Midweek Music – B.O.B.
Morgan Freeman: As the war between light and darkness continues Heros and villans become harder to identify. Kindred spirits separated at birth fighting for their place in time to be solidified The clock ticks faster and faster while time runs the marathon in this Babylon But see the end is only the beginning, the beginning of the calm before the storm While Bobby Ray Simmons Jr, also known as hip hop artist B.O.B., has only just released his second studio album, Strange Clouds, he has built a strong following with a series of mixtapes starting with the 2007 The Future. B.O.B.: i use to...
Crack The Skyfall Case with Heineken
What was your first James Bond experience? Do you remember the first time you were part of the build up and excitement? There was a time when it used to reach a feverish pitch, at a time when the world was less connected and those of us on the African continent would only get access months later. Somehow, James Bond was that guy. And today, 52 years, 6 Bonds (Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig) and 23 films later, there is still a certain charm and excitement attached to a James Bond film - even with the explosion of iconic, heroic...
Interview on Thom TV
This is an interview I did for an online channel Thom TV earlier this year. I often cringe when I watch these but it is part of the game. I am sharing purely because it has been suggested that I share some of these things. It's always weird living behind the scenes but also having to jump to the fore on occasion. Enjoy. [youtube]http://youtu.be/zxqauCbWadg[/youtube]
Beer & Food: SAB Pop Up Dinner
The idea that a couple of people would pay money to come and spend 2/3 hours having dinner with me is one that I still struggle to wrap my head around. Yet, about a week ago, about 8 people did, at a SAB Pop-up Dinner. The email said: “We are organising a mass food and beer pop-up kitchen with SAB in Johannesburg. All the pop-up kitchens will happen on the same night (Saturday 27 October) and they will all start at the same time (19:30). We would like to invite you to host one of these events at any location of your choice. The twist is that you will not be inviting the guests. Guests will...
Midweek Music – Zakwe
While rapper Zakwe’s debut album Kubhodloka isfuba setsotsi was actually released about a year ago, for some reason, I only registered it about 2 months ago, randomly having put the CD on a drive to somewhere. The KwaMashu born and raised rapper has been able to carve a niche for himself in the mainstrean as not just a rapper in general but also as a rapper from KwaZulu-Natal. To date, it has been the Joburg and Cape Town rappers who have traditionally led the way with Durban dominating ‘new era kwaito’. He’s also benefited from the joint venture between Sipho Sithole’s Native Rhythms...
Midweek Music – Delilah
British singer-songwriter Delilah's debut album From The Roots Up has very quickly become part of my regular music playing rotation. I got put onto her by a friend at Atlantic Records in London, when I was recently there. Born Paloma Ayana Stoecker, her influences range from Buena Vista Social Club and Nine Inch Nails to Chaka Khan, Portishead and Sade. Having started singing at an early age and signing with Atlantic at 17 (she is 22), she paid her dues working with drum & bass/dubstep duo Chase & Status as well as touring with one of my favourite artists right now, Maverick Sabre....
Random Thoughts: Writer’s Block
Sitting staring at a blank screen, trying to decide on what to blog about – that won’t take a couple of hours -, I expressed my frustration on twitter. Close to instantly, I received 3 responses that all said I should blog about writer’s block itself. Joburg Theatre: writers block and the concept of "inspiration" Spillly: blog about the pressure we put upon ourselves to blog & tweet even if we have nothing to share. Andre van Rooyen: Writers block? I mean, as a subject 🙂 Here’s my two cents. It is amusing how much people take certain things so personally. Since I started calling myself...
Random Thoughts: Understand The Audience
Was chatting to someone on twitter about the frustrations of being constantly pitched for either writing work or to profile, cover, write about people, places and things. It is my job and I enjoy it but we need to meet each other half way. Below are my random ramblings on this. It's long. Hope it makes sense. Having worked in various media spaces – in particular television, print and digital - over the last 6/7 years, I have interacted with both platforms that I wanted – desperately – to contribute to and people who want to contribute to the platforms I work with. When I started producing...
Camera Review on Mgongo
For those who visit here regularly, you'll know that I like playing with gadgets and stuff. When I first started evolutionary, I used to do a feature called "the layman's thoughts" because I am, in no way, an expert. Everything I interact with, I try to look at it from the perspective of use. I was recently interviewed on the Mgongo Show (on SA's ETV) about the Sony NEX F-3. The less said about how I feel about my video interviews the better but I have been told that it would be useful to share them here, so I will. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEXZ5HxcRrw&feature=youtu.be
@Intel_Africa
Intel is in a fascinating position as it continues to entrench itself in the world of technology beyond simply being the engine to devices like laptops, desktops and other similar hardware. Traditionally, we were all very used to seeing the Intel Inside sticker but, with the evolution of technology, the computing and digital realm have become more about how we, as ordinary consumers, use technology as opposed to simply the specs. And the reality is that, for most of us, the capability of, for example, a chip, doesn't make any sense to us. To realign itself with the way we interact with...
Heineken Symphonic Rocks 2012
We spend too much time trying to delineate between things as opposed to finding the points of convergence. A question that is often asked of artists is what genre they consider their music to be in an attempt to both box and contextualise what it is they create. Reference points are great, as long as they aren’t used to divide or create a negative otherness. Being a fan of a diverse array of music, one of the things I enjoy are mashups of different genres because, when done right, one is taking the best from all sides and creating something else. Also, they tend to demonstrate the similarity...
Re-Branding Brandy
My father was a brandy man for years. As a result, I always associated it with grown-ups. He would sit with his friends deep in debate around politics, Africa, economics, etc, some Ellington, Miles, Basie and the like playing on the record player with a bottle or two of brandy in the mix. When I started drinking, getting some brandy was a novelty. It felt like I was becoming a man. Truth be told, that was years ago and I shifted off the brandy in my 20s and have never really gone back. I have been following, with interest, how brandy brands have been working to change the stereotypes that...
Intel celebrates #OneWebDay
This is a "Sponsored Post" Since 2006, the OneWebDay is held every September 22 to celebrate the internet and also to promote the importance of open networking principles. The suggested theme for this year’s events was to highlight local content as a way of making the Internet available for our communities. Earlier in the year a joint report made available from the Internet Society, UNESCO, and the OECD revealed just how important local content is to building a connected society. Mr Markus Kummer from the Internet Society stated, “This study confirms the strong relationship between local...
Take A Holiday With #TsogoSale
Sunbreaks Summer Sale We are in the last stretch of 2012. There are 65 days to go till the start of December and the idea of a Summer holiday lingers in the back of the mind - there but not yet fully formed. If you haven’t booked a holiday yet, you may end up fatigued and disappointed, with the increased demand as the year winds down. Tsogo Sun has been running some interesting campaigns and, starting today, there is an opportunity for you to book yourself a well-deserved holiday with the #TsogoSale, saving 25% in the process. The sale lasts until 8pm tomorrow (September 28th) and you can...
STR.CRD 2012 – Urban Youth Culture
When it comes to hip hop and its influence on culture and lifestyle, the story of how Run DMC got – the first for a rap group - $1million endorsement deal from Adidas which eventually included their own line is legendary. In the book, The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip Hop, Dan Charnas talks of how Lyor Cohen convinced Angelo Anastasio, Adidas US marketing executive, to come see Run DMC perform at Madison Square Garden during their Raising Hell tour. One of their great hits was the homage to the shell-toe, My Adidas (for the young ones reading this) Charnas writes, “The...
A View Of Frank Ocean’s Channel ORANGE
Until a few months ago, when Frank Ocean alluded to being, at least, bisexual with an open letter on his blog, I, for some reason, had not really registered him. I had heard the name every now and then and knew he was involved in music, but he wasn’t really on my radar. I had heard that he was on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch The Throne album but, to be honest, I’ve never really submerged myself in that album. I like some songs but its impact on my musical listening was nowhere near regular enough for me to register Frank Ocean or a lot of the album. I heard that he had written songs for...