Bubblegum Club

Tag: electro

  • Nadia Nakai is working towards being the best rapper on the continent

    Nadia Nakai is working towards being the best rapper on the continent

    Described as Family Tree‘s first lady, Nadia Nakai‘s guiding vision is to be the best rapper on the continent. All the decisions she makes with regards to her music and business ventures channel the energy that fuels the fruition of that vision. “That’s what I use as my benchmark. That is why I started working with Ice Prince [on the track Saka Wena] very early in my career, which might have been a bit premature. But that is the vision I have always had; being the number one African artist.”

    Over time Nadia has realised that achieving this dream will not come to life as fast as she had hoped. “I think I needed to trust my journey, and understand that being the best comes with time. A lot of practice and growing, not only growing in music but growing as an individual in life generally…I have made the right decisions in my career to say that I am on that path. I am ready to embrace it once it is bestowed upon me.”

    Nadia continues to make waves by sharing content that keeps fans on their toes. This includes her latest video for her hit track Naaa Meaan. Having received a lot of love since releasing the single last year, the video feeds fans a badass dose of Nadia. A bright yellow 4 door Audi with pink smoke coming out of the windows, Bacardi in a pool and Nadia in every kind of hair colour you can imagine, this video adds weight to her title as the first lady of Family Tree.

    Expressing her femininity and sexuality is an important part of how Nadia wants people to understand her as an artist. “I think that people think that it is a strategy that my record label put on me or I am just trying to get attention, but it is really not. I have grown up to be the woman that I am. I am very comfortable with the stuff that I wear, and I am very comfortable with my body, and I don’t get derailed by people’s opinions of it because I am very sure of myself and who I am.”

    Outside of her music, there has been a tendency for people to focus on her relationship and her appearance. Although this comes with the territory, I asked her how she feels about this. “You know what I have always said about the music industry? I have always said that it has to be more than the music,” Nadia responds. This outlook has made her view attention outside of her music positively. She interprets this as people having an interest in multiple aspects of who she is and what she does. “They [fans] are interested in what I have to say. They are interested in what I am wearing, who I am speaking to, who am I spending my time with…I have planted a seed in your heart and you think about me, not just when I am on the radio, not just when you see me on TV.” She expressed that this is what she wants as an artist, for people to embrace her “whole being as an artist… You want them to focus on a lot more than just the music.”

    Practicing her philosophy of being more than just the music, Nadia started her own company called Bragga Holdings, and she shared that she thinks of herself as a brand. Bragga Holdings takes care of the merchandise which is available at the Family Tree store at Work Shop New Town in Johannesburg. Nadia’s team is expanding and she is determined to build a legacy for herself, and so the parameters for Bragga Holdings may widen pretty soon.

    Armed with her degree in Marketing, Communications and Media Studies, as well as with the help from her team, Nadia operates with a calculated strategy. This directs her energy towards opportunities that will contribute to the longevity of her career.  Her collaborations and partnerships with brands are also guided by her vision for longevity, and so she steps into these with the intention of potentially building long-term relationships.

    With her musical journey having taken multiple turns, from her initial interest in electro, to trap and dancehall, she reminds me that hip hop will always have her heart. “I am the first lady”.

    Credits:

    Photography & Styling: Jamal Nxedlana
    Assistants: Themba Konela & Shannon Daniels

    Look 1: Nadia wears blazer by Pringle, sports bra by Puma

    Look 2: All clothing stylists own, shoes by Puma

    Look 3: Nadia wears blouse by Topshop, Leggings by H&M

  • Zakifo: A Different Kind of South African Music Festival

    If you’re tired of going to music festivals with 37 different versions of Shortstraw, or if you’re tired of 40 straight hours of trance being called a music festival, you should check out Zakifo, an actual music festival. Now in it’s third year, Zakifo has found it’s feet and it’s voice as a uniquely curated international buffet of music, held in Durban of all places. If you’re not a Durbanite, you probably haven’t been before, but with Damian “Jr Gong” Marley as this year’s headliner, chances are that might change. While the first 2 editions of the festival provided a broad sonic pallet from around the world, they lacked the support they deserved because they lacked that universally known draw card that helps build critical mass. There aren’t many artists as universally known, and loved, as Bob Marley’s youngest son. It’s a monster booking that has generated hype for the young and ambitious festival, but is not all they have on offer. For those of you making your way to Durban from the 26th to the 28th of May, you’re in for a real treat.

    Let me be clear, Zakifo has been a vibe from the start. The first year was a weekend long street party outside the Rivertown Beerhall. It was ambitious in its scope, with 2 stages and a lineup that probably would have drawn better in other cities, but still managed to get most of Durban’s creative community dancing in the streets. We’re talking Mi Casa, Make-Overs, The Soil, Felix Laband, Madala Kunene, Christian Tiger School,  Durban acts like The Wolfpack, Veranda Panda and Raheem Kemet (All as they were making names for themselves on radio), and an international lineup that featured artists from France, Reunion Island, Mozambique and my favourite act of the weekend, the enchanting Flaviah Coelho from Brazil. Sounds like a good time, right? It was, you should have been there.

    Last year, they scaled up yet again, with 3 stages at the old Natal Command. A music festival on land that used to be a military base feels like a small symbolic victory for the arts. They bumped up the international acts and audiences got more than they bargained for from the likes of Ghanaian-American Blitz The Ambassador, Too Many Zooz from New York, Mali’s Songhoy Blues, Estere from New Zealand, and the SA contingent of Moonchild, Maramza, aKing, Tidal Waves BCUC,Gigi Lamayne… it goes on for a while. The booking for Zakifo has been on point and unlike any other festival in South Africa. You may not recognise all of them, but you don’t see too many of the names on Zakifo’s lineup on other SA festival bills, and therein lies its value. You’re not going to see anything else like it.

    Zakifo is an ambitious festival and this looks to be be the year that ambition pays off. While Damien Marley is a superstar booking that has given the festival more visibility, the rest of the lineup is on the level with some of the coolest festivals in the world. Birdy Nam Nam are the 2002 DMC World Team Champs and all around French electro legends, but you probably recognise their name from working with A$AP Rocky and Skrillex on Wild For The Night. Tiggs Da Author’s ‘Run’ will be familiar to FIFA fans, but most notably, the video, which is now on over 2 million views, was shot in South Africa using the talents of local drifters. London’s Nova Twins are bad bitches who play “urban-punk”- bass-laden post-punk that sounds like Guano Apes after listening to Death Grips. The South African contingent this year is also phenomenal, there are the legends in the form of Ray Phiri and Thandiswa Mazwai,  the inspiring Bongeziwe Mabandla (who we’ve interviewed before), the phenomenal Petite Noir, and a cappella group The Soil, who hold the honour of being the first act to perform at Zakifo twice.

    While the South African music festival has mostly become known for giving international indie and alt-rock acts a pay day once they’ve lost relevancy, festivals like Zakifo (and AfroPunk) are booking acts that are current as fuck and that appeal to more than just the privileged white kid demographic. Things have felt a bit stale on the SA festival circuit for a while now- repetitive lineups of 70% white boys backed by an international headliner just doesn’t really cut it anymore. I don’t doubt that Oppikoppi and Rocking The Daisies teaming up this year is because of “The Rand”, but you have to look at their lineups over the last few years and ask: How does this appeal to most South Africans? I can’t imagine things getting any easier for festivals like Oppi and RTD with more and more viable competition popping up. Competition that offers something unique, whilst they’re sharing headliners. With AfroPunk coming out of the gates swinging, and Zakifo building on its solid foundation, South Africans have more choices where to spend their annual festival budget and more opportunities to experience something different, something that actually feels South African.