Magazine
i
ii
Magazine
Magazine
iii
1
Magazine
T t
editors note
Magazine
2
d u o l C d n u ence Of So
The Emerg radio
Top 10 International Albums to drop(so far)
Dipalesa:Finding The Golden Peace Cover Story: La Sauce Sneaker Peekers: Air Jordan For The Culture
Editor’s note 3
Magazine
W
ussup Leaders of the free world, we back like we never left for a whole 10 months. we been on vacation in a remote location and we heard the culture needs us so we back. Our first issue of 2017 is a music issue, On this month’s issue we got a first, a sister on the cover who goes by the name La Sauce. we gonna uncover all their is about her. Apart from that we got a gang of music stuff we gonn look into like, emergence of soundcloud radio, the producer’s corner, top 10 hottest albums etc etc. So stay locked and peep the Vsion. Till Next Issue Totem
Magazine
4
5
Magazine
the emergence of radio
F
rom the beginning of my memories as child,
will not combine and will operate independently, Face-
radio has always been the small box I depend- book CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said. The Big Homie
ed on to listen to music; hear the news and over- was speaking during a visit to Lagos, Nigeria where he all public opinion. But with the introduction of
told media on Wednesday that Facebook Messenger
the internet, all of that drastically changed. Ev-
and WhatsApp were different products with different
erybody could voice their opnion of social media; communities. . It was founded by two Swedish guys, the trusted box was put on to your mobile device Ljung , a sound designer and Wahlforss an artist. The and you didn’t need it to listen to the latest tunes founders wanted to allow musicians to share recordbecause you could get that from platforms on
ings with each other, but the concept later changed
the internet like soundcloud.
into a full publishing tool that also allowed musicians to distribute their music tracks.
.A few months after the launch, SoundCloud began to challenge the dominance of Myspace as a platform for musicians to distribute their music by allowing recording artists to interact more with their fans, and as you know the rest is history. Ever since then Soundcloud has been the breeding ground for many innovative things, some of them being online radio and podcasts. The phenomenon of what I call “Soundcloud Radio”; this being different online radio stations and podcasts using Soundcloud as a distribution platform, stared around early 2010’s with house and techno mixes being the most consumed forms of “radio”. Fast forward 7 years later, you can now find full-fledged radio shows with station managers, bed music, the works on SoundCloud. Although there are other streaming platforms competing with our beloved SoundCloud, It is still largely the go to platform with 175 million unique listeners using the site each month, while about 12 hours’ worth of audio is being uploaded every minute (Big Shoutout to wiki for the stats bruh bruh).
the scripter
Magazine
6
SIDE NOTE: Sought after production group Soulection uses Soundcloud to distribute their Soulection radio episodes.
7
Magazine
Top 10 International Hip Hop & Rnb Albums to Drop (So Far) By Lazlo Laminsov
The Half Time mark of the year has hit and there’s so much M a g agoing z i n e on in 8 music that it’s even disturbing to think we still have another 6 months’ worth of music to wait for. 2017 has been a remarkable year for music and so far we have seen classics and overall good bodies of work drop from our favourites and new comers. I know some of yal might not agree to this list but before you complain and grovel in your purist or non-purist rhetoric check this list out: Disclaimer this is subjective to which era of music you are exposed to, and it was difficult many albums didn’t make it.
10 migos culture
6
9 syd f in
5
8
7
future future
drake more life
4
3
rick ross
joey badass
future
j.i.d
rather you than me
all american badass
hendrixx
the never story
2
1
sampha
kenrick lamar
the process
damn.
9
Magazine
Dipalesa: Finding the golden peace by Guy Caligra
Magazine
10
11
Magazine
Let’s Set the scene, It’s Saturday afternoon I’m tired and abit cranky. One side of me is looking forward to hitting Dipsy’s spot, because I know there is food and a couch I can rest on but again I Know I have to interview a different side of Dipsy and I’m now sure on how to do that because it’s a side she doesn’t show much. Anyway I get to her spot with the team and immediately I feel self-conscious and nervous, I tell the photographer to chill and I take here away from the rest of the crowd to conduct the interview, all this time I’m asking myself, Is she gonna take me serious? Am I gonna ask the right questions? After like a couple of goofying around we naturally get into it
Dipalesa Motau is a songtress from where the boats ride, the Vaal and is part of a musical collection named “La vibras”. She dropped her 5 track debut ep titled “Gold Peace” Around the first quarter of the year and has been doing the most with her group. When I first heard Gold peace I was taken by the production which was handled by La Vibras in-house Producer Kai.Wav and the honesty displayed in her writing. Gold peace serves as an introduction for Dipalesa’s sound but also has fractions of her life embedded in it.
Magazine
It is written from the perspective of a heart broken Girl documenting her pain and her struggle in the journey towards finding the ultimate Golden peace from a messy break up. “The first heartbreak changes your mind set, even your personality” she says as she explains the process she went through when working on Gold peace. Songs like stay up which happen to be my favourite song and also happens to an entire freestyle, is indications of the heartbreak that she and many women go through at the hands of the significant others.
With the lines like “You kept me up last night, I was worried but you don’t care”, show the type of rhetoric you would find when listening to this project. Dipalesa plans to carve her way within the music industry by creating her own eclectic sound and plans to bring a new wave of music to the already saturated mainstream music industry, “I wanna bring all sounds together In my music” She closes off the conversation. Make sure you catch Dipalesa”s Gold Peace on : www.lavibras.com/Dipalesa
12
13
Magazine
La Sauce The Girl you want to know by omphemetse manana
Magazine
I
14
t had been close to six months since my last interview and article and I kept asking myself why? Why do I not have the same ambition to feed off someone else’s energy and translate that into something that will resonate with my audience? I wont even begin to lie to you, I thought I lost it, I truly thought that I will never be able to write another article nor interview a mainstream artist again. However it wasn’t until I went back to my parents house for about a month and truly started to get my life in order, I realised that it got to me and my head. I became the very thing I had spent my entire adolescence trying not to become: an unscrupulous number-oriented person that wasn’t driven by anything besides results.
I was under the illusion that having I interviews and articles on the likes of big 15 Magazine name celebrities would gain me recognition, as if I needed any in the first place. So I made a promise to myself not to chase an article and interview solely based on who the person is, but rather what they have to offer to the culture, firstly to me as the interviewer then obviously to you as the reader. This is probably the boundless and awkward start to an article but please, forgive a homie its been a while. So on that note, I introduce Ambitbouz Entertainment’s latest signee’s, La Sauce. The story of how this came about was quite interesting but I won’t further waste your time with that, I had been awkwardly nervous about this interview because I hadn’t done one in so long, so I find myself quietly doubting my skills. I arrive with my team on a Saturday afternoon to what seems like a newly built office compound in Midrand, where I had been instructed to meet La Sauce and her publicist at the Ambitouz offices. As we turn in from a distance I see her taking pictures with her publicist in the same manner I find myself judging many young girls doing and I think to myself “oh no, did I just trap myself” which at the time seemed justified
especially to someone who didn’t deny that she is meant to be a “commercial success” fast forward 30 odd minutes after being introduced to those who were working in the offices and I start unwinding in my interview with her and I find myself being disappointed in myself and happy simultaneously. Disappointed, because I cant believe that I had succumbed to judging an individual so quickly, but happy because I was wrong in my judgement. Despite her edgy-yet elegant and dare I even say sexy exterior and style, La Sauce comes across as quite a stable and somewhat reserved character as she conveys introvert-like behaviour, which is quite an interesting paradox because it lets me know that there is without a doubt more to her as a person than her exterior leads on. From my experience disciplined would probably be the best word to describe her as she’s well spoken and put together and doesn’t convey any diva-like actions, which admittedly is another relief for me. She comes from a very small town by the name of Umzinto on the south coast of KZN and more specifically from a strict home background, which led to her being sent to a Muslim school for her entire education, which brings sense to it all, the demeanour, the poise and discipline at that very moment a part if me felt like further patting myself on the back for being able to read those qualities from her and now it makes sense where a large potion of it all comes from.
She describes the difficulty of her personality and love for music clashing with Islamic morals in school stating, “it was really challenging, it’s very hard to take a different path to what they practice and somewhat believe. She also describes her transition into La Sauce was different because “with Muslims there’s a certain way you have to dress and act, so I went from being seen as a ninja girl, because that’s what they used to call me, to La Sauce is a huge difference because I had to change the way I dress and some of my actions. It changed me but not in a bad way” which I think is very true because as I said before, she still maintains her poise, yet wonderfully pulls off her edgy and sexy exterior which I believe, actually no, which I know has helped build her confidence. When one looks at the music industry especially within the hip hop culture it is synonymous with a braggadocio and somewhat vein lifestyle, which in principle goes against many of the Islamic morals, therefore as an up & comer, La Sauce finds herself in a bit of a tight spot where her morals might be tested or called to action in the future however she states that as person “you have to know who you are, it’s all about enhancing myself as a person in everything I do, so I’m not changing anything but rather just enhancing who I already am” those are words of a truly self-assured human being, which shocks me even further considering how young she is.
. With a half Black and half Indian mother as well as a half Russian and Magazine 16 half Black mother, it’s no doubt that La Sauce comes from an extremely diverse background, which is something she cited as the inspiration to her name “we all know to get sauce, it’s a mixture of a lot of things, you don’t get sauce out of one thing” talk about bra man! It all came together for me, you see what I did there ;) she also talks about how she intends to show that diversity within her music stating she could have a song in Arabic that could be played in the UAE and honestly she’s at the best label to enhance her diversity as an artist, we all know how culturally relevant Ambitiouz has created their artist to be. With regards to her music, La Sauce identifies a key thing for her, which is to observe “I see myself as a pop artist so my music is all about observing the youth, looking at how they enjoy themselves and what is culturally relevant for them” for someone who is still gonna have the light shine on their career she posses a sense of self-assurance and understated confidence that you would only be able to recognise from seasoned professionals this is even shown in her ability to make music “I know I can do it, if you have all the resources and you know you can do it, you should do it, especially if you know you can diversify yourself.
I feel like I’m multi-talented, in terms of music I can really do anything, I can 17 agazine sing; rap; I trap,Manything! But everything has its own time.” For those who don’t know La Sauce’s sound has been regarded by many as a Rihanna type of sound with a south African vernacular twist, however with regards to that LA Sauce doesn’t look at it as a bad thing because she finds Rihanna “amazing” but she has a profound statement that she says to herself which is: “don’t compare me, because I don’t compete” which is mind blowing, because in a country filled with so many young talented artists, can you imagine the impact that would have on all of us if they all had that mentality?
. That day I walked away from the offices as fan not just because of her music but because of her character, which to be honest is the most important thing between a musician and their fans because there’s no greater connection than being able to understand who the person inside your favourite artist is and most of the time there should be a seamless connection between that and the music. Make sure you check her out and show love on all her social media platforms Instagram: LaSauceSA
With more singles to come as well as Twitter: LaSauceSA her album, which we do not have a date to, La Sauce has a bubbling caFacebook: LaSauceSA reer ahead of her, which will be an interesting one to observe having gotten a taste of her character, I look forward to seeing an artist I feel will break the conventional boundaries with relation to cultural relevance and resonance. In simple language, I like La Sauce I think she has the potential to be one of the most relevant female artists in the game, because I feel that she has an ability to connect which is justified because she’s a highly observant character. That day I walked away from the offices as fan not just because of her music but because of her character,
Magazine
18
19
Magazine
Air jordan for the culture By Guy Caligra “When I drop a single, it’s really like a pair Of Air Jordans, important to the culture If you aint true to it, callate la boca” Common Popular Culture and footwear have always lived in each other’s world, pop culture has been a large influencer on which kicks are in season and visa versa, Timberlands went from construction boots to being the go winter shoe, Vans went from just being a normal skater shoes, to being a phenomenal street wear number for the cool kids, thanks to lil wayne’s “Skinny pants and some vans” line.
On Sneaker Peekers we focus on probably one of the most important2shoes in Magazine 0 mainstream culture. The AIR JORDAN, it is important to understand that this is the poster shoe that represents the collaboration of footwear and popular culture. Before the AIR JORDAN, all basketball shoes were white. This statement only begins to describe the large paradigm shift that was about to take place in both the footwear and sports industry. Since Michael’s arrival and the launch of the AIR JORDAN franchise, both the game and the industry have been utterly transformed. Every year, a new AIR JORDAN is revealed. Since its debut in 1985, every time AIR JORDAN drops a new pair of fresh kicks; it has been met with ever-increasing anticipation and embrace from the media, the industry, popular culture and the buying public. AIR JORDANs are leading the market in sales and demand, establishing with each year’s model higher standards in design, innovation and performance for the entire athletic footwear industry. But make no mistake all of them specifications are not the only reason why AIR JORDANs are what they are. Firstly lets state the obvious, Michael Jordan, the greatest player in the history of basketball, wore the shoes throughout his illustrious career. Secondly there are more references of the Air Jordan in Hip Hop music more than any other shoe with lines like “I ain’t tryin’ to stunt man/ But the Yeezy’s Jumped over the Jumpman.” By Yeezy himself or “I thought Jordans and a gold chain was living it up” By Nas, not to mention the Mike Will “Jays on my feet” Track just to name a few and thirdly just the character the shoes brought to one’s confidence. For those who don’t know what we talking about, here are my top 5 Jordan Kicks that you need to have.
21
Magazine
Air Jordan 1
Magazine
Air Jordan 3
22
23
Magazine
Air Jordan 5
Magazine
Air Jordan spizikes
24
25
Magazine
Air Jordan 1 (2008 version)
Magazine
26
27
Magazine
Magazine
28
29
Magazine