Clothes do not make me African
A true Representer Ur Highness brings up a topic that’s been runnning around quite a bit in our circles… does your style define who you are as a person? Does it mean because I choose to have a weave I am ‘shallow’ or ‘trying to be ‘white'” (that’s a whole nother topic we need to talk about…this white-bashing nonsense – watch this space). Why should I be judged and who are you to jud…ge me? Does what you wear represent your mind and opinions? Surely we should be free to wear whatever suits us without fearing that we are being ‘UnAfrican”? What do you think…? No doubt in your daily life you have run into dreadlocked black brother or sister head wrapped in turban long skirt and the Bob Marley bag,not neccessarily rastafarian but just a “REAL AFRICAN”. But really does all that give the true African sense? Does it seem that some Africans think that they are more African than the other Africans walking past coz he/she has got s-curl& cut or a sister has hair weaves and they don’t go to poetry sessions… they think Skwatta kamp is hiphop and they think Kwani Experience is a new drug? Does how you look, what interests you , who you hang with suddenly give somebody their true African sense? It just seems to me that most Africans who have ever been colonised , are just suffering with their blackness. Yes, in the past we were made to believe our skin is too dark or hair is too curly – it needs to be stretched , and now that we are enjoying the fruits of freedom we do what ever we please with ourselves. So now most of the other Africans who even after liberation still wanted to lighten their skin, strech their hair and dress in western designs are what…. hmmm…. fake (note that all aspects mentioned refer to the external appearance)? In these 21st century revolutions against the system and so forth, do you need a certain look in the revolutionists eyes to get your point taken seriously? Can you be you be considerd to have an African conscious mind if you dont look according to what they perceive to be real African (dreadlocked and all)? Trust me im not hating I am a poet, I got an afro myself and I dont know if I look strange but I manage to get a few stares, mouth gags and giggles here and there . Though I have noticed being around these circles that they manage to outcast and judge people based on how they look or the music...
More LOFTS in the Fashion District – Big ONES!
The other day a very streetwise and urban friend of mine was talking about the East end of Pritchard street, he was saying that it’s still “Mega dodgy” and “still too undeveloped for me.” Now for anyone with real city aspirations and a desire to live a city life, this is an open invitation to INVEST! The Fashion District on the East end is moving forward quickly with developers like Ae…ngus confidently at play and all the designers slowly gathering and moving their premises there. There are loads of renovations going on and with the Legal district right next door, it’s a fine address. We know it’s going to happen. We hope you have the vision to know that too. Yip, we’ve been shouting it out for the last year, everyone’s doing it and if you want to get in you better move. The more time we spend in the city we more we can confidently say “Watch this space!” You will eat your hats if you don’t. If you want SPACE and URBAN LOFT LIVING for real, you need to check out the latest in downtown Jozi loft development – the AUGUST HOUSE building in the Fashion District. 300m2 lofts at very affordable prices for RENT in a gorgeous original light industrial 1940’s building. Now that ROCKS! We are going to find out more about it for you but for now, click here and visit their site. As we always say when it comes to living in the city –...
Help Bring Mariah Carey to South Africa!
Wouldn’t it be great if we supported our local artists as much as we support international ones! Just picture it: “Help bring Wonderboom to Hotazel”, “Help Bring PitchBlack back” And so on. In the second of our series of SA-based sites that petition international artists to visit SA, the focus falls to… MARIAH! *To see the first Represent fanclub article featuring the U2 fan… club click here.* We must admit, we loved her in the 90’s *blush*, but we’ve kind of outgrown her. Clearly that’s just us. Appears that the Mariah fan site has all kinds of juicy goodies on SA fans – like Mariah fan get togethers…. see above photo of some fans singing her songs Karoke style! 🙂 They also have an article on one of the “1st South African fans to meet or see Mariah Carey up close”, a woman called Lynette who shares her experience online with all the fans: You will never guess what – I SAW MARIAH !!!!!!!!!!!!! I subscribe to the “Mariah Live” mailing list and got a chance to be in her new music video “Bringin’ on the heartbreak” ! The video is shot as part of a rock concert, so we got to be fans in the crowd at her concert for the video! And it was free. I was so anxious with anticipation – the thought of just getting to see in person was overwhelming me. I couldn’t believe that I was going to get this chance. So a friend of mine and I got there at 5:30pm and we waited outside for 2 hours before we went inside, then waited again till eventually she came out. She was stunning. She just had to wave and the crowd went mad. I’ll never forget that feeling when I got my first glimpse of her. The crowd went wild and the screams were deafening. It was so exciting – I was jumping up and down 🙂 It was like I was the only one in the auditorium and no one was watching me going crazy 🙂 I couldn’t take my eyes off her. We were like 12 rows from the front, then there was a section for the cameras and then the stage. I was so excited that I was a mere 15 meters from Mariah! Then she was being interviewed by different tv channels and then came on stage and said she’s gonna change for the video shoot and will be back. We waited so long while the crew setup the lighting and cameras. There is such a lot of work involved in making the video. And so on. Click...
We’re Cool Like DAT… another SCOOP!
Do the names LADYBUG, BUTTERFLY or DOODLEBUG mean anything to you? If you’re a real HipHop head and have been along for the ride from the 90’s you would know that those are the names of the absolutely fabulara members of the band DIGABLE PLANETS. They’re peers of classic HipHop bands Arrested Development and US3 – all three of these bands introduced the heads behind Represent to a new st…ye of HipHop in the early 90s that found us wandering into the arms of sweet soulful hiphop never to look back…. If this is the first time you have ever heard of the Digs or even if you are their biggest fan, find out all about them at their MYSPACE post (Have you got yours yet Representers???). Or you can go to their official site by clicking here. Or you can read all about them on this VH1 special. Well according to their website, they will be performing in Johannesburg at one of Represent’s favourite Jozi events – the Arts Alive Jazz Festival at Zoo Lake…. It’s cited to take place on the 2 September and will indeed be held at Zoo Lake…Obviously we will fill you in once we have more information. BUT THAT’s NOT ALL! Digable Planets are billed to perform with the legendary Brian Jackson – a swift fingered pianist and one time musical partner of Gil Scott Heron (“The Revolution will not be televised.”) One of the most famous hits that they created together was “The Bottle”. We are double-blessed Jozi! So yip – it’s a double SCOOP – remember where you heard it first! not only the most chilled HipHoppers known to us but one of the finest funk and jazz musicians alive…two-in-one. ENJOY! Picture is a link to the Digableplanets.org site… taken by Danny...
Help the Hungry this winter
Just think of how lucky you are to have a warm bed, clean clothes and a full tummy. What about helping the homeless and hungry out this very cold winter? Tastic and Unite Against Hunger are doing a huge community feed on Wednesday in Newtown Park for four days.. read below for more. You can help: SMS the word TASTIC to 36973 – sms’s cost R5 Tastic in partnership with Unite Aga…inst Hunger have established a Tastic Rice Kitchen in central Johannesburg’s Newtown Park, which will be up and running from the morning of the 21st of June 2006 and will be filling more tummies with warmth for four days. The Tastic Rice Kitchen is being set up to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner meals for charities, the homeless and the destitute in Johannesburg. The kitchen opens at 7am on the day of the Winter Solstice, which is the longest, and often coldest, night of winter. Newtown Park is adjacent to the Mary Fitzgerald Square and is therefore a central and easily accessible location. A number of South Africa’s celebrities have volunteered to assist in the kitchen over the four-day period, including the likes of Gerry Rantselli, Yvonne Chaka-Chaka and Brumilda van Rensburg. Says Jimmy Manyi Tiger Brands Group Executive: Corporate Affairs, “The Tastic Rice Kitchen project aims to feed more than 10 000 highly nutritious, Tastic rice meals to thousands of hungry and homeless people in Gauteng, who suffer greatly during the winter months. We have invited organisations ranging from old age homes to children’s shelters to bring those in their care for a hearty meal. We will also be providing meals to walk-ins off the street. Our objective is to provide nourishment to the many people who usually don’t manage to get much to eat at all, let alone anything nutritious and filling.” An SMS fundraising initiative has also been established, to enable members of the public to play a role in Uniting Against Hunger. Manyi adds, “Anyone who would like to help feed the hungry this winter can SMS the word TASTIC to 36973. A donation of R5 will be made to the Tastic “More Tummies Full of Warmth” campaign. We are hoping that the SMS campaign will enable us to feed additional hungry South Africans.” Everyone sending an SMS will be automatically entered into a weekly draw, to stand the chance of winning a Tastic hamper to the value of R500. Tiger Brands’ corporate social responsibility partner, United Against Hunger, is the campaign beneficiary. Manyi concludes, “Winter 2006 is looking like it might be the longest and coldest we’ve experienced in Gauteng in a long...
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