Tumi Traverses Whole Worlds

Many moons ago, I frequented a spot in Doornfontein, Johannesburg called Jungle Connection, a place I have mentioned in previous posts. One of the people I met on these poetic excursions was Boitumelo Molekane. He was at the heart of a creative, artistic collective called P.E.R.M. and would come through to Jungle infrequently, but always with words to provoke the mind and inspire the heart. Everyone drifted out of Jungle Connection after a while. While we would bump into each other infrequently, Tumi the Poet-Emcee started carving a place for himself in South Africa and beyond both as an...

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Blk Sonshine: Memories of an Era

It was a normal night somewhere in 1999/2000. Like many, I had come to Joburg in search of dreams and a taste of the big city’s bright lights. I had been invited to a party in Morningside by a young lady I was interested in getting to know better – I was single and allowed. At the same time, my cousin wanted me to go through to a spot called 206 in Orange Grove for a live performance by a group he did not know. In reality, he probably just wanted me to go through with him because I had the car, but he claimed it was because he had met a member of the group and it would be a fun evening out....

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