Bubblegum Club

Tag: soweto

  • Mpumelelo Buthelezi documents Dryhook recyclers and explores the politics of labour

    Mpumelelo Buthelezi documents Dryhook recyclers and explores the politics of labour

    Cities are complex and incomplete, they have the potential to be key organising units of our time where people, jobs and ideologies are brought together— vessels through which hopes and dreams can be realised; and yet most of the time they fail us. Our cities remain exploitative, exclusionary, coercive and classist, with little regard for those struggling to make ends meet.

    The United Nations (UN) projects up to 68% of the world population will live in cities by 2050 (currently; 55%), with rates increasing fastest in low and middle-income countries. Every wave of urbanisation brings to the fore questions around quality of life and livability with work as a critical component of these questions.

    Our notions of ‘work in the city’ are very deficient; what counts as work, what is ‘important’ work and who is dignified through that work?

    In an ongoing project, Mpumelelo Buthelezi documents waste pickers and recyclers, particularly from the Dryhook area near Devland, Soweto. Through his work he is giving visibility to one of the most important ways of creating work in the city.

    Buthelezi is a Soweto-born photographer with a background in engineering. He started this project after engaging with some recyclers who would come to collect waste around his neighbourhood. One conversation led to another, resulting in a visit to a few waste collection sites and a deeper understanding to the workers journeys and stories.

    “I’m hoping to document the waste pickers’ daily journey and communicate their stories around how they make a living through this work” explains Buthelezi.

    Waste pickers collect recyclable material around the city (scrap metal, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard etc.). They sort and organize the collected material into their various groups for the process and resell what they have collected to recycling companies. Typically, they receive R3.20/kg for plastic containers and R2/kg for cardboard boxes, making anywhere between R40 – R60 a day. Through their recycling methods these individuals are earning a living while also contributing towards environmental sustainability.

    Individuals, organisations and governments the world over are currently considering and conversing about ‘the future of work’. Most of these conversations place emphasis on automation and artificial intelligence as solutions —with the promise of more time for leisure and “higher order thinking”.

    Very few of these conversations are centred around economic threats towards those who contribute and create a livelihood through the informal sector. The politics of labour and leisure are inextricably linked to the current capitalist system that produces and perpetuates poverty. The same system used to oppress and exclude millions of citizens from participating in the fruits of a productive nation.

    The lifelong processes of allyship and activism are incredibly powerful in fighting for and contributing towards sustainable change. Buthelezi’s work is at an important intersection between documentation, storytelling, allyship and activism.

    When asked what he hopes to achieve with the project he replies: “I’m using the work to educate society around the important function that waste pickers play in society, most of whom are using this work as a way to uplift themselves and feed their families.”

  • DJ SistaMatik doesn’t play hits

    DJ SistaMatik doesn’t play hits

    Originally from Soweto, Johannesburg-based Tumelo Kgwathe aka DJ SistaMatik first discovered her passion for sharing music with others at the age of 9 when her uncle gave her a box of tapes. “I played those tapes every day to everyone that came to visit us, and when I look back that’s where it all started. Because I just became that person that always wanted to play music for people,” recalls SistaMatik.

    Introduced to the world of hip hop through American movies, SistaMatik was fascinated by the culture surrounding hip hop. “To me that was like wow, I want to be an American, not in a shallow way but in a really innocent type of way. I just became that kid around the neighbourhood with the baggy clothes, trying to emulate that culture,” SistaMatik explains.

    Growing up in Jo’burg, SistaMatik found that the only place where she could find fellow hip hop heads was at a club called Metropolis run by DJ Blaze. This ignited her passion for hip hop even further and pushed her to learn how to DJ. “When I went there I found that everyone liked hip hop. They [knew] the raps. They play[ed] the music that I like[d], that I [could] never hear on the radio. So I started going there often and then it was like ‘I wanna DJ, I wanna try that out.’”

    The eagerness to learn led SistaMatik and her own sister to ask DJ Blaze for a lesson, which resulted in him starting DJ workshops. “He’s the guy that allowed us to touch the turntables back in those days. So salute to him.” Through these workshops she learned the art of mixing as well as the tricks of turntablism.

    SistaMatik’s sound and taste is constantly evolving, although when she finds a sound she likes, she sticks with it for a while. “I was really big on the Wu-era, but it keeps changing. Because later I was into the boom-bap KRS-One type sound and then I got into the more gangsta, thug music, Mobb Deep, New York street type music. I keep bouncing around different eras and different sounds. But I listen to a lot of hip hop. Local as well.”

    Film continues to play a large role in SistaMatik’s life, and she often finds songs through film. “I listen to film scores a lot. I’ll maybe download the score before I watch the film. That’s my main source [of music].”

    Although she specialises in hip hop, SistaMatik’s sets feature a variety of genres depending on the occasion. “…I love music as a whole. I’m very much against playing hits. The best feeling is when you’re playing and someone asks you ‘What is that?’ [because] they’re enjoying it.” The results are sets that feature a unique mix of underground gems, old school classics and the finest of African rap music.

    Her collaborations include providing scratches on Wanda Baloyi’s debut album, as a live DJ for Yugen Blakrok and an unlikely collaboration with pop singer ChianoSky. She is also looking to work with more people. When asked what her future plans are, SistaMatik reveals that she is aiming to score a South African film before the end of the year. Considering her affinity with film, that seems likely.

  • “We’re just a platform for kids in the hood”: Others Concept Space

    They occupy the same streets and have been immersed in the same culture so the delivery of Kagiso Mohlala, Mbuso ‘Moose’ Zulu and Siyanda Zakwe’s creative baby was strategic; they needed their concept to be different yet familiar.

    “We are street culture so this is just another way of expressing, and living. It was not a hard decision.”

    Their idea was first imagined as a creative lifestyle brand and in finding a base to “grow and nurture their young pretty baby”, built multipurpose home that cultivates creative pursuits is called Others Concept Space.

    Across from Dube station in Soweto, on 254 Mncube Drive, is a public phone container that has been transformed into a store, gallery and work area. Alongside the Others streetwear apparel for sale, there are pieces of furniture designed and made by the trio that decorate the store that is constructed from recyclable materials.

    The concept space opened in the 30th of April 2017 and so far they have hosted a couple of events, like an anti-drug campaign with international German live street artist, Fufu Punani and their June 16 “Revolution of the Culture”, which featured a sneaker exhibition amongst other creative entertainment.

    The trio plan on establishing their sneaker clinic, which will involve sneaker exchanges and cleaning. They also plan on providing creative business solutions as Others Media and Communications. Lastly,  they will grow their interior and fashion design.

    Essentially, Others is interested in providing a platform for all the kids in their community who have never had the opportunity to creatively exhale.

    For more of their creative instalments follow Others Concept Space on Instagram.

  • Bhubesii- Kobyashi EP

    This release is a psychedelic fun ride through the urban centre of South Africa, from the streets of Soweto to the enclave of Maboneng. Bhubesii raps from the perspective of his Kobayashi alter ego, a stylish trickster on a mission for a good time. The music aims to reinterpret classic kwaito for 2016, with Bhubesii saying that ‘it has a very township wave feel about it. Kobayashi is a new wave tariyana.’ The boisterous title track looks back to the infectious work of Arthur, Mandoza and M’du. But Bhubesii is clearly working in his own lane. For a start, he is a lot more lyrically focused than his minimalist progenitors.  He adopts an impressive amount of languages and idioms, dropping witty punchlines and outrageous boasts.

    The eager embrace of local influences and style set him apart from an often derivative SA hip hop scene. It’s no secret that even talented artists may often expend energy trying to keep up with what’s happening in the US. In the most egregious cases, people will adopt entire fake accents, which isn’t fooling anyone. More subtly, there is pressure to emulate production styles and sonic tricks. Constantly chasing the next big thing is a fool’s errand though, as it always leaves musicians on the back foot.

    So Bhubesii uses the recent South African past to find his own voice.  Tracks like ‘Chankura’ and ‘Zulu Jedi’ mutate and stretch in constant motion. It conveys the sense of a weekend with endless possibilities, spanning the hot spots and dank dives of Gauteng.  Bhubesii also put extra attention into curating his image, with a laudable eye for detail. The cover for the single version of ‘Kobayashi’, has him as a futuristic seer, bringing life to a blighted wasteland. For this EP he has  gone for a witty piece of cover art. In place of the tough guy mask which rappers have adopted in the past, his face is covered by an explosion of flowers. It’s a nicely unexpected touch, which expresses the exuberance of his music.

  • Fear of The Youth Ep4 – high school students weigh in on Fees Must Fall

    Fear of The Youth is a new web series about the interests and concerns of Johannesburg youth. The series is produced by filmmaking crew, Germ Heals. In episode 4 Germ Heals speak to high school students about the Fees Must Fall movement, their concerns regarding tertiary education and their thoughts on governments interventions in the space.

  • Tumi Masoko and the Offshoots of Flourishing Local Hip-Hop

    Since the late 2000’s, South African hip-hop has seen a meteoric rise. The country’s events calendar is increasingly populated with large-scale hip-hop events; relationships with big brands have strengthened, allowing artists to earn additional income through endorsement deals; 2012 saw the launch of the South African Hip Hop Awards; and mainstream radio has finally bought into a culture that, for decades, remained on the side-lines. After some 25 years, local hip-hop has truly arrived. For the first time, promoters and artists feel as though they are able to survive and thrive off hip-hop. Johannesburg’s nightlife, in particular, has made that possible.

    The pre-eminence of local hip-hop has infiltrated street fashion; re-oriented nightclub set lists; and contributed to the rise of new artists and party spaces. Itumeleng Masoko, a young event promoter and hip-hop DJ from Soweto, is one example of this.

    I first came across Tumi in an event advertisement for Relevant Thirstdays. Hosted in Soweto, on the last Thursday of every month, the event promised to be a haven for hip-hop heads: an assemblage of hip-hop’s foundational elements — DJ’s, rap battles, b-boys/girls, and an open mic. Staged at the Ko-Phiri Mapetla venue, Thirstdays harkened back to hip-hop’s bloc party origins.

    In a place where neighbourhood soundtracks had long been dominated by house music, a new phenomenon was emerging, cultivating hip-hop culture and artistry. Audiences were invited to come and “witness hip-hop culture rise”.  The promoters behind the event were a collective called 365 Turn-up Avenue and Tumi, it seemed, was their frontman. Carefully-selected memes formed a significant part of Thirstdays’ advertising: a father and daughter assuming the signature dab, emblazoned with the caption, “Three Thursdays left till the Relevant one”. Another post from a follower showed Cassper Nyovest, AKA and Emtee, each posing with their newly purchased cars. Below, the caption: “SA hip-hop in 2016”. The aspirational rhetoric repeated in regular references to Rick Ross’ ‘We Gon’ Make It’. It was an event concept spawned from the promise of local hip-hop’s new rise.

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    Tumi and I eventually met one Sunday afternoon on a street corner in Protea Glen. A DJ booth had been erected on the sidewalk. Opposite: a pavement lined with cooler boxes and garden chairs. Stealing shade alongside a brick wall, Tumi told me that, like many others in Soweto, he “grew up listening to house music.” In fact, Tumi had begun his entertainment career as a house DJ, sending mixes to local radio stations. When I asked him about his decision to become a promoter, he told me of one night when he had heard DJ Euphonik advocating on air that anyone who wanted to succeed as a DJ also needed to understand events.

    Tumi set to work, hosting his first event when he was in Grade 11. “I didn’t have a clue about events”, he told me, “I learnt on the day.”When I asked how friends and family responded to his new work in the nightlife industry, he responded:  “Yoh, my mom used to give me a hard time. She didn’t want me to go out at night, ‘cos [she thought] I’d get stuck into drugs [or] I’ll get killed. But now she can see that I like this. In fact, I don’t like it, I love it, and I’m determined to make it work. People think we’re all about turning up, getting drunk, taking girls home, but it’s more than that.”

    For this young Sowetan promoter, it was experimentation with hip-hop that erupted his career as a DJ and promoter. “South African hip-hop started to become amazing”, he remembers. “I tried to mix hip-hop in my bedroom. At first it was kak. I couldn’t feel hip-hop. But I didn’t give up. It started to make sense. When I played it live for the first time, people loved it. It made people give you attention. You see, when it comes to house, everyone plays house. Everyone you meet is a DJ [and] what does he play? What does she play? House.”

    House has long-since been South Africa’s musical love. Kwaito, a fusion of house rhythms and rap vocals, flooded airwaves in the 1990’s, and soon became equally infused in the nation’s sonic identity. For decades, hip-hop struggled to compete for audiences, particularly in the country’s townships and rural areas.  But the growing inculcation of local languages, locally-inspired content, and kwaito-infused beats has given South Africa’s hip-hop artists new traction, where many had once been accused of American mimicry.

    Given hip-hop’s origins among poor and working class communities in America’s inner cities, it is interesting that, in South Africa, there were those who associated the genre with middle-class elitism. Recently, a friend of mine, who parties predominantly in taverns, lamented that Johannesburg’s township parties had become increasingly infiltrated by the ‘Model C dab’. Tumi, however, celebrates the increasing mass appeal of the genre.

    “Right now, it’s becoming common [in Soweto]”, Tumi told me. “It’s the trending thing.” Recall also that Soweto has, over the years, given rise to some of the country’s best rap artists: Pro, Pitch Black Afro, Wikid, Zulu Mobb and movements like Slaghuis. More recently, we’ve seen the rise of K.O. “People such as K.O.”, Tumi says, “they’re achieving and inspiring us as youngsters”.

     “Before, [it was] commercial house and deep house”, Tumi told me. “Right now you don’t even hear commercial house [at clubs anymore]. They play deep house [and] after that it’s hip-hop. You don’t have a party without hip-hop”. He recalled a time when hip-hop had served as slow preparation for a climactic house set. Today, this ordering had been reversed, with hip-hop at the apex of a night out. In neighbourhoods where house music had once set the sonic tone, Tumi was now referred to as “The Black Coffee of Hip-Hop”.

    After his first residency at Malume Lounge, Tumi has since taken up residency at Ko-Phiri Mapetla. 365 Turnup Avenue will be hosting their flagship event, Spring Picnic, on the 29th of October. You can also check out Tumi’s latest mix below.

    [mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/TumiMasoko/tumimasoko-hip-hop-kontrol-007sp16tug-promo-mix/ width=100% height=120 hide_cover=1]

  • Fear of The Youth Episode 3 – Vuyiswa Ntombela’s Charitable Cause

    Fear of The Youth is a new web series about the interests and concerns of Johannesburg youth. The series is produced by filmmaking crew, Germ Heals. In episode 3 Germ Heals catch up with Vuyiswa Ntombela, a young person inspiring other young people and bringing about change in her community through charity work.

  • Thesis Lifestyle celebrates a decade in the game!

    Thesis is a Johannesburg institution. From fashion and retail to events and socially oriented initiatives the brand has grown from strength to strength in the past decade. Their t-shirts and bucket hats are staples on the streets of the city and they’ve recently opened a new store ko-Kagiso.

    The original thesis store is located In the heart of Soweto  at 173 Machaba Drive, in Mofolo Village. Their stock of original apparel and accessories are fresh yet uncomplicated and have come to help define youth culture from Soweto. The store itself is home for the brand as well as a creative nexus for Soweto and Johannesburg at large. The Thesis team consists of Wandile Zondo, Business Manager, Wireless G the Creative Director and Co-owner Nkululeko Khumalo.

    The brand launched a decade ago, and has been positively impacting their community through cultural initiatives as well as serving as a model for entrepreneurship for other streetwear brands.  Thesis is rooted in the street culture of Soweto, and interprets the unique experience of being from there for the world. Their innovative perspective on using the corner store to push culture instead of liquor positively impacts their community while inspiring others to follow suit. Their ten years in the industry has seen them consistently promote creative expression; they hosted the pioneering Thesis Social Jam Sessions which offered a platform to other up and coming creatives including Toll Ass Mo and the Goliath brothers.  And now as part of the 4Afrika Initiative Thesis has teamed up with Microsoft to continue to do great things for South African creatives and society.

    A happy ten years to Thesis Lifestyle; a landmark for a cultural and social institution, for and from the streets of South Africa.

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