es her of their en giv s. In a eu men, th with its world is film w p on their d messa reams ge em as insp voices to fulfill poweri iring a [MM]. ng wo n men to d motivatin g find th eir inn er
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LifeStyle | Live Fresh
Hits to Beat the Summer Heat
What’s summer without hit tunes that will resonate with the festivities? LIVE brings you your summer’s soundtrack. Words Sabelo Mkhabela | Design Simphiwe Zuma | Photography photos courtesy of artists
Dream Team Kwaito meets Hip Hop Formed in 2010, Dream Team consists of Trevor “Trey” Sineke, Mthoko “Dash” Mkhathini and Lusaso “Saso” Ngcobo. Off their digitally released mixtape, The Blow Up, their hit single, “Tsekede”, featuring songbird Tarmasha, is putting the crew on the map. The tune is accompanied by an equally fresh video, shot around Durban and infused with summer vibes. The song contains a few interpolations from TKZee’s “Happy New Year”; according to the crew, this was a homage to those veterans for integrating the hip hop element into South African music. Tsekede! Tsekede! Addictive! Twitter: @DreamTeamDBN www.facebook.com/Dreamteam_DBN dreamteamdbn.co.za
Dilaska Searches for a Fly Sister Cape Town-based, Durban rapper/vocalist/producer, Dilaska’s “Fly Sister” jam took the usual format of his songs: self-sung hooks and rapped verses. What makes this tune different, however, is the switched-up tempo and hard-hitting 808s and Heartbreak Kanyeesque rhythm (thanks to fellow crewmate and longtime friend, producer JayTip, whose experimental drum pattern session is at the core of what makes this tune). Off his mixtape Suffer No More, released in November, “Fly Sister” has been enthusiastically received by fans, critics and community and campus radio stations alike. Twitter: @Dilaska www.facebook.com/officialdilaska soundcloud.com/dilaska
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All of L-Tido For Your Summer Dishing out hits since 2009, L-Tido has brought us pleasures such as“When it rains”, “Calling”, “We Rolling”, and “Smash”. Two years after his debut album All or Nothing, L-Tido is back with All of Me – a compilation of club bangers that will definitely be your summer’s soundtrack. LIVE caught up with the rapper. LIVE: Describe your latest album, All of Me. L-Tido: It’s different from my previous album. I worked with new producers and experimented more to achieve a new sound... with tracks like “Who You Loving?”, which has more of an African flair, and “Steve Kekana”, which has vernac. Also “Unbreakable” sounds very 5FM, with a dubstep tone.
Music Head Multitasking Originally a rapper, Music Head became a producer after tiring of rapping to recycled instrumentals. Unable to afford buying beats, he started making his own. In 2010, he started experimenting with house and fell in love. He surprised many in June 2013 when he launched an 11-track deep house music project, The 2013 EP. Off this album comes the Nasz, G.O. and Kaysax-assisted vibey, loungey hit single “Sweet Melody”. This groovy song is guaranteed to get the party started and fill the dancefloor. But that’s not where it stops: Nasz and Kaysax’s vocals coupled with G.O.’s poetry could also have a tranquilising effect after a long night of partying. Twitter: @MusicHead2013 www.facebook.com/TheRealMusicHead soundcloud.com/therealmusichead
LIVE: Your album is currently number two on the itunes charts. Is the SA market purchasing albums online, or is there still space for physical copies? L-Tido: SA is moving with the times, but the process is really slow. There is still space for physical, and it still moves more numbers than digital. I think people will eventually get into the culture of online buying when everyone starts trusting that online buying is safe. LIVE: You've collaborated with a lot of respected names like Tumi, Banky W and lately, Ice Prince. Which artists do you still look forward to working with? L-Tido: It would be cool if I did something out of my genre with someone like Lira locally and Kanye West internationally. LIVE: Any last words? L-Tido: Go buy the album! My singles are also available on VodaCom and MTN. Last thing: check out the new video “Steve Kekana” on YouTube. Twitter: @L_Tido facebook.com/L-Tido
ALL OF ME (2013) RATING: A mash-up of eclectic sounds ranging from dubstep to African samples and chants, this album still manages to sound as mainstream as we’ve grown to know L-Tido’s music to be: 808 snares and heavy basslines dominate. Most of the songs are mid to high tempo, and tailored for the good times, even when Tido gets serious. Great examples of serious yet vibey songs include “Problems”, “Praise” and “Unbreakable”. I’d be surprised if the latter doesn’t get high rotation on 5FM with its dubstep and pop vibe. “Steve Kekana”, “We Ain’t Leaving” and “Who You Loving?” have been banging in clubs already. The Ice Prince-assisted dancehall-influenced “Fresh and Clean” should be the next big single. Overall, an album for party people and clubbers as opposed to the introspective listener.
47
LifeStyle | Live Jabs
Let’s Talk about Trust, Baby We’re under Durex to make a Choice about rubbers.
Words @cocolovesdanger | Design & Illustration Simphiwe Zuma | Photography Lee Molefi Born free of apartheid but into the bloodgrip of an HIV/AIDS pandemic, we learned the ABCs (Abstain, Be Faithful, Condomise!) before we could read. I understood “condom” long before “orgasm”. Prophylactics, in their sticky, foil-wrapped glory – like sweeties but not at all like sweeties – are an intrinsic part of the born-free sexual identity. With proper care and respect, the condom can remain a loyal friend to the born-free, not just protecting but propelling our sexplorations.
For your savvy and social well-being, LiveSA is proud to present: The Modern Guide to Good Condom Etiquette INITIATION DO keep your rubbers close to hand so the reveal is seamless and subtle. Try slipping one inside your pillowcase for a magical revelation – tada! DO NOT reveal your condom before we both know we need it. APPLICATION Gentlemen, DO turn away to wrap yourself up. This evokes an air of mystery, in the manner of all great romantic heroes, and lends the element of surprise to your presentation (oh my!). DO NOT “double bag”. Not only does this compromise safety (friction between two layers of latex = tearing), but also performance. Think: operating a touch screen wearing gardening gloves. DO NOT reuse a condom. It’s not Tupperware, it’s Gladwrap. DISPOSAL DO tear with caution. As you rip across the top of the wrapper, DO NOT allow that “little piece” to completely detach. Who knows where it goes? DO take a moment to catch your breath and exchange compliments/complaints before excusing yourself. Your clean-up should be brief and tactful, preceding the cuddle portion of the encounter.
48 Summer 2O14
Know your Man!
BON US!
Choice: He takes you to KFC. On a first date. Then orders you a Streetwise 2. And he doesn’t even Add Hope. Trust: Much like Bhut’ Choice but he Adds Hope – it costs as much as these condoms did. Lovers Plus: Mr L-Plus is a responsible man; he lives within his means. He can’t afford DSTV, but he pays his TV License. It’s just the right thing to do. Dr Long: Vegan and allergic to gluten, but willing to pay a little more for the soymilk alternative. A back-tonature, full bush kind of a guy. Give him a chance to explain what holistic healing is really about. Extra-safe: For the man who could use that extra millimetre. Feather-light: Is there something keeping you up? Try feather-light so I don’t go before you come. Flavoured condoms: Which are actually scented, creating the sensation of taste. But cherry, strawberry, creme soda? The sophisticated man has a sophisticated palette: gorgonzola, anyone? Ribbed: The dick that don’t feel like a dick no more. A soundtrack to your bump & grind @ livemag.co.za/lets-get-tunes
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