LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Oct

11

2024

Sex machina: in the wild west world of human-AI relationships, the lonely and vulnerable are most at risk

LIFESTYLE

CHRIS excitedly posts family pictures from his trip to France. Brimming with joy, he starts gushing about his wife: “A bonus picture of my cutie … I’m so happy to see mother and children together. Ruby dressed them so cute too.” He continues: “Ruby and I visited the pumpkin patch with the babies. I know it’s still August but I have fall fever and I wanted the babies to experience picking out a pumpkin.” Ruby and the four children sit together in a seasonal family portrait. Ruby and Chris (not his real name) smile into the camera, with their two…

Oct

09

2024

By MAMADOU DRAMÉ

Senegal’s female rappers aren’t letting obstacles get in their way – who the rising voices are

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IN Senegal, rap music and hip-hop culture emerged in the 1980s, driven by the urban youth. It has grown to be one of the most popular music genres in the country. But what role do female Senegalese artists play in developing and promoting hip-hop? And what challenges do they face in this male-dominated industry? Mamadou Dramé, who has done several studies on Senegalese hip-hop, answers these and other questions. What characterises Senegalese hip-hop? The year 1988 marks the beginning of rap in Senegal. After a phase of imitation, artists set themselves apart from the rest of the world by incorporating…

Oct

04

2024

By MAKHOSAZANA XABA

Wretched of the Earth has been translated into South Africa’s Zulu language – why Frantz Fanon’s revolutionary book still matters

LITERATURE

FRANTZ Fanon was an influential psychiatrist, Algerian revolutionary and pan-African thinker who was born on the Caribbean island of Martinique. His work – and particularly his final book The Wretched of the Earth (1961) – is still widely referenced to understand the fight against colonialism and also the postcolonial era in Africa. This global classic has already been translated into numerous languages – and is now available in South Africa’s Zulu language as Izimpabanga Zomhlaba thanks to poet, short story writer, anthologist – and now translator – Makhosazana Xaba. We asked her about the book. Why is it important that…

Oct

01

2024

By The African Mirror

Rubicon collection inspired by medley of nature

BEAUTY AND FASHION

THIS year’s collection is inspired by the ‘Medley of Nature’ based on the great historical Mapungubwe Kingdom in Limpopo. The design aesthetic is derived from the kingdom’s social structure, the influence of trade with the Far East and the area’s ecosystem. With little research available on the exact fashion trends that were popular in 1200 AD, our head designer and Founder, Hangwani Nengovhela allowed herself to dream and re-imagine fashion history. We know that this was a bustling kingdom in which the people lived in abundance. To show their strength and power, Mapungubwe’s ruler moved the upper classes to the…

Sep

27

2024

By The African Mirror

CRUZ Vodka brings Studio 54 vibes to SA Fashion Week opening night celebration

BEAUTY AND FASHION

THE Venue in Morningside transformed into a dazzling homage to the iconic Studio 54 as CRUZ Vodka hosted yet another unforgettable opening party for South African Fashion Week. The event drew the crème de la crème of the South African fashion scene, setting a high bar for style, sophistication, and innovation ahead of the week-long fashion extravaganza kicking off tonight in Mzansi. Embracing the glitz and glamour of New York’s legendary nightlife, the dress code encouraged guests to showcase their bold interpretations of disco-inspired couture. The result was a stunning visual feast, with attendees donning avant-garde ensembles that combined urban…

Sep

24

2024

By NADIA DAVIDS

Caine Prize for African Writing: Nadia Davids on her winning story about women and freedom

LITERATURE

SOUTH African playwright, academic, novelist and short story writer Nadia Davids is the winner of the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing. It’s an important award that has played a significant role in shaping the career trajectories of numerous African writers. She received the prize for her exquisitely written and disturbing short story Bridling. The title refers to a scold’s bridle, also known as a witch’s bridle, a cruel metal muzzle placed on a defiant (or even gossiping) woman’s face in an act of public humiliation in centuries past. A bridle must be worn on stage by the narrator of…

Sep

19

2024

By KEITH GOTTSCHALK

Joe Modise biography dismisses corruption claims against the former South African defence minister

LITERATURE

THE new biography of Joe Modise, one-time commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), is welcome. Comrade and Commander fills in a blank about Modise throughout the ANC’s three decades as an underground liberation movement with an armed wing. The book is edited by Ronnie Kasrils, a lifelong colleague of Modise and later South African deputy minister of defence, and Fidelis Hove, a son-in-law of Modise. Modise’s posting as Umkhonto we Sizwe commander makes him one of the most important leaders throughout the ANC’s underground epoch. In addition, he played a major…

Sep

14

2024

By OLIVIER MOREILLON

Johannesburg’s underbelly is explored in Niq Mhlongo’s fresh new novel about a messy break-up

LITERATURE

NIQ MHLONGO was born in Soweto, Johannesburg in 1973 and grew up under apartheid, South Africa’s institutionalised racial segregation under white minority rule. He graduated in political studies and African literature in 1996 and then studied law, but dropped out in his final year to become a writer instead. Mhlongo entered the South African literary scene with his novel Dog Eat Dog (2004). He’s since published three more novels and three short story collections, and has edited three volumes of writing. Critics have called him “one of the most high-spirited and irreverent new voices of South Africa’s post-apartheid literary scene”.…

Sep

13

2024

By The African Mirror

Oskido announces his exciting new lifestyle festival ‘BIG DAY OUT’

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE iconic award-winning South African DJ and music producer Oskido is thrilled to announce his latest venture, lifestyle festival BIG DAY OUT, set to take place this November. The lifestyle festival is a spectacular celebration of South Africa’s vibrant music scene over the past 3 decades, rekindling the golden era of kwaito by showcasing performances by a stellar lineup of legendary artists and tracking the journey of South African House Music from then to now. Oskido, a trailblazer in the South African music industry, is renowned for his influential role in shaping the kwaito genre and his enduring impact on…

Sep

09

2024

By HEIN WILLEMSE

James Matthews: the rebel writer who was South Africa’s voice of resistance

LITERATURE

WORLD-RENOWNED South African poet James Matthews has died at 95. His was the last great voice of an era of writers who worked against South Africa’s repressive and racist system of apartheid, which resulted in him being relentlessly harassed, detained by police and his work banned. Schooled in District Six, an area of Cape Town where black people were forcibly removed to make way for white development, he was most famous for his poems. But he was also a journalist, cultural worker, short story writer, novelist, proponent of the Black Consciousness movement and a one-man cultural institution who never stopped…