Represent Review: MTV MAMA’s in Jozi
Sadly, we won’t make it all the way to Abuja, but we definitely made up for it at the pre-party in Johannesburg, with our man Reuben “the Matrix” Malema rocking up the VIP suite while shedding copious tears of joy at one of the most successful live HipHop events in South Africa to date. He loved it, and shares his night with us below – click here for Reuben’s partner in crime, Nkateko Siweya’s photostory of the bash…. It’s drizzling and my expectations are under strict check. The last American Hip-Hop “star” whose show I attended sucked big time, the crowd turn out was unimpressive and the songs performed were to a large extent very alien to us. This of cause was Keith Murray, but tonight I will be seeing The Game. Some Background The Game is as typical an American gangster as anybody can ever be: Fast cars, gold chains, a myriad of tattoos scattered all over the body, serial alcoholic, filthy rich negro and very generous philanthropist to the general public; a full on model Al Capone to the bitter end. As the story goes, it all started when Game was 12 years old; a poor Afro-American living in the notorious city of Compton on the west coast of the United States. On his way from school, Game and a couple of buddies came into contact with the godfather of the ogg-Pound, Snoop Dogg, riding around in a hydraulic jacked low ride American muscle vehicle with gin and weed clasped in both hands. The Dogg encourages Game to hold on to his dream of wanting to be a Hip-Hop super star and as they say…all else is history. The Event – All Roads lead to Jozi Upon approaching Ponte City it became apparent that The Game is indeed a much-loved Hip-Hop artist here in Jozi. The roads leading into the Standard Bank Arena were chocker blocked with scenes reminiscent of the motorway chaos in the movie Independence Day! We proceeded at a snail`s pace to the vip parking lot. The tempo rapidly rising, rain pouring down and our hearts violently beating against our rib cages; We have arrived. This one is the MAMA of all Hip-Hop gigs… The Who’s Who of Mzansi’s Hip-Hop scene came out in support of this inaugural concert leading to the first ever MTV Africa Music Awards (sponsored by ZAIN Telecom) to be held in Abuja Nigeria this November. South African nominees HHP, Cassette, The Parlotones and Jozi were the curtain raisers with Y-fm dj’s like Mc-G helping to pump up the mood with their house tunes. With no doubt my favourite performer...
I LOVE YOU wins for Mozambique
We are very pleased to announce that I Love You – a 3 minute film from Mozambique – has won the inaugural Africa in Motion (AIM) emerging film festival competition in 2008 thats taking place this week in Edinburgh, Scotland. You can watch the films (including the winning film) for a limited period at our you Tube channel here. The inaugural Africa in Motion (AiM) film festival, the shortlist of which consisted of eight short films by young and emerging African filmmakers, has been won by Rogério Manjate from Mozambique for his superb short film I Love You (2007). Read more about AIM here and click to read more below… The eight selected short films were all screened at the Africa in Motion film festival yesterday, and the winning film was announced by jury member and acclaimed filmmaker Gaston Kaboré at a special awards ceremony after the screening. Filmmaker Rogério Manjate will now receive £1,000 prize money to assist him in his filmmaking career. The winning film I Love You was selected by a jury consisting of acclaimed Burkinabe filmmaker Gaston Kaboré; writer, presenter and filmmaker Zina Saro-Wiwa; Director of the Scottish Documentary Institute Noe Mendelle; and high-profile film critic, writer and producer Mark Cousins. Zina Saro-Wiwa said of the winning film, “How much did I love this film?? I Love You is much sexier than is normally expected in African film, and was wonderfully directed, and I loved the timing and pace. The film was brief and confident with lots of heart. Daring but tender and sweet.” In praise of the film, jury member Noe Mendelle has added, “I Love You is a candid yet very moving drama, with outstanding cinematography”. AiM is also pleased to announce that the winner of the AiM 2008 Audience Choice Award is Tunisian filmmaker Anis Lassoued for The Magic Crop, a charming magic realist tale that has already won several awards at film festivals worldwide. Speaking about the competition as a whole, Mark Cousins said, “Short films are the spurts of life, the new shoots, of the film world. It is great that Africa in Motion is focusing on them. That’s where the discovery and vitality is. The short film competition, and its considerable prize, is a brilliant way of putting the festival’s money where its mouth is, and giving a fillip to the zingy and daring new African...
Durban Film at First Wed Film Club
5th NOVEMBER 7:30pm STUDIO 4 – Atlas Studios – Read more info here BE THERE. Represent! My Black Little Heart by Claire Anglique. Set and shot in the city of Durban, My Black Little Heart tells the story of a young girl from the wrong side of the track-marks stuck in a hazy sub-city seaside vortex of decrepit flats, poisoned streets and abandoned office blocks littered with self mutilators, ex-cons, gangsters, street delinquents, hustlers and addicts. Exploring the underbelly of Durban, it chronicles both a deeply personal narrative and a city in transition.” Claire Angelique is a 29 year old writer, performer and filmmaker originally from South Africa. Pre-celluloid she performed as a professional ballerina divulging into contemporary african dance and was one of the first dancers in the acclaimed Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre. She is an award winning choreographer and performance and video artist and has managed over 15 bands and dj’s as well as writing for contemporary S.A art, music and entertainment...
Live Under The Sun at Emmarentia Dam
This Sunday 2nd November get into the summer Jozi sun with a daytime concert in beautiful surrounds as you lay back and soak up Goldfish, Laurie Levine, Steady Rock and Abert Frost at the Johannesburg Botanic Gardens at Emmarentia Dam. Picnic baskets allowed, but no glass bottles – gates open at 12 and it’s R70 a ticket at the gate or R50 presale… kids under 12 for free. ...
Love Jozi do it again
What more can we say… Yes, we’re proud to say they’re part of our extended family, but damn they never fail to blow us away with their superb sense of innovative style, always keeping us on our toes and filled with renewed vows for our city. Love Jozi we ♥ u. Respec’! This time round it’s all about Jozi being a MODEL CITY… (naaaasss…) this exclusive range of Model City Love Jozi t-shirts is available as part of the Virgin Mobile Pop Up store that will be popping up all over Jozi in the next month and a bit… just click on the flyer below! PS: Brad, don’t forget we need two to represent here in...
Represent Introduces: Anthea Moys
Representah Alana Cremonte is a big fan of performance artist Anthea Moys who is currently dabbling in the inner city… Alana wanted to share the love so that perhaps you too can take a ‘ncane break, a petit pause, una momenta… and smell…the… uh… jacarandas…while reflecting on this mad thing we call life. Sharpile Alana!: Why are so many people so caught up in their day to day fast-forward, that they forget how easy it is to just take a step back, pause and choose their next direction before moving forth? I guess they haven’t even realised that they need this luxury. Whether or not that has to do with the fact that this idea hasn’t been properly marketed with an ad campaign yet, is totally besides the point and I think it was small-minded of you to bring it up. To be fair, life does seem to be moving at a tremendous pace these days. So much so that even if you wanted to just stop and smell the roses, you’d find yourself at the back of the queue and desperately treading water. So, imagine if you had a moment of play forced on you. What if, you were interrupted from your hustle and bustle by “Jozi’s Golden Girls”. A gaggle of grannies, performing a choreographed dance routine in the middle of your city square. Gold and black tracksuits sparkling in the midday sun, good time music as their soundtrack and a young girl in the middle, joining in, almost a part of their world. Anthea Moys is the performance artist whose incredibly relevant work finds her positioned, both figuratively and literally, in the middle of people’s lives. She is constantly daring South Africa to stop and ask, why? The question is, if confronted with some of her work, would you stop and take it all in? At the very least you’d have to commit to a smile, right? Most people find a sigh of relief in her performance art. She doesn’t rely on shock tactics to get her message across, but rather, gently holds that proverbial mirror up to show her audience a piece of themselves they have forgotten. The world has charmed her and she openly admits to being curious of “people in their little worlds”. And that’s what she has consciously worked on showing us, a little glimpse and a “momentary gift” that unites you, so very specially, to anyone else involved. The moment is yours and you can hold your opinion of it close to you heart as you revel in the fact that you are sharing something that will never be recreated, just...
Proudly brought to you by:
