ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Jan

30

2025

Tyla’s livestreamed concert redefined live events in Africa

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

TAMASHA Khanyi, a South African journalist and host at East Coast Radio, described the performance of South African sensation, Tyla, at the grand finale of her "Encore" homecoming tour on July 18 at Time Square’s SunBet Arena in Pretoria with the words “incredible show is an understatement!” “It was so much more than an entertaining evening where I got to hear some of my favourite songs live. To me, Tyla represents so much for SA’s youth,” she wrote in a LinkedIn post after the concert. Khanyi is one of many attendees who took to social media to express their appreciation…

Jan

26

2025

By The African Mirror

Keyshia Cole: Live in South Africa will continue new dates set for April 2025

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MULTI-platinum R&B sensation Keyshia Cole is thrilled to announce the rescheduled dates for her highly anticipated Keyshia Cole: Live in South Africa tour. The tour, scheduled to take place this weekend, was postponed following the tragic loss of the artist’s Los Angeles home in the recent wildfires. Keyshia expressed her heartfelt gratitude to fans for their patience and understanding during this challenging time, “The wildfires in LA devastated not only my home but also my spirit for a moment. I needed time to heal, rebuild, and be fully present to give my fans in South Africa the show they deserve.…

Jan

21

2025

By LIANI MAASDORP and REINA-MARIE LOADER

Films can change the world – why universities and film schools should teach impact strategies

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

WHEN was the last time a film changed the way you saw the world? Or the way you behaved? Miners Shot Down (2014) countered mainstream media narratives to reveal how striking mine workers were gunned down by police at Marikana in South Africa. Black Fish (2013) made US theme park SeaWorld’s stock prices plummet. And Virunga (2014) stopped the British oil company Soco International from mining in the Congolese National Park from which the film takes its name. These films were all at the centre of impact campaigns designed to move people to act. In filmmaking, “impact” may involve bringing…

Jan

18

2025

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Showmax’s Tyla event livestream to test Africa’s streaming future

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE live streaming of Tyla's homecoming event on Showmax on Saturday (January 18) symbolizes a major shift in both the streaming and creative industries in Africa, according to academics and industry insiders. Tyla Laura Seethal, known simply as Tyla, is a 22-year-old South African singer who has claimed 24 awards from 77 nominations, including a historic 2024 Grammy win making her the youngest African soloist to be feted. Recognized by Billboard and celebrated globally, she’s hosting a homecoming event this Saturday, January 18, in Pretoria, South Africa, before kicking off her nationwide tour. In a press statement on January 10,…

Jan

17

2025

By AKINWUMI OGUNDIRAN

Nigeria’s Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo festival celebrates the power of a Yoruba goddess

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo festival is the most important annual event in Òṣogbo, south-west Nigeria. It draws thousands of devotees and tourists from across Nigeria and worldwide. The festival is a devotional event and a civic ritual dedicated to Ọ̀ṣun, a principal female deity in the Yorùbá pantheon. Ọ̀ṣun is the deity of femininity in Yorùbá cosmology and rules over the river named after her in Nigeria – River Ọ̀ṣun. Her spirit is believed to reside in any freshwater. She is associated with the authority of motherhood, purity, fertility and sensuality. She is also the patron deity of Òṣogbo, a Yorùbá…

Jan

16

2025

By DIRK MATTEN

‘Squid Game’ Season 2 is a dystopian reflection of capitalism’s dark side

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE second season of Squid Game, Netflix’s most-watched show of all time, has been eagerly awaited by many. The first season featured players participating in a series of deadly children’s games to win prize money. The new season, which is also on track to set another Netflix record, takes a deeper look at the economic context and constraints surrounding the surrealistic games. More than a third of the season takes place outside the actual game setting, highlighting the dystopian life circumstances that drive participants to enter the deadly competition in the first place. In many ways, Squid Game Season 2…

Jan

14

2025

By Mpho Rantao

Kaytranada Thrills Jo’burg at Milk and Cookies

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IN early January 2025, Cape Town and Johannesburg played host to one of the year’s most anticipated events: the Milk and Cookies Festival. The first leg in Cape Town featured South African acts followed by Kaytranada, who performed at Ostrich Farm. After the large positive outpouring from the first leg, Kaytranada expressed his excitement for the Johannesburg leg, where he had been told where the real party was. Whoever told him that was correct despite the inclement weather that soaked attendees. Held at Huddle Park, the festival’s South African debut went off with a muddy but groovy set by the…

Dec

27

2024

By ROWLAND CHUKWUEMEKA AMAEFULA

Nigerian TikTok star Charity Ekezie uses hilarious skits to dispel ignorance about Africa

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

YOUNG African voices are gaining popularity on social media the world over, using these platforms for comedy and political debate – and often for political debate that’s also funny. One of the new generation of TikTok celebrities in Africa is Charity Ekezie, a Nigerian humourist and journalist. She’s gained 3.3 million followers on TikTok (and 570,000 on Instagram). Her skits poke fun at the world’s perceptions of the continent as backward and barbaric. Rowland Chukwuemeka Amaefula is a theatre and performance scholar who has analysed Ekezie’s TikToks, her sarcastic brand of humour and how she uses social media as a…

Dec

10

2024

By GWEN ANSELL

Rashid Vally: South African visionary whose indie record labels shaped the jazz scene

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SOME record labels create huge market and financial clout. Some stay much smaller, but punch way above their weight in terms of their impact on the spirit of a country’s music. For South Africa, one such label is As-Shams/The Sun, whose founder, Rashid Vally, passed away on 7 December aged 85. In the era of intensely repressive white minority rule, Vally became the first South African of colour to establish his own independent record label. His releases gave a platform to musically experimental and often politically outspoken artists, including pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. Their work implicitly and explicitly challenged the regime’s…

Dec

07

2024

By THEMBELA VOKWANA

The empire sings back: the deep history behind South African soprano Pretty Yende’s triumph

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AMONG the global music stars invited to perform at the grand reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris is Pretty Yende. The South African soprano was also one of the invited artists at the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III. Like the Notre Dame reopening, coronations are not events that take place often. What makes the moment special is not just singing for a new king or restored landmark, but the rareness of the occasion. Thanks to these events, millions of global television viewers experience Yende’s soaring high notes, stage presence, musicality and star quality for the first time.…