Bubblegum Club

Tag: cunty power

  • Lelo What’s Good blends ballroom and gqom

    Lelo What’s Good blends ballroom and gqom

    Lelo What’s Good is a Johannesburg-based multidisciplinary creative that got into DJing unexpectedly. He met FAKA‘s Desire Marea while living in Durban. Upon returning to Johannesburg to study, he got to know Fela Gucci who invited him to play at Cunty Power.

    “I decided to come through and play. That’s when it started. After that I started getting booked, which was a bit hectic. I didn’t plan for it to be quite honest,” recalls Lelo. The gig led to him being invited by Pussy Party‘s Rosie Parade to attend DJ workshops in order to hone his skills. “I went to her and we just hit it off and she really helped me a lot in starting this new adventure that I was going on. Before I knew it, I was on lineups, people asking me to play places. It’s been interesting.”

    Fascinated by music videos from a young age, Lelo was exposed to artists such as Missy Elliot, Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, Beyonce, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill the Fugees as well as local artists such as Lebo M, Zola, Boom Shaka & Brenda Fassie. As a DJ, he likes to push an alternative, grungy sound that draws a lot from ballroom and underground UK warehouse music as well as the raw sounds of Durban’s gqom.

    Thanks in part to his affinity for ballroom music and a desire to create safe spaces for the queer community, Lelo What’s Good founded Vogue Nights. This saw him bringing New York’s ballroom subculture to life in South Africa. “The ballroom scene in New York shifted culture, it uplifted the LGBTQI community into what we know it [to be] today. If you look at it now there’s ballroom all over the world, Berlin, Paris, London, and we don’t really have one here. So I thought since I play ballroom type music and there aren’t a lot of safe spaces for us to actually venture our bodies in, so why not create a space that speaks for us and is by us in the city and also take it around the country. Because we never really had that. So it’s a response to that. An urge to create more safer spaces.” explains Lelo.

    Beyond the parties he throws and the music he plays, Lelo What’s Good aims to be a representative of South African queer culture. “I think I do represent the people in my community to mainstream media. Everything that I’ve written is about queer artists or safe spaces and things like that. I do my best to accurately represent the times that we are in now as queer people, in queer bodies, whether it be as artists or the person down the road and how they might be feeling. I think that’s the type of content I’m trying to create, to write about and speak about. Even the places that I DJ at, they have to be 100% safe for femme bodies and queer people. It’s really important.”

  • AFROPUNK ensembles styled by 5 of Joburg’s most fashionable

    AFROPUNK festival has become a celebration of self-expression through music and art. One aspect of the festival that holds the attention of people is the outfits that people wear. These outfits have become as symbolic of the AFROPUNK movement as those who perform and share their creative practices. I had a conversation with five of Johannesburg’s most fashionable creatives about their sense of style, and how this has been translated into an outfit they would wear to AFROPUNK.

    Multidisciplinary artist, Anne-Marie Kalumbu embraces a style that is a combination of punk and hip hop influences. Having lived in multiple places, the city of Johannesburg has made an impression on how she chooses to present herself to those around her. With self-expression and healing at the core of how she approaches the various aspects of her artistic practice, as well as the core of how she approaches life, this seeps into her sense of style. Recognizing the fluid nature of what it means to be an inhabitant of this city, Anne Marie expressed that, “My style is more a reflection of how I am feeling at the time rather than a reflection of who I am.” Taking on the look of a revolutionary mystic queen, Anne-Marie’s outfit embodies the foundation of AFROPUNK – celebration and self-expression.

    Bee Diamondhead is a stylist, art director and all round fashion guru whose name has become embedded into Johannesburg’s fashion and youth culture imagery. When asked how she would describe her style, Bee stated, “I wear what I like”. This statement closely echoes the title of the book I Write What I Like – a collection of writing and speeches by the South African activist and black consciousness leader Steve Biko. In a sense, this statement echoes the sentiments behind the title too. Similar to Anne-Maries, Bee explains that how she feels in the moment is an important factor in determining what she wears. “Sometimes I feel like a boss bitch so lately I have been wearing a lot tailored suits. Double-breasted tailored suits. But then I still feel super sexy so I will wear them with literally nothing underneath, and just like a lacey bra…But it’s a little schizophrenic. There is not distinct direction or look that I go for. But now that I am older I wear a lot less prints and a lot less colour.” Vogue Australia’s fashion editor Christine Centenera and the street style of people at home who live in more urban or rural areas have a large influence on her, allowing her to embrace a kind of ghetto, out of the box understanding of pairing clothes. This can be seen in how she has combined high-top vans and a fanny pack with a headwrap and an African print dress in the outfit she imagines herself in for AFROPUNK.

    One half of the music and creative duo FAKA, Desire Marea, has had an impact not only on defining music and performance, but has also become influential for his sense of style. Tapping into the past and future spirit of Fela Kuti, with the modern twist injected a resonance with Ib Kamara, his outfits and approach to fashion is admirable. “My style is a Cunty Queen Moroka Aesthetic,” Desire explains. When asked to unpack this by explaining who influences this aesthetic, he expands by stating, “My mother, Queen Moroka, and Black People are my main influences.” This connection between femme energy and people of colour amalgamates into a powerful declaration which can be seen with every outfit he wears. “My style is a reflection of my truest identity. I dress my body in things that vibrate on the same level as my soul.” His AFROPUNK outfit allows for a feeling of confidence that lets the body pulsate to feminine translations of Bubblegum and Kwaito.

    Transgender model Elle constructs clean, yet playful stylistic choices. “I enjoy playing with shapes and texture, while also staying in the confines of trends,” she explains. For Elle, the street style in countries like Japan and South Korea has moved up in her list of style influences due to the way in which gender specific clothing and dressing has been discarded. “That stuff is super inspiring to me!” she expresses,” Locally, I’m a huge fan of Mathe Ribane and everything she does with style! But, I mean who isn’t?” Elle’s AFROPUNK outfit repeats this interpretation of style by working with oversized items and flowing fabric.

    Photographer and blogger Trevor Stuurman is another veteran in South Africa’s fashion scene, with prints being the signature of his Afrocentric style. For him, wearing and supporting fashion made by African labels is incredibly important. “I love celebrating the continent that I come from and that I am so proud of. And I think that it is important for us to wear where we come form on our sleeves before anyone else does, ” Trevor expressed. For him how he dresses should be a conversational piece, allowing for the sharing of knowledge about local fashion and textile designers. “Our bodies are the most natural platforms we have, and we should always use them to celebrate and uplift others.” Trevor’s AFROPUNK outfit holds on to the core of this fashion identity, while simultaneously ensuring that his clothing is practical.