FreshlyGround, one of Mzansi’s best bands, made their presence felt in front of hundreds of fans in Botswana last weekend! The popular folk/rock band gave their usual all with energetic moves and quirky punchlines.
What a great show it was, bar the poor sound quality. True, the show took place at a venue not properly suitable for music (kinda reminded me of the old school halls we used to pack when watching kung-fu movies back in the 1980s! Y’all know what I’m talking about!) The promoters should really have been more discerning when choosing a venue for an MTV-award winning band of FG’s caliber. But then again, horror stories about bad promoters are bound all over the place. I’m going off on a tangent here but the worst I’ve heard of so far was the Musiq band manager who couldn’t get his own Visa on time and thus forbade the entire tour from happening last year. What a disgrace!
Hopefully a new generation of music promoter emerges, that will take our artists a bit more seriously and professionally. Yes, sometimes it is the artist’s fault, but as a promoter you cannot be faulted at all; you must be at your best always.
14 May 2007
Nkuli vs Flabba hot?
Yesterday I read a review of Flabba’s CD in the City Press. I must say, it was quite flattering to Flabba overall, and the reviewer (not generally known for their good taste in rap music it must be said…) said something to the effect that he’s SA’s top rapper. I could certainly have agreed with this five years ago, or at least have said he’s in my top five list. That boy had crazy flow, and his stuff was fresh. Cheeky, entertaining, brash was he the Flabba of Skwatta Kamp (before the car accident). These things do change people you know, ask Magesh.
I can’t comment on the new SAMA-winning CD as yet because I don’t have it. But I’m pretty sure a good rapper doesn’t wake up overnight to become a bad one, although if a rapper has little control over the music then he can be made to sound wack. If anyone has listened please feel free to holla.
I can’t comment on the new SAMA-winning CD as yet because I don’t have it. But I’m pretty sure a good rapper doesn’t wake up overnight to become a bad one, although if a rapper has little control over the music then he can be made to sound wack. If anyone has listened please feel free to holla.
10 May 2007
ANC pimps da juice
Nelly, the singer/rapper/businessman/artist is now firmly back in the "motherland" after signing a groundbreaking deal with politician/lawyer/businessman Mathews Phosa. Phosa, a prominent member of the ruling ANC, is, through his company Mojalife (which is township lingo for “good life”), bringing Pimpjuice to South Africa.
Pimp(who)? Clearly if you don't know you are possibly not watching a whole of MTV Base and Channel O. Pimpjuice, launched in the US in 2003, is an energy drink in the mould of Red Bull. It has no fat and contains high amounts of vitamin C, among its 21 or so ingredients.
Nelly told journalists that already about 1.5 million cans of Pimpjuice have been –pre-produced for the SA market, which launches the product on 18 May. Manufacturing of Pimpjuice in SA will begin shortly after launch. It is not yet clear how well this product will do in SA since Red Bull has the market very tightly run, with their own fridge space allocated in a lot of retailers’ floors already. We saw how in 1994 Pepsi flunked out of the country in a big way after being crushed out of the market by Coca-Cola just months after re-launching.
Other Nelly products to follow include the clothing labels Vokal and Applebottom, as well as Derry Entertainment, the record label. Will Nelly sign only rappers to the label or will we see some kwaito and even mbaqanga cats up in there? And who will run things (think of the saga of Akon’s Konvict Muzik and your boy T-bo Touch…)? We’ll see.
Pimp(who)? Clearly if you don't know you are possibly not watching a whole of MTV Base and Channel O. Pimpjuice, launched in the US in 2003, is an energy drink in the mould of Red Bull. It has no fat and contains high amounts of vitamin C, among its 21 or so ingredients.
Nelly told journalists that already about 1.5 million cans of Pimpjuice have been –pre-produced for the SA market, which launches the product on 18 May. Manufacturing of Pimpjuice in SA will begin shortly after launch. It is not yet clear how well this product will do in SA since Red Bull has the market very tightly run, with their own fridge space allocated in a lot of retailers’ floors already. We saw how in 1994 Pepsi flunked out of the country in a big way after being crushed out of the market by Coca-Cola just months after re-launching.
Other Nelly products to follow include the clothing labels Vokal and Applebottom, as well as Derry Entertainment, the record label. Will Nelly sign only rappers to the label or will we see some kwaito and even mbaqanga cats up in there? And who will run things (think of the saga of Akon’s Konvict Muzik and your boy T-bo Touch…)? We’ll see.
09 May 2007
Gallo Zunes in
REDMOND, Wash. -- May 2007 -- Bringing an important collection of world music onto the digital stage, Microsoft Corp. last week announced that its Zune division and South Africa's Gallo Music Group have created an exclusive partnership to digitally offer a collection of music from Gallo's esteemed catalog for the first time. Fifty albums spanning nearly 80 years of South African music will be available for a la carte and Zune Pass subscription downloads on Zune Marketplace immediately.
"As a longtime fan of world music and the Gallo label in particular, it's impossible for me to overstate what an exciting development this is for the world music community," said Jon Kertzer, senior music programmer at Microsoft and the host of a popular world music radio program on Seattle-based KEXP-FM. "This is an amazing introduction to South African music, and we look forward to making more of the Gallo catalog available in the future."
The Gallo catalog represents the entire recorded history of South African music from the 1930s to today. From well-known songs such as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which was originally released in South Africa as "Mbube" and composed by the late Solomon Linda before becoming an international hit, to Grammy-winning artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the Gallo catalog encompasses a broad range of genres and sounds. Although the catalog is dominated by traditional South African hooks, Gallo sees a lot of American influence in its sound and believes it brings a different perspective to the world music genre.
"It is with great pleasure that Gallo Music Group has partnered with an online innovator like Microsoft to share the best of South African heritage and make nearly 80 years of Gallo music available to U.S. consumers," said Ivor Haarburger, CEO of Gallo Music Group. "We're excited to bring the best of artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Lucky Dube and Simphiwe Dana to American music fans as we transform Gallo from a traditional record label into a company that delivers rich content to multiple platforms in a variety of ways."
Each week in May, Zune Marketplace will focus on sounds from a different era in addition to current chart-topping rock, reggae, hip-hop and pop music artists from South Africa. For four weeks, the Zune Marketplace editorial team will pair featured albums and playlists with insightful editorial content to help tell the story of this rich musical legacy, the majority of which has never been released in the United States in any format, physical or digital.
• Week one kicked off with an overview of the Gallo catalog, which spans nearly eight decades.
• Week two featured the sounds of the 1950s through 1970s, including kwela, Zulu jive and mbaqanga, a style that melds traditional Zulu dance rhythms with classic American soul and R&B.
• Week three will focus on the sounds of South African gospel and jazz.
• Week four will highlight today's best music from the region, including the platinum-selling and AVO Session Award-winning artist Simphiwe Dana.
"As a longtime fan of world music and the Gallo label in particular, it's impossible for me to overstate what an exciting development this is for the world music community," said Jon Kertzer, senior music programmer at Microsoft and the host of a popular world music radio program on Seattle-based KEXP-FM. "This is an amazing introduction to South African music, and we look forward to making more of the Gallo catalog available in the future."
The Gallo catalog represents the entire recorded history of South African music from the 1930s to today. From well-known songs such as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which was originally released in South Africa as "Mbube" and composed by the late Solomon Linda before becoming an international hit, to Grammy-winning artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the Gallo catalog encompasses a broad range of genres and sounds. Although the catalog is dominated by traditional South African hooks, Gallo sees a lot of American influence in its sound and believes it brings a different perspective to the world music genre.
"It is with great pleasure that Gallo Music Group has partnered with an online innovator like Microsoft to share the best of South African heritage and make nearly 80 years of Gallo music available to U.S. consumers," said Ivor Haarburger, CEO of Gallo Music Group. "We're excited to bring the best of artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Lucky Dube and Simphiwe Dana to American music fans as we transform Gallo from a traditional record label into a company that delivers rich content to multiple platforms in a variety of ways."
Each week in May, Zune Marketplace will focus on sounds from a different era in addition to current chart-topping rock, reggae, hip-hop and pop music artists from South Africa. For four weeks, the Zune Marketplace editorial team will pair featured albums and playlists with insightful editorial content to help tell the story of this rich musical legacy, the majority of which has never been released in the United States in any format, physical or digital.
• Week one kicked off with an overview of the Gallo catalog, which spans nearly eight decades.
• Week two featured the sounds of the 1950s through 1970s, including kwela, Zulu jive and mbaqanga, a style that melds traditional Zulu dance rhythms with classic American soul and R&B.
• Week three will focus on the sounds of South African gospel and jazz.
• Week four will highlight today's best music from the region, including the platinum-selling and AVO Session Award-winning artist Simphiwe Dana.
07 May 2007
SAMA drama
Some friends and I have been having chats about the latest South African Music Awards (SAMAs) and some of the lows that went on there. Interesting stuff, especially when you talk to insiders about certain judges' decisions, the actual show itself and some of the politics associated with the SAMAs in general.
This is truly a "business" that most artists have not be able to exploit for their own benefit. It seems to me a lot of powerful people have been using the SAMAs for THEIR own benefit, leaving the people that make the SAMAs live, out on the curb.
This is truly a "business" that most artists have not be able to exploit for their own benefit. It seems to me a lot of powerful people have been using the SAMAs for THEIR own benefit, leaving the people that make the SAMAs live, out on the curb.
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