ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Jun

11

2021

The magnificent Mabi Thobejane, master South African drummer

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

WINTER chokes the highveld in Johannesburg, South Africa, and takes from me, from our entire culture, a mighty mountain. Gabriel Mabi Segwagwa Thobejane, the diminutive tower of rhythmic power, has left us: a man who did not so much play the drums, but became The Drum. DAVID COPLAN, Professor Emeritus, Social Anthropology, University of the Witwatersrand He reportedly suffered a stroke at the age of 74 and passed on 3 June 2021. Even though he was both master and a creator of South Africa’s indigenous sonic archive, Mabi, as we all came to call him, was also a showman and…

Jun

10

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Coolest kid’ Elsa Majimbo covers Native

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

IT’s Elsa Majimbo’s world and we’re all just living in it. The online sensation has been revealed as the digital cover star for Native’s June issue, in a feature that sees the “coolest 19-year-old on the planet” in eccentric braiding styles and colourblock-styled outfits. Titled “Into Elsa’s Multiverse”, Native magazine chats to Majimbo on her massive rise online, her conversations with the likes of Olympian Usain Bolt, Rihanna and Naomi Campbell; and how she has been using her newfound fame to carve a space for young, rising African women like herself. View this post on Instagram A post shared by…

Apr

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Cardi B files papers to secure ‘Bardi Beauty’ rights

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER RAPPER Cardi B is making “money moves”, to quote her single ‘Bodak Yellow’. According to TMZ, the rapper’s company Washpoppin Inc. has taken legal steps to secure the rights to the phrase “Bardi Beauty”, which could potentially be used across a variety of the rapper’s merchandise and other products. Cardi’s company originally filed the papers on April 16, but news reports only surfaced when her company updated the court documents which both TMZ and Complex viewed. The listed products from the application to secure the rights to the phrase include cosmetics, fragrances, hair care preparations, non-medicated skin…

May

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Thuso Mbedu, Barry Jenkins speak about making slavery drama ‘The Underground Railroad’

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

LISA KEDDIE “MOONLIGHT” director Barry Jenkins switches to the small screen for an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Underground Railroad", a project the Oscar winner says he feared from the start. The 41-year-old read a copy of Colson Whitehead's harrowing tale before its 2016 release, and was enamoured by its young protagonist, Black slave Cora, and her quest for freedom from a Georgia plantation. FILE PHOTO: Director Barry Jenkins attends the 91st Oscars Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. February 4, 2019. REUTERS/David McNew/File Photo Set in the 19th century Deep South, the 10-part series, released on…

Jun

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Snoop Dogg takes executive role at Def Jam

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

RAP superstar Snoop Dogg is joining the legendary hip hop label Def Jam Recordings as executive creative and strategic consultant, the U.S. company has announced. Def Jam, owned by Universal Music, has been home to some of hip-hop's most pioneering artists, from Public Enemy to LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys. Its current roster includes Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Kanye West. Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, professionally known as Snoop Dogg, will be based in Los Angeles and report to Universal Music Group Chairman and Chief Executive Sir Lucian Grainge and Def Jam interim Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Harleston. As…

Jun

06

2021

By The African Mirror

From apprentice to fashion icon: Ivory Coast’s Pathe’O, 50 years on

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY WHEN 20-year-old Pathe Ouedraogo left his Burkina Faso village in 1969 in search of a better life in neighbouring Ivory Coast, his dream was to return with a bicycle and a transistor radio to prove he had made it. He was too thin to work on a cocoa farm, so took the chance to learn how to make clothes instead - a decision that propelled him to fashion stardom. "The most accessible job at the time was to be an apprentice tailor," said Ouedraogo. The man mostly known as Pathe'O is now celebrating a 50-year career during which…

May

30

2021

By The African Mirror

‘It means everything’: Mary J. Blige inducted into NYC’s Apollo Walk of Fame

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MARY J. Blige has nine Grammy Awards, eight multi-platinum albums, two Academy Award nominations, and now, the singer-songwriter has a plaque on the Apollo Theater's Walk of Fame. Blige, also known as the queen of hip-hop soul with millions of fans across the globe, was inducted into the Walk of Fame on Friday just outside the legendary theater in Harlem. Wearing a sparkling green and black jumpsuit, Blige personally thanked her fans and announced a release date of June 25 for a new documentary that celebrates the 25th anniversary of her second album "My Life." This was a return home…

May

28

2021

By The African Mirror

African femcees take to the stage

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER CARDI B, Megan Thee Stallion and Flo Milli are just a fraction of the names that come to one’s mind when they think of women rappers. The world of hip-hop has been rocked sideways by the growing number of women rappers skyrocketing to the top of music charts, excelling as on-stage performers, and walking away with hip-hop’s coveted awards like Best Rap Artist or Best Rap Album at award ceremonies. There has also been more visibility in the production and acknowledgement of women in the industry, both on stage and behind the scenes. So many of those…

Jun

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Beyoncé & JAY-Z splurge on world’s most expensive car

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

BEYONCÉ and JAY -Z are the new official owners of the world’s most expensive luxury car, a Rolls-Royce valued at a whopping US$28 million. According to an anonymous source that broke the news to The Telegraph, musicians Beyoncé and JAY-Z reportedly commissioned the Rolls-Royce custom-built Boat Tail, which features a rear deck with high-end double coolers, matching chairs, and a parasol. The Rolls-Royce Boat Tail. Picture: Twitter The American couple have not released any confirmation on their recent purchase (as they never have in the past with other luxury or business purchases), but many of Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s fans, as…

May

20

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Pose’ star Billy Porter announces he is HIV-positive

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

RACHEL SAVAGE AWARD-WINNING "Pose" star Billy Porter announced he was HIV-positive on Wednesday, adding that he was healthy and unashamed of having a disease that has long been stigmatised. Porter, who won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for portraying HIV-positive ballroom emcee Pray Tell in the hit TV show about New York's LGBT+ drag ball culture, said he contracted the infection in 2007, but felt free once he told his mother. "I'm the healthiest I've been in my entire life. So it's time to let all that go and tell a different story. There's no more stigma — let's…