BRANDEE YOUNGER

Brandee Younger – Harp
Ameen Saleem – Bass
Casey Benjamin -Sax
Kim Thompson -Drums
Sharel Cassity – Flute
Raydar Ellis – DJ

Winter JazzFest 2013:

Brandee Younger’s

Afro Harping

| A Tribute to Dorothy Ashby

Brandee Younger is uniquely qualified to be paying tribute to the great harpist, composer, and artistic visionary Dorothy Ashby this weekend at Revive Music Group’s Winter JazzFest stage. Not only has she been privy to private diaries, unheard compositions, unseen pictures, and untold stories from the late Ashby, but plain and simple Younger is one of the most exciting young harpists in the business! “It’s like stars aligning for me,” Younger explains about how she comes across these treasures. “No one can get in touch with the estate. Record labels even call me trying to get in touch with them.”

Photograph by Jaka Vinsek

Younger gave us some insight into the significance of Dorothy Ashby:

There’s a lot that she did in her life and she is really under-sung. She had proposals for records that labels rejected, where if you look at them today, you’re like, “Whoa, they rejected that?” I mean, Afro Harping was before it’s time; no one paid attention to it until Pete Rock sampled it! The general public knows, “Oh she played the harp. She was a jazz harpist.” But she played with Frank Wess; he got her the first record deal. She played with a lot of great musicians, a lot of whom are still alive today. A lot of people don’t know that. I think the harp world ignored her too. They did to an extent. There were big race issues back then. 

Younger is not the type of artist to go about a project like this possessively, but her unique qualifications are indisputable. It’s not just that she knows a lot about it or that she has played Ashby’s harp, Younger even studies with Carol Robbins who was a longstanding student of Ashby’s. “One thing Carol always said was that Dorothy was all about creating your own. She didn’t even like Carol to play other people’s music. She liked her to write her own music and do her own thing. That’s something that I’ve done from day one,” Younger explains. “She made her living — or whatever — by putting her harp in different settings and other genres where you wouldn’t expect it. Sure, I’m not on her level, but that’s what I do. I’m classically trained, but I make my living playing in jazz ensembles and Top 40 recordings. I’m sure Dorothy would be on mad tracks if she was alive today. I feel like we parallel.”

We caught up with Brandee Younger in person to catch some rehearsal footage and discuss more about Dorothy Ashby’s legacy — check it out below:

 

 

Interview & Video by Eric Sandler (@ericsandler)

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Brandee Younger's

"He Has a Name (Awareness)"

Tribute To Trayvon Martin

(NEW MUSIC)

Posted May 15, 2012 by The Decider for Global Grind Staff

Brandee Younger has composed one the most creative and compelling tributes to Trayvon Martin to date.

STORY: Peace Of Mind: Trayvon Martin's Mom Has 8 Months Of Donated Vacation Time

The young harpist, who has shared her talents with the likes of Common and Ryan Leslie, composed the piece “He Has A Name” (Awareness) in an effort to wake up the masses who have fallen asleep to the countless racial injustices we see today.

As Brandee wrote on her website:

On a very personal note, I learned of the Trayvon Martin case through the website globalgrind.com where they give an identity to murder victims by citing, "He has a name..."  It takes a piece of my heart every time I sign online and see the words "He has a name..." because I know there has been yet another act of violence. 

As social media reported the Trayvon Martin case, it became a continual reminder of the state that America is still in and the work that still needs to be done.  

My heart and prayers go out to Tracy Martin and Sabrina Fulton, Trayvon's parents. It's not the natural progression of life to see your child go before you especially under such tragic circumstances.

For me, having a teenage brother who appears not unlike Trayvon, I can't help but be fearful that he will be judged unfairly, based on stereotypes and appearance.  

An inspiration to our generation, Brandee will donate 100 percent of the proceeds to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. to help the organization continue its fine work in striving for racial justice. Listen to “He Has A Name” (Awareness) and check out brandee.bandcamp.com for more information. 

 

>via: http://globalgrind.com/music/brandee-younger-he-has-name-awareness-new-trayvo...

 

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Now accepting entries for…

The Crazyhorse Fiction Prize
The Crazyhorse Nonfiction Prize
and the Lynda Hull Memorial Poetry Prize

Winners receive $2000 each and publication in Crazyhorse.

This year’s judges:

Tony Earley, fiction
Lia Purpura, nonfiction
and
Martha Collins, poetry

Submit stories and essays of up to 8,500 words and sets of up to 3 poems through our submission manager from January 1, 2013 to January 31, 2013. All manuscripts entered must be original and previously unpublished. All entries are considered for publication in Crazyhorse. Contest submissions sent by mail or e-mail, or outside of the submission period, will not be read. Winners will be announced on our website by June 1, 2013. The winning manuscripts will be awarded $2000 and will be published in Crazyhorse Number 84, Fall 2013.

Each manuscript entered requires a reading fee of $20 per manuscript, which includes a one-year/two-issue subscription to Crazyhorse. More than one manuscript may be entered. For each additional fiction or poetry manuscript entered and entry fee paid, your subscription to Crazyhorse will extend by one year/two issues. Subscriptions begin with Crazyhorse Number 84, Fall 2013.

Recent judges include Joyce Carol Oates, Jaimy Gordon, Aimee Bender, Ann Patchett, Ha Jin, Carl Phillips, Richard Jackson, Larissa Szporluk, James Tate, and Billy Collins.

CFP: Ethnographic Reflections on

Conducting Fieldwork in

Contemporary Urban Africa

By Nara Improta on 6 February , 2012 

 

Hi folks, maybe this could be a chapter of your thesis? Deadline 15 march XxN

CALL FOR PAPERS FOR EDITED BOOK:

Writing Fieldnotes on the Street: Ethnographic Reflections on Conducting
Fieldwork in Contemporary Urban Africa

Editors:
Anna Jacobsen (Washington University in St. Louis, the Volkswagen Institute

Max Planck Institute for the Study of Ethnic and Religious Diversity) and Lynsey Farrell (Boston University).

Description:
Academic research in Africa has a long and rich legacy. While there were certainly early academic inquiries into the urbanization of the continent, disciplines such as anthropology and sociology mainly built their ethnographic and social research record in rural spaces on the African continent.

 

Continued research on the continent, in concert with contemporary media coverage and social, political, economic, and to a certain extent, academic agendas, have reified ³real² Africa as a continent of war, disease, and poverty if not savagery. While research that builds on these early foundations remains important, contemporary Africa is a rapidly diversifying and transitioning continent. African countries are urbanizing and their cities are experiencing soaring growth rates and unprecedented development.  The majority of Africans will live urban lives before the year 2030 and it is imperative that the myriad ways they design, construct and navigate urban places be the focus of ethnographic inquiry.

 In Writing Fieldnotes, we wish to place contemporary urban Africa at the center of modern African social scientific research.  A new Africa is emerging and the contest over what constitutes nation, values and morality, policy, ³culture,² among other things is happening in its cities.  Further, by treating African cities as the protagonists in the course of ethnographic field research, African actors and the daily, mundane ways they interact with and imagine the city and their neighborhoods, emerge as central to the ways (new or changed) African societies and cultures will develop. This, in turn, allows us to look at the critical issues of migration (internal and international), urban planning and development, violence and security, ‘development’, resource allocation, and diversity in a more dynamic way. Further, in doing so, we are able to move beyond an ‘ethnic lens’ approach to understanding the diversity and creativity of cities, in which processes and events are often reified as ‘tribal’. So, how do we go about operationalizing this kind of research and can we chart a path for more dynamic,  interesting and innovative urban research design?

We will select papers that reflect upon ethnographic fieldwork practices in Africa’s urban centers. Articles can be discussions about methodologies used in contemporary African cities, or be theoretical inquiries into the
legitimacy and significance of the contemporary city for research in Africa and among Africans, but all articles must include case studies and ethnographic vignettes.  We encourage interdisciplinary approaches to the topic, including socio-cultural anthropology, sociology, social geography, comparative political science and/or history. Some of the themes we would welcome are: urban security/insecurity; gaining rapport/entre; working with assistants; navigating institutions/corruption; urban inequities; going native; reciprocity; minimizing risk and ethical dilemmas; mixed methods; migration; diversity; or the city itself as a protagonist in the research.

Papers highlighting ethnographic fieldwork in cities in North Africa or in other infrequently discussed African urban areas are particularly welcome.

Deadline for sending 250-500 word abstracts and working titles: March 15, 2012

If selected, papers of no longer than 20000 words will be due by July 1, 2012, the format for which will be sent once we have selected the abstracts.

Abstracts and articles should be e-mailed to aljacobs@wustl.edu and lfarrell@bu.edu

RIP Lewis Nkosi, 1936 – 2010

by Ben - Editor on Sep 6th, 2010

 

BOOK SA received the news this morning that Lewis Nkosi, the giant of South African letters and one of the last remaining voices from South Africa’s famed Drum generation of writers, passed away yesterday in Johannesburg, after a long illness. He was born in December 1936 in KwaZulu Natal, making him 74.

Nkosi’s first novel, which won worldwide acclaim, was Mating Birds. It was banned by the apartheid government; Nkosi lived for long periods in exile, particularly in Switzerland. His last novel was Mandela’s Ego. It was shortlised for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize.

Siphiwo Mahala of the DAC and Raks Seakhoa of wRite Associates conveyed the news to BOOK SA. Nkosi’s twin daughters, Louise and Joy, and his wife, Astrid Starck, were at his side in his last hours.

BOOK SA spoke to his publisher, Annari van der Merwe, who said:

“If I think about Lewis, two things come to mind: the brilliance of the man’s mind, and his sense of irony – of self-irony. And of course he was quite naughty, but endearingly so. For all his bravado, he was sensitive in a way that few men truly are. There was a real empathy with people – and he had a very broad perspective, from having lived in a different cultural environment for so many years. The devil inside him prevented him from taking things too literally. It’s difficult to think of somebody so vibrant not with us any longer. He will be greatly missed.”

BOOK SA extends deepest condolences to Nkosi’s family and friends. He was an irrepressible character who brought joy to our world.

• Listen to Victor Dlamini’s podcast with Lewis Nkosi from 2008

We’ll post more information here as it comes in.

• Lewis Nkosi on Wikipedia

Lewis Nkosi at KZN Literary Tourism

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Podcast with a Giant,

Lewis Nkosi

It is one of the rarest but most real pleasures of our time to cast aside the daily rush and instead engage in slow, deep conversation with those amongst us who are wise beyond the saying.

Recently, I sat down to chat to Lewis Nkosi about his writing and his views on truth, narrative and many of the issues that have engaged his searching mind over a long and distinguished literary career. As we spoke at his favourite guest house in Melville, Johannesburg, it occurred to me that my reflections on his novel,Mandela’s Ego, when it first came out, still represent my thoughts on how important this work of fiction is amongst the most recent additions to our literary pantheon.
 
Who of us in our youth has not felt the powerful, almost irresistible urge to model our life on a larger-than-life icon? In the imagination of an impressionable admirer, the personal qualities and strengths of the icon are often blown out of all proportion because of the blending of myth and reality. This is one of the most fascinating phenomena of our own time, because of the ubiquitous “always on” digital media that now reaches virtually every frontier. Images of our most popular icons find their way into even our most private moments, only amplifying the influence that such icons wield on us.

But ours is not the only age of the hero-worshipper. In the year when he turned 70, Lewis Nkosi, one of the giants of South African letters, gave us a novel that boldly charted new creative territory, set initially in the 1950s. Mandela’s Egopresents us with the young Dumisa Gumede, a precocious, if somewhat exhibitionist student at Mondi Missionary School in the Drakensberg, who develops an obsessive worship of Nelson Mandela. The novel shows how a writer at the peak of his powers can use fiction to bring a new energy and understanding to historical events, and still tell a compelling story.

In a significant break with our literary tradition, most of this book takes place in the rural areas: the forays into towns such as Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town are incidental. It is thus in a seemingly idyllic rural setting that the seeds of Dumisa’s despair are sown, because he oversteps the mark in his role as the local lover’s lover (isoka).

In a culture that heaps endless praise on young men that can conquer the hearts of maidens, the rampant Dumisa relishes the prospect of each conquest as if it were his very first. But his magic formula for conquest fails to weave its spell on Nobuhle, the Beautiful One, and she takes obvious delight in spurning his increasingly desperate advances.

When I spoke to Nkosi he made it clear that one of the obvious problems of idolizing amasoka is the result for society: so many young girls fell pregnant during the 50s and 60s, he said. Nkosi added that whilst he credits his own education to missionary teachers, he still believes that by making sex a taboo subject, the missionaries lost an opportunity to positively influence the young students at a time when they were experiencing great sexual turmoil in their lives.

In a prescient passage in the novel, Dumisa dismisses with alarm any suggestion that his days as a roving lover could ever end. “The idea of taking away his sexual powers, even as a joke, was more than he could stand. Had he not recently made one Noliwe, who had boasted of being protected from temptation by the Holy Spirit whimper and shriek all night, as he rode through her heavenly gates?” He imagines himself to be a potent black bull, just like Nelson Mandela, on the run from the Apartheid police at the time, and idolized by many young men like Dumisa.

But the capture and arrest of his hero cuts his sexual powers and for 27 years Dumisa’s super sized sexual drive stays on empty, and he is unable to summon his former youthful vigour, much less have sex.

Mandela’s Ego is a novel that should delight all those that still love to encounter characters that are fully realized, warts and all. Readers will be able to see how Mandela’s emergence as a brave lawyer and political leader during the turbulent late 50s and early 60s marked him as a role model in the fight against oppression. In a society that had so few national heroes, the tall tales about Mandela – which even found their way into the ranks of the police and struck fear and doubt amongst them – gave the young Dumisa no chance for reflection.

What I love most about this novel is that it weaves humour, satire and even comedy to give us a tale that is certainly strange, but quite unforgettable. Under Nkosi’s creative genius this narrative cuts like a sharp knife through the cult of hero worship and shows how blind idolatry of any one person can have unintended, even bizarre consequences. Read this novel to see how history can provide the stage on which a great writer can use his story-telling powers to give us fresh perspectives on ancient customs and even prompt us to review our understanding of our society.

Mandela’s Ego is one of three novels that have been penned by Lewis Nkosi, regarded by many discerning observers as one of Africa’s leading essayists, critics and writers. A member of a group of writers simply known as the “Drum generation”, 9781868144358writers, Lewis left South Africa on a one-way exit permit to take up a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. During his period in London, he has contributed to leading literary journals around the world. Lewis has been a Professor of Literature at the University of Wyoming, University of California-Irvine, as well as at Universities in Zambia and Poland.

Mating Birds, his first novel, has been hailed as a seminal contribution to South African fiction, dealing as it does with the ever-engaging topics of sex, race and questions about the reliability of narrative. It was followed by Underground People, which follows a band of freedom fighters working inside the SA border as the Apartheid system was beginning to collapse. The First comprehensive study of his life and work,Still Beating the Drum: Critical Perspectives on Lewis Nkosi, was published in 2005.

>via: http://victordlamini.bookslive.co.za/blog/2008/03/31/podcast-with-a-giant-lew...

Watch 'America'

- Provocative Short Film

About Black Painter

Navigating NYC Art Scene

 

by Courtney

 
January 13

 

From the archives of NY-based filmmaker Ed DuRante whose work has been highlighted on this site in the past - most recently, Tambay's enthusiastic write-up of Ed's last feature film, Jake Gets Paid a couple of years ago.

A 2001 thought-provoking short film Ed recently uploaded to YouTube and shared on Twitter, titled America.

Description: 

A glimpse at the New York City art scene, where sex and money are more important than a Black painter's talent.

Watch the 8 1/2-minute short film below:

DR. NAILA KELETA-MAE

my TEDx talk

10 January 2013 

When I was invited by the University of Waterloo to give a TEDx talk (TEDxUW) last summer, I knew that if I was going to give a TEDx talk, there was only one thing I wanted to talk about – how secrets undermine our capacity to Imagine & Do.

I accepted the invitation to give a talk.

Then, I spent five months trying to talk myself out of my topic.  I was petrified.  I knew that if I wanted to talk about secrets then I would have to do some truth-telling of my own.  I had spent 21 years trying to simultaneously tell and hide my truths through my art, scholarship, and life.  I had become proficient at being clear and abstract but, I knew that it was time for me to speak plainly and culminate my experiences in the form of a TEDx talk because I believed that freedom was on the other side of truth-telling.

On Nov. 17, 2012 I spoke words aloud that I had previously only thought because I wanted to be the person I imagined.  My TEDxUW talk, “Imagine & Do” (named after a previous blog post) is the most important representation of art and scholarship that I have created in my life.  I am exceedingly proud of it, still a bit afraid of the personal and professional consequences that it may yield but, relieved because those secrets will no longer undermine my capacity to imagine and do.

And, as I said in my talk, “there are many truths, and the telling of any of my truths directly effects the lives of others.  So to those who I love, whose lives might be affected by my truth-telling today, I ask for your understanding and for your forgiveness”.

Please watch the video and, if it connects with you, please share it with others.

’til soon,

Share on linkedinShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailMore Sharing Services

 

Sharing Love,

Spreading Happiness:

Mama Mike’s Online Store

January 16, 2013

By Minda Magero 

mamamikes logo

Mama Mike’s is an online store and delivery service that makes it possible for customers anywhere in the world to purchase gifts online and have them delivered to specific destinations within Kenya and Uganda. The store has been going strong for 11 years. I interviewed Segeni Ng’ethe, Mama Mike’s founder, about his business.

Segeni holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and was a Reuters Fellow in the Digital Vision Program at Stanford University, where he completed a fellowship in Social Entrepreneurship in 2004. In addition to Mama Mike’s, he has founded at least four other start-ups in the past 11 years.

When and how did you come up with the idea of Mama Mike’s?

It all started in college, where I learned internet programming, an experiment that blew me away. A year before launching Mama Mike’s, I set up a website which promised travelers to Africa the best fares in December. I successfully shipped a planeload of people on Ethiopian Airlines to Kenya in December of 1999. It was stressful and time-consuming, but it showed me the power of the internet. This encouraged me to explore ideas which would capitalize on getting the African market into the internet revolution. I was really thinking way ahead of my time.

By 2000, the internet boom was well underway in the US. In Kenya, even the word internet was still unknown. I started strategizing on how to become the next Yahoo! of Africa (Yahoo! was more popular than Google at the time). I was keen to start an internet-based business focused on Africa. So when the idea of a shopping service came to mind, I figured this was it!

What did your family and friends think of this idea?

My family has encouraged me from the start. They are the ones who helped me get the business off the ground. They initially helped manage the deliveries in Kenya, while I marketed the service to fellow Kenyans in the US. I was still in college at the time.

Most people are impressed by two things: the idea itself that such a service exists, and the name Mama Mike’s—it caught people off guard. Who is this Mama Mike, they wondered? And when we started offering mbuzi (goats), they became our trademark item. Some have used Mama Mike’s to make dowry payments with mbuzi. Talk about being original!

What are some of the challenges you experienced trying to set up your business?

The initial challenges when setting up Mama Mike’s were related to trust. People simply didn’t believe it would work, or that it was genuine. The market I was going after had been subjected to scams and fraud, so when something looked too good to be true, they had doubts about it. It has taken time to win over customers’ trust. This is still our greatest challenge with potential customers 11 years later.

Segeni Ng’ethe

 

What are some of your successes?

One of Mama Mike’s greatest successes was realized during the height of the post-election violence in Kenya in late 2007 and early 2008. The violence that rocked Kenya kept businesses closed and people locked inside their homes. It was difficult, or almost impossible in some areas, to leave one’s house. Mama Mike’s made it possible for many Kenyans abroad to send airtime to their loved ones so that they could stay in touch and communicate during that volatile period. We realized then what an important role we play in helping many Kenyans abroad maintain strong ties to their loved ones at home.

Why Mama Mike’s—any significance to the name?

Our name is anchored in African culture. In Kenya, it is considered good manners to call a woman in society by the title Mama X (X being the name of her first-born child). This title carries respect and dignity. Over the years, people have come to believe Mama Mike’s is actually a person. And they believe she is responsible, honest and, most importantly, reliable. “Go to Mama Mike’s,” they say. “She will sort you out.”

You seem to mainly target Diaspora customers, but do you get any local customers using your services?

For more than 10 years we have focused exclusively on the Diaspora market. Only in the last 2 years has Kenya become ripe for e-commerce to flourish. We first needed to have reliable internet connections in Kenya, which we now have, and also a way to make online payments (thanks to Mpesa, this is now possible). All that remains now is for Kenyans to appreciate and embrace the benefits of online shopping. Now and then, a number of people in Nairobi call to place orders. Many are first-time customers who have heard about us and wish to use our service. In 2013 we plan to market our services aggressively to Kenyans in Kenya.

I noticed that you offer to send video confirmations to your customers of the delivery. What does a typical video show?

We started making the videos just for fun, and then we realized we were onto something when one of our customers cried after watching a video of her parents thanking her for her gift! She had not seen her parents for years and the video meant a lot to her. Her parents had never been on video, let alone on the internet. Now she has them on video forever.

Many years from now, we believe the simple videos we take of happy parents and siblings receiving gifts from their loved ones will become precious memories for our customers. We use a HD camera to film our videos.

Are your suppliers all local?

Yes, all our suppliers are local. In towns outside Nairobi and in Uganda, we have partnered with suppliers on the ground that can easily deliver the gifts ordered to their destinations. We have had long, happy and lasting relationships with our suppliers.

Have you ever received a significant piece of feedback from a customer that has affected the way you do business?

The one thing that has kept me going all these years is customer appreciation. Listening to the way customers appreciate our service has kept me going. People are very grateful for what they are able to do through Mama Mike’s. When the going gets tough, I simply remember these words and keep soldiering on!

What advice do you have for people who are considering being entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship is a journey; a challenging, but rewarding journey. Take small, consistent steps and in no time, you will have moved very far. Remember to enjoy every step along the way. Smell the roses by the wayside as you walk. It makes the journey more pleasant.

Looking back, what has been your greatest lesson about doing business in Kenya?

Throw away the business text book. Things here are dynamic. Simply work hard, stay focused and keep pushing!

Your tagline is share love, spread happiness. How did you come up with that?

It was a journey of words. One day there was an “Aha! moment” and that was it. We finally had the slogan of the century, which accurately describes what we do.

What are some of the services you have pioneered in the Kenyan market?

We pioneered online customer service through chat, video confirmations of deliveries, and SMS notifications. Recipients get notified by SMS as soon as a customer sends them a gift. We also pioneered the e-mbuzi (e-goat) offer (we are the first service worldwide to retail goats online), the instant airtime top-up service, which allows people to top up phones across Kenya instantly, and the monthly vouchers, a service that allows people to sign up for recurring orders of shopping vouchers delivered to their parents monthly.

Any future plans for Mama Mike’s that you can discuss?

Yes, this year we won a grant from the Kenyan Government called the Tandaa Grant. It is facilitated by the World Bank and is worth $50,000. We are investing this grant into a project we call Air-pesa (www.airpesa.com), a service which focuses on instant airtime top-ups from the Diaspora. Our goal is to make this service available Africa-wide.

 

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Minda Magero

Minda Magero’s love for words at a young age matured into a passion for writing. She published her first collection of poetry, The Book of Mysteries, in 2008 and is in the process of completing her second collection. Her writing has been deeply informed by her experiences in Kenya and abroad. She loves to travel and experience new cultures.

Electricity in Africa…

5000 years ago

Very often, we, Africans, have been misinformed about our true place in advancing humanity.  Very often, we have been told that we were a dark continent, an ignorant race, or rather a non-scientific class?  Well…  I have news for those nay-sayers.  Ancient Africans, Ancient Egyptians used electricity: ancient pyramids were lighted via electricity… yes… you heard me well… not only did they show some of the greatest scientific fits by designing pyramids, but they also had electricity (thousands of years before Nikola Tesla or Alessandro Volta).  Just like the great Library of Alexandria, or the University of Timbuktu … we, Africa, also had electricity.  Enjoy… and Applaud … and above all be proud of the ingenuity of our ancestors.

Documentary on

South African

Hip-Pop Electro Duo

Dirty Paraffin

 

Fun Fact: Smiso “Okmalumkoolkat” Zwane  and Zamani “Dokta SpiZee” Xolo, together Dirty Paraffin (pictured above), are very cool guys.

I am a fan of unfolding cultural phenomena, especially when it pertains to fresh perspectives of youth urban trends and culture. Colloquial-isms, localisms, fashion, hairstyles, and lifestyle all fascinate me.

My interest in making a short documentary on South African duo Dirty Paraffin was inspired by their Slick Rick approach in making lyrically humorous and witty music that has a 1980s, new wave futuristic sound that also references South Africa’s cultural sounds.

Johannesburg is a cultural melting pot that thrives under its semi-chaotic elements. And Dirty Paraffin’s music and visual artistry is not only an example of the city’s growing sub-cultural movements, but they represent an essence of South Africa’s fusion of youth culture and urban lifestyle through their genre-breaking music. They are very South African in their lyrical references but are global in their approach to music, which is also what I think makes them appealing and charismatic.

My narrative goal and approach was to get in the mindset of their music, to understand what inspires them as artists, and what pushes them to make music that is considered a bit strange to your average South African music listener. It was very important to me to capture the essence of their music and unique persona, and put across the notion that Smiso and Zamani  enjoy and believe in what they are doing above all else.

Dirty Paraffin Documentary from Meja L. Shoba on Vimeo.

Guest blogger Meja L. Shoba is a filmmaker from Oakland, California. She is studying for her MFA in Production/Directing at UCLA. She currently resides in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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