PUMA & Trapstar Bring The Noise to SA
Jun23

PUMA & Trapstar Bring The Noise to SA

by Stuart Hendricks Streetwear aficionados will be familiar with London-based label, Trapstar, and its edgy, urban aesthetic. Trapstar was created from underground, inner-city subculture, with design influences ranging from cinema, photography and music to contemporary art and military references. Their bold, graphic t-shirts and hoodies, tough leather biker jackets, and LDN-repping caps have become a firm favourite amongst the likes of Rihanna, Rita Ora, Iggy Azalea, A$AP Rocky and Cara Delevingne. The brand has truly become an ambassador for a new era of forward-thinking creative minds. To add an athletic edge to their non-conformist streetstyle character, Trapstar have partnered with PUMA to reinterpret Trapstar’s gritty silhouette and add a fresh, injection of athleisure that wouldn’t be out of place in London’s white-wall quarters. The Trapstar X Puma Autumn/Winter ‘16 teaser features the classic PUMA Disc amplified with the iconic ‘white noise’ graphic design of Trapstar. In turn, PUMA’s style has slinked its way into the Trapstar Leadcat. This football-inspired slide is set to become the elevated streetwear item of the year. Completing the teaser trio is the PUMA X Trapstar football jersey.  Produced from the same soft, engineered jacquard, with dry-cell technology, as other football gear, the jersey is a tense clash of inspiration merging functional sportswear with underground attitude. Where you would expect a club emblem you’ll find the Trapstar shield  The white noise print is incorporated as patch inserts, tying the jersey and the other items into a strong capsule range.        The PUMA X Trapstar teaser collection will be available from 17 June 2016 at PUMA SELECT stores in Bree Street, Cape Town and Braamfontein, Johannesburg, as well as selected retailers....

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A love song for our strange and wonderful country: My Mzansi Heart
Sep03

A love song for our strange and wonderful country: My Mzansi Heart

My Mzansi Heart sweeps the reader along two equally entertaining narrative strands, one set in the present day, the other in the past, which together form the story of King Adz’s life. The book explores music, culture, food, urban youth culture in South Africa based on King Adz’s life. His writing style is rather gripping, engaging and conversational. Represents chats to him about his latest book. Firstly, I’d like to say congrats on such a relevant, easy yet engaging read and it’s also visually appealing, your advertising and creative background comes out in how the book is layed- out, was that a conscious decision to structure the book like this? Thanks. I had always wanted to write a graphic novel and this was my chance. I had been working on the idea of this book for many years, ever since leaving South Africa to work in New York, and everything fell into place when Jacana published by youth advertising book THE STUFF YOU CAN’T BOTTLE, which lead to a conversation about MY MZANSI HEART. I had many “AHA” moments while reading the book because you talk about things i can identify with while you’re telling your own story. Tell us more about My Mzansi heart? MMH is a piece of my soul distilled onto the page. I have never written anything so personal (it is my 5th book) or so artistic. My previous books were about advertising and street/youth culture but MMH is something else. I wanted to re-define what my work was really about, and this reflects how amazing South Africa is as a country that this book was born out of it. How was the writing process? I write everyday and by now I have the discipline to be able to sit there and work without having to go out and ‘enjoy’ myself, lol. I wrote two books last year as well as travelling and working as a brand consultant across Africa. The two seem to go hand in hand! One was MMH and the other was my next book about how brands have to behave if they want people to like them – so chalk and cheese. How long did it take you to finish the writing the whole book? The concept took a decade. From start to finish. But actually sat at my iMac actually typing and designing it took a year. What triggered the idea to write My Mzansi heart? Reading ‘My Traitors Heart’ by Rian Malan was the beginning of it all. I don’t want to give away too much as you need to read the book, but reading Rian’s amazing book got...

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Breathe Sunshine African Music Conference & Unity Jam 2014
Jan16

Breathe Sunshine African Music Conference & Unity Jam 2014

Cape Town Gets Ready for the BreatheSunshine African Music Conference & Unity Jam 2014 “Pioneering and growing the African music industry” Following the huge success of 2013’s inaugural event, the second BreatheSunshine African Music Conference will catapult the nation’s music into the spotlight in February 2014. This year’s event is set to give back even more in the way of empowerment, inspiration and interactive learning, with a brand-new Unity Jam event to be held in the township of Langa on the final day of the event. Powered by Black Mango, the event brings together a wide range of artists, producers and leaders across the music industry with the aim of building and unifying the industry. International reggae superstar, Gentleman from Germany will be taking part in the conference and will also be performing for the first time in South Africa at the Unity Jam, as part of an African tour schedule organised by the Goethe-Institut.  The multi award winning artist has been spreading his reggae music across the globe with his shows and is now one of the biggest international reggae headliners in the world. This year the conference is supported by a sizable German contingent and will include Gentleman’s manager, Volker May (Germany) – Vice President of IMMF (International Music Manager Forum Europe), Hannah Kupfer (Minus Records – Ritchie Hawtin’s label) as well as Detlef Schwarte – Co-Founder of Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg and Director Reeperbahn Festival Conference in Hamburg. Reeperbahn is now the largest event of its kind in Europe and their visit to the conference will further cement the strategic partnership that the two conferences share.  As part of the on going relationship, Black Mango will be hosting a South African panel and a live showcase at Reeperbahn at the end of 2014. Gentleman’s and Volker May’s trip is being supported by the German cultural body the Goethe-Institut and with Germany now being the biggest music market in Europe, the German presence at the conference will go a long way to further support an already growing interest in South African music. This year’s conference also sees the addition of BreatheSunshine Connect, a part of the conference dedicated to the digital space. Headed up by African Dope Records founder Roach Roth, Connect brings together the sharpest minds in the digital media world and music industry to explore the current landscape and how the industry can better leverage the space for success. International charity Bridges for Music will host a space on electronic music. There will also be live technical demos along with exclusive invite-only Producer Pow-Wow sessions that offer one-on-one networking between township and city producers. A...

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MILLER BOOMTOWN Local Line-Up Announced
Dec17

MILLER BOOMTOWN Local Line-Up Announced

Johannesburg, South Africa – Miller Genuine Draft today announced the local headline line-up for the upcoming three-city Miller BOOMTOWN tour featuring international rapper Kendrick Lamar. Not one to rest on his laurels, 2013 Best Male SAMA winner and music sensation Khuli Chana is poised to extend his reign into 2014 when he provides headline support for Kendrick Lamar on the Joburg, Durban and Cape Town legs of the tour. Alongside him, hip-hop hit maker and crowd favourite Reason will also feature as the main live supporting act on the tour. Fans can also look forward to an explosive collaborative spectacular hiphop showdown, a crowd favourite at Miller Boomtown in Jo’burg earlier this year and now back on the Miller BOOMTOWN main stage. Dream Team’s Refiloe Ramogase and his team have been commissioned to deliver the multi-layered, show-stopping experience. Trusted sound selector and producer DJ Dimplez will be on hand to keep the expected energy levels at a high while Channel O’s SK will play host and MC. Watch this space as additional performers and DJs from each city to be included on this dazzling line-up will be announced in January 2014. Miller Boomtown media partners include Channel O together with regional radio partners YFM, Gagasi and Good Hope. The tour kicks off at The Wave House in Durban on Friday, 7th February 2014 before moving to Johannesburg Stadium on the 8th February and the Belville Velodrome in Cape Town on Sunday the 9th Feb. Ticket available at Computicket, range from R350-R650 and will be open to fans over the age of 18. The Miller Boomtown presents Kendrick Lamar South African tour dates will be as follows: Friday 7th February                The Wave House, Gateway Durban Saturday 8th February            Johannesburg Stadium, Johannesburg Sunday 9th February               Bellville Velodrome, Cape Town Miller BOOMTOWN featuring Kendrick Lamar is hosted by local promoters Airey...

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Having Coffee with Department of Coffee owners.
Oct28

Having Coffee with Department of Coffee owners.

Represent had the opportunity to interview the owners of Department of Coffee, Wongama Baleni, Vusumzi Mamile and Vuyile Msaku who hail and run their boutique coffee shop in Khayelitsha. Recently these man can be seen rolling big with Hansa Pilsener in the campaign “Cheers to Dreamers”. In an ongoing series of interviews with these dreamers, this week we introduce the finest coffee brewers in the Western Cape. Read about them below. 1.Greetings guys,  tell Represent how you all met? We all live in the same area and  as time progressed, we noticed that we shared a lot in common hence the business venture. 2.When did the friendship evolve from just friends to business partners? We trusted each other and it was only natural that when the opportunity arise to launch our own business, the three of us agreed instantly. 3.What are the challenges you’ve faced during the initial stages of this business? The challenges we faced was getting space, equipment and the right kind of machines. 4.If you were not friends, what individual businesses would each of you have ventured in? – And with the success of the Hansa Cheers to Dreamers campaign, would you be looking to expand Department of Coffee? 4.1 We have a lot in mind as we’ve had other businesses prior to opening Department of Coffee. 4.2 We are open to expanding so we can create jobs. 4.3 And we thank Hansa Pilsener for the publicity as a lot of people know about us and the coffee shop. We hope this will bring more help and success    our way. 5.When all succeeds, where do you all see DOC in 5 years? We look forward to opening more DOC shops all over the world and serve a lot of people coffee. We will launch as we grow. DOC is located in Khayelitsha, when you visit Cape Town make your way there for the finest coffee in the...

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