Bubblegum Club

Tag: Sandton

  • Richi Rich is bringing Alex to the World

    Richi Rich is bringing Alex to the World

    Soweto-born, but raised in South Africa’s oldest township, Alexandra, the young rapper known as Richi Rich has been active as a rapper since 2010 when he was part of YunGunz crew alongside Suup Zulu and Hip Nautic Sean. “We all were different, so we all chose to go our individual ways and do different stuff, but we were still going to support each other,” explains Richi Rich.

    As a solo artist Richi Rich has released three mixtapes and an EP, most recently dropping the ‘NORTHGOMORA MIXTAPE’. With Alexandra, or Alex as it’s called, on the border of ‘the North’ aka Sandton, the title alludes to the two worlds which Richi occupies. “I’ve been to the North, I’ve been to Alex. I’m where the suburbs and the hood meet.”

    Having found hip-hop at an early age, Richi Rich describes himself as an influencer in his circle of friends, introducing them to sounds such as G-Unit when it first came out. In terms of influences on his sound he holds The Notorious B.I.G. and Okmalumkoolkat in high regard. “When I saw Okmalumkoolkat and the ‘Sebenza’ song that changed the whole perspective of music for me. (To) actually create South African hip-hop. People in America don’t want to hear what they do. They want to hear something new, something from South Africa, something from Africa. So I feel like we should push that.”

    For Richi Rich creating something new isn’t just about the music he makes but everything that surrounds it too, from the fashion to the slang. It’s a lifestyle. “We’ve created something new. It’s not like we took something from someone and just carried on doing it. Everything is new. Because we’re young people. We’re trying to grow into becoming superstars, we’ve evolved like crazy.”

    While Richi Rich is focused on originality, he acknowledges the influence Alex has had on him and his aesthetic. “The influence comes from Alex. What we say, how we live, what we do and how we dress, most of the influence comes from where we come from. Being in the hood you learn a whole lot of stuff. Life lessons. People giving you advice.”

    Ultimately, Richi Rich is trying to show people a side of Alex they might not be familiar with. “I feel like that’s what makes me special. I don’t believe in everybody sounding the same. Like Youngsta, you can tell that he’s from Cape Town. That makes him special. It makes him more interesting; you want to listen to him more, you want to learn more about Cape Town, where he comes from. So I feel like it does make me special. Me being from Alex and bringing Alex to the world.”

    Richi Rich hopes that people enjoy his music, but also learn something from it too. “When you listen to my music I want you to learn something. Not just come out of it like that’s good. When you’re finished with my mixtape I want it to be that you’ve learnt something from Richi. I want you to take knowledge from me, what I’ve learnt in the hood.”

  • SANDTON CITY // an ever evolving landscape

    Sandton, often described as the richest square mile in Africa, is a concrete and glass habitat that is constantly transforming. In the last few years, it’s evolution has been increasing at a rapid rate. Yellow sand, piles of bricks, and orange cones have become the welcoming party for anyone walking or driving through the area. Buildings are getting taller, wider, and even more over-the-top. We are exposed to the operations of the corporate and construction surgeons who make building plans and rip our electric cables to give the area a new face lift.

    Sandton. A place married to the rich with luxury as its maiden name. However, for this marriage to continue there has been a necessary combination of the formal and informal sectors. People who were never imagined as the occupiers of streets in Sandton, have now made a way for themselves to be accommodated for in this space. While they may be viewed by some as the people who are out of place, they are in fact the arteries that keep the money pumping through Sandton’s veins.

    Photographer Jonathan Kope saw an opportunity to photograph Sandton in the midst of its evolution. I interviewed him to find out more about the story behind the shoot.

    Tell me about the decision to make the backdrop for the shoot Sandton?

    When a production decides to shoot on ‘location’ in Johannesburg, especially in a commercial or fashion sense, creatives often seems to want ‘ generic South African urban grit’. Teams shoot the CBD, or on top of buildings overlooking the cityscape and aim to capture the ‘real’ city. But the repetition of that urban trope ends up being a dishonest representation of the wider city as it dismisses the more ‘everyday’ places as unworthy of celebrating. The idea of shooting Sandton – the most banal, normal, peak Joburgy place –seems somehow both an interesting departure from the tired usual and the most obvious backdrop for a pairing that wants to take a more realistic and honest approach to shooting the city.

    What is the basic story that you were trying to get across with placing the model in various locations in Sandton (particularly spaces that show construction sites and unfinished buildings in the background)?

    Sandton, to quote its promotional material, is the richest square mile in Africa. It’s also experiencing an unprecedented building boom, with a new shining corporate HQ seemingly going up on every corner. This burgeoning creates an interesting landscape of contrasts – slick surfaces and roadways torn apart to lay electrical cables, Sandton’s old landmarks about half-finished buildings. It’s a perfect mess of a place in which to shoot; atop the initial concept of depicting somewhere well known and well recognized, we see said space in total disarray. It’s odd.

    And it’s also a moment in time that is finite – we needed to shoot it before it was put back together.

    In the initial email about the shoot there was mention of an informal economy that has developed around this area to cater for those who are part of building this new Sandton landscape but who fall outside of the formal economy. Can you share a bit about how this falls into the story?

    It’s yet another layer of complexity which makes the site so compelling, or at least so compelling at present. Sandton is usually a sheltered enclave peopled by the wealthy of Johannesburg. Much of what happens in Sandton takes place in hi-rise office blocks, or inside the various malls around the area. One seldom sees people out on the street, except perhaps getting in and out of Ubers to nip down to the Gautrain. This describes much of suburban Joburg – no evidence of street life. The key exception to this being the CBD. Now, however, with the intense construction work taking place all around it, there is an influx of workers who ordinarily wouldn’t be seen in the area, and most definitely are not taking lunch breaks at the Flamingo room on Nelson Mandela square. So a sort of informal trade has developed to service the needs of this populace, and it all takes place on the street outside the shopping mall. There are food stalls, tuck-shops and the like doing a brisk trade with the men in safety gear and dirty overalls, as professionals in luxury vehicles drive past to park their cars for the evening’s shopping at the Sandton Woolies. Suddenly, temporarily, Sandton has a semblance of being a vibrant and dynamic place.

    Share a bit about your creative and conceptual process while putting this shoot together?

    We, that is Bee and myself, have found that we are in a similar creative space. We want to create ‘honest’ natural imagery that is tied to a place and a time and that reflects a certain common humanity that is recognizable and without pretense, but is at the same time alluring. A mix of the odd and the normal. Just like people.

    Conceptualizing becomes a fluid process when the team is in sync. We started with the kernel of ‘why are we shooting what we’re shooting’ and ‘why here’ and built layers from that, with the help of some spontaneity, good logistics and good luck.

    Credits:

    Photographer: Jonathan Kope

    Styling: Bee Diamondhead

    MUA: Annice Roux

    Model: Hauwa Dauda Asingar from Ice Models

    Fashion Assistants: Amy Zama, Shawn Ntuli

    Fashion: Stylist’s Own