ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Jan

14

2025

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.…

Jan

10

2025

By MPHO RANTAO

A special treat: Kaytranada in South Africa on Timeless Tour

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

FRESH off a warm reception in Cape Town, Haitian DJ Kaytranada will continue his Timeless tour at the second leg of the US-based Milk and Cookies Festival, at Huddle Park, in Johannesburg on January 11. The Grammy award winning producer returned to the southernmost tip in Africa as a headliner for the debut of the Milk & Cookies Festival, a new festival from the city of Atlanta, United States. The festival has a two-leg run in South Africa, which started in Cape Town on January 6, and will conclude in a sold-out show in Johannesburg, whereafter Kaytranada heads to Australia…

Nov

27

2024

By KARA BLACKMORE

Dakar Biennale: Senegal’s big art show shines a light on a bruised planet

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ONE of Africa’s most important art shows, the 15th Biennale of Contemporary African Art in Dakar – also known as Dak'Art – is currently on in Senegal. A biennale is a major international exhibition held every two years. The theme for 2024 is The Wake – L’Éveil and this year there’s a strong focus on trauma, people and the planet. Kara Blackmore is an anthropologist and curator who specialises in community-driven exhibition-making. She’s also an associate curator – one of the team of women who are responsible for artist selection and exhibition making – at this year’s biennale. She told…

Nov

21

2024

By SIFISO NDLOVU

Esther Mahlangu: how the famous South African artist keeps her Ndebele culture alive

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ESTHER Mahlangu’s retrospective of her world-famous art was first shown in Cape Town and has now opened in Johannesburg. The 89-year-old South African visual artist is best known for her colourful large-scale murals in the traditional patterns and colours of the Ndebele people of South Africa – once famously displayed on a BMW as part of a global advertising campaign. But how is she regarded by her people and what does her work represent? We asked Sifiso Ndlovu, an expert in the art and identity of the Ndebele people, to tell us more. Who is Esther Mahlangu? Esther Nostokana Mahlangu…

Nov

14

2024

By The African Mirror

Zkhiphani marks 15 years of cultural impact with unforgettable event this December!

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ON December 1, 2024, Zkhiphani celebrates 15 years of championing urban youth culture with a major event at 1Fox in Newtown, Johannesburg. A pivotal platform for the latest in music, fashion, and art, Zkhiphani’s anniversary festival promises an all-encompassing cultural experience alongside four powerhouse partners—The Sobering Podcast, $TREETFE$T Underground, Happyville, and Partytime’s Playroom to create an immersive experience for South Africa’s youth. In the lead-up to this event, Zkhiphani hosted the ZK15 Live Sessions at the Fresh AF offices in Sandton. This three-day event offered intimate discussions with friends of Zkhiphani and featured live performances by top artists, including Khuli…

Nov

13

2024

By The African Mirror

A star rises from the south and conquers at the MTV EMAs

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE lights of Manchester's arena sparkled like the stars over the African savanna as a young South African sensation stood on stage, tears gleaming in her eyes. Tyla, draped in a dress that paid homage to her idol Aaliyah, could barely contain her emotion as she clutched her third award of the night – a feat never before achieved by an African artist at the MTV EMAs. "I'm just as shocked as you guys," she managed to say, her voice trembling with genuine surprise and joy. The journey from South Africa to this glittering stage in England seemed almost dreamlike,…

Nov

12

2024

By The African Mirror

Joy Dancer: dance documentary shows the power of movement to give a voice to the silenced

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IN 2018, when visiting the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, choreographer Gregory Maqoma came across the multimedia installation The African Choir 1891 Re-imagined (2017). Created by composers Thuthuka Sibisi and Philip Miller and curated by Renee Mussai, the installation tells the story of a group of South African singers who toured Britain, Canada and America between 1891 and 1893, raising money for a missionary school back home. Moved by the work, Maqoma reached out to Sibisi and the pair decided to collaborate. The result was Broken Chord, another performance piece that tells the story of this group of singers,…