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...
Lerato Mogoathle – Our African Pride
She’s one superbrave continental jet-setter, Lerato Mogoathle is currently uprooting fertile earth all over West Africa as she digs into the highs and lows of our mixed up continent. Get inspired by her moving African travel stories in the City Press (do yourselves a favour) and pack your own backpack for a true African discovery… We’re blessed to be in constant touch with her and to receive page-turning updates on the marvellous world of Miss L Boogie, today she shares her Salif Keita adventure with us. Represent Sisi! Sharpile for your words! : Picture this, if you will. You are a music journalist jaded with the mainstream pop culture, hungry for more African music and currently travelling around West Africa, the region whose music, cultures and literature fuelled your obsession for experiencing Africa. You arrive in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and love what you see when it is a poster announcing Salif Keita’s concert in two weeks. The first time I saw Salif Keita on stage was in 2004 when he was being awarded a lifetime achievement award at the Kora All African Music Awards. Dressed in white, he literally descended on stage, glowing under the lights. This is the image, and admiration for his music and increasing obsession with Malian music that leads me to Yamasoukrrou, the capital of Ivory Coast. The newspapers said the show starts at 6pm. I arrived there in the nick of time, only to wait and wait for what felt like eternity to start. The ball starts rolling three hours later, with sound checks and opening acts that, as entertaining as they were, only made me my waiting that unbearable. The Malian great Keita gets on the stage. The hall falls silent. We know we are about to experience a moment in time, not any other live show. He starts the show by kneeling before us; thanking us for being with him that night. He opens with two acoustic songs. The first feels like a worship session; calming, serene and with that haunting voice, a channeling of Allah’s presence and manifestation in the moment. The second song is a duet with Ivorian superstar Aisha. They are a class act, delivering a performance that seems like they are always practicing how to deliver the song. We watch in silence. Then Salif raises his hand. The 11 piece band, whose sound check lasts as long as they need to make sure everything comes out PERFECT, joins him. It was the second best live show I have ever been to. The other also belongs to Salif, a day later in the town of Bouake. We rise and...
New Music Review: Tamarsha v Imbube
Oh yes, it’s a live and kicking music review battle on Represent as our resident reviewer, the delicious Dawn Penny, puts two new South African releases up against each other… RnB meets HipHop… We did warn you muso’s, don’t mess with Dawn, she knows what she likes and of course readers, what she believes you’ll like and what’s worth spending your hard-earned dosh on… Read all about it: Tamarsha – I ain’t givin’ up vs Imbube – Hip Hop Theatre Tamarsha – 4 beats out of 10 Imbube – 7 beats out of 10 I’ve decided to introduce something new to my music reviews and that’s “Battle of the Beats”. This will basically consist of a head to head between two genres and our first one is Hip hop vs R&B. The songstress Tamarsha going against the gutter rappers, Imbube. My criteria for this battle is Talent, X-factor, Sound and Favourites. Let the battle begin… Tamarsha – I ain’t givin’ up Talent: Before receiving this CD to review, I had never heard of Tamarsha before. I must say off the bat, she is talented. I mean she has an amazing voice and takes the time to write her own lyrics, which is always refreshing of an artist. Tamarsha has a beautiful voice and sounds like she knows how to use it. With so many males dominating the R&B scene in South Africa, it’s quite refreshing to hear a female vocal in the mix. But then a beautiful voice is only a mere fraction of what makes an artist. X-Factor: Um, this is a hard one because either you have it or you don’t. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck in suckville with no passport to leave. If you do, you will remembered – or at the least be sung along to. I have no doubt that Tamarsha has talent, she just doesn’t move. She doesn’t stand out, she doesn’t have her sound but rather a quilt of Destiny’s Child, Keyshia Cole or any such artist – but the 90s sound of that. I think she just needs more experience and more time spent finding that thing that sets her apart from the next girl. Sound: The production on Tamarsha’s album is not quite something that’ll make the short list in demos sent to producing greats. It’s mediocre at best. I mean it’s not bad, it’s just not good. It’s a sound that’s been heard before and doesn’t do much for her X-factor strife. Oh, she does her own rendition of Humpty Dumpty, ‘cept there’s no story behind it, no depth to it, just Humpty sitting on that wall and...
MAMAs nominees – MTV BASE
The website is gorgeous, the range of Pan-African musicians nominated cuts across genres and (stale) stereotypes (no longer relevant in today’s futureforward music industry) and the best part of all, you, the fan, get to vote for your favourite African artists online… SO GET CLICKING ASAP… We’re impressed with the first taste of the MTV Mama’s that will take place on the 22nd November 08 in Abuja, Nigeria… Our only confusing question is how the hell did Coldplay, Alicia Keys and Rihanna make this list??? Maybe it cuts across continents too… Here’s the official PR: MTV Networks Africa have announced the contenders for the first ever MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain (MAMA). The nominations for the inaugural pan-African music awards ceremony were revealed at a VIP soirée at Planet One, Lagos, Nigeria by Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, MTV Networks Africa and Norman Moyo, Chief Marketing Officer, Zain Nigeria, in the presence of nominees D’Banj, Wahu, DJ Cleo and Naeto C. Selected by an independent voting ‘academy’ of 150 music professionals and opinion formers from 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the nominations for the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain showcase the wealth of musical talent that Africa has to offer, and provide the ultimate vehicle for young Africans to salute the African and international artists that rock their worlds. Heading the nominee list with 5 ‘nods’ from the MAMA nominations academy are Nigerian R&B duo P-Square (Best Group, Best Live Performer, Best R&B, Best Video and Artist of the Year), closely followed by triple nominees D’Banj (Nigeria) and HHP (South Africa), who go head-to-head in the Best Male and Artist of the Year categories. Wahu (Kenya) and Asa (Nigeria) share the honours as the most nominated female artists with two nominations each for Wahu (Best New Act, Best Female) and Asa (Best Female, Artist of the Year). Topping the country roll of honour with 18 individual nominations is South Africa, closely followed by Nigeria (16 nominations). Kenyan artists scored three nominations: Jua Cali for Best Male and Wahu for Best New Act & Best Female. Ghanaian artists were recognised in two categories: Best Live Performance (Samini) and Best New Act (Kwaw Kese), while Mozambique, Gabon, Tanzania and Uganda all scored one nominee with recognition for Professor Jay (Tanzania), East Africa Bashment Crew (Uganda), Movaizhaleine (Gabon) and Dama do Bling (Mozambique). US, and European artists are represented in three categories with nods to Akon, Rihanna and Alicia Keys for Best R&B, while rappers The Game and Lil Wayne both feature in Best Hip Hop. Prominent in the Best Alternative category are British rockers Coldplay, competing...
Represent Review: H20 Africa
It’s not the kind of event one can entirely convey in words, so we encourage you to go and see our H20 Africa Photostory to catch a glimpse of the crazy H20 Party… Our journo Elmarie adds to the photos with a sweet summary of the H2O Africa experience of this past weekend : Once again the Beasts from the East topped their game at H2O, Wild Waters Boksburg! I’ve seen this dance party phenomenon evolve and mature like a good red wine over the years. Organisation was thorough. Every detail, from security (the Boeries were out in full force) to squeezing your lemon and to having every talented DJ/musician meet your musical needs, was taken care of, down to the finest making the day extremely comfortable and energizing for all. South Africa! – WOW, what beautiful and interesting creatures emerged from all over the country to share in this festive sun-kissing-mind-blowing-cardio-kicking dance sensation. I’m always thrilled when a plan comes together and seeing people who make an effort to unite all in the name of getting down and dirty on the dance floor. I have two words for H2O: Unfunking Believable! If you didn’t make it this time round, sorry for you…. Dance connects us all, so in 2009, be...
Represent Review: So you think you can Dance
We’re delighted that some of Represent’s fabulara dancer friends: David Matamela, Thabiso, Megan and Elizma are all getting their go on telly, it’s about time these tireless hard-slogging dancers got a glamourous platform to shake their booties, it’s a nice change from the bread-and-butter corporate work they have to do, although they do it so superbly. So… The Matrix was on TV!! Yes, yours truly and the legendary Agent Katz have been mingling with the visual media people again… See Agent Katz’s photostory of the night as well as lots of close-up backstage pics here, and read all about the live TV event below: Saturday 27 September 2008, The Standardbank Arena – Ellis Park Sports Precinct. Many a follower and busloads of family and friendly supporters turned out in their droves for the live, SABC 1 broadcast of the riveting Teen pop-culture dance competition: So You Think You Can Dance. There’s just something awesome about attending a live event, for starters, while the repertoire of choreographic work is kept at bear-minimum levels, the adrenaline rush in the live environment is forever pumping, ensuring that you miss none of the breath- taking content. This being a family and teens targeted programme, the event coordinator found himself with a mammoth of a task at hand – painstakingly trying to regulate the loud screams and vibrant young energies transcending into the arena (p.s we were trained like Seals in a series of very important drills: when to scream, shout, clap and boo… I wonder if they purposefully ignored training us on how to spot the cue for when to shed a tear at some of the beautiful and emotion-evoking scenes, captivatingly portrayed live on the expansive and well designed stage). Like in other true pop-culture show which has managed to survive the long and treacherous transatlantic journey to land on our ‘color tubes’, a team of villains posing as ‘Duke and his Duchess’ style personalities made-up the expert panel of Judges…Such a snooty bunch this lot!! Professional Choreographer: David Matsamela, Professional Choreographer: Ms Didi Moses, Professional and International Choreographer: Harold van Buuren. AND NOW THE PERFORMING ARTS… Those of us who grew up with square eyes from being glued to the indoor square box would surely confess to loving YO-TV (The former version with the Dodo costumed dude who famously exclaimed: Ma’ Cousins!!!) , for many of us the sole purpose of watching was to feed our secret affection of the super-styling babe: Sade! Well, I can confess that she’s still as fly and confident as ever! Iyoh, Iyoh, Iyoh!!!! The 14 amazingly talented contestants with elastic-like flexibility were grouped in pairs...
Proudly brought to you by:
