LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Jan

02

2021

Hip-hop artist MF DOOM dead at 49

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO AMERICAN-based rapper MF DOOM has died after a career spanning over two decades. View this post on Instagram A post shared by MF DOOM. ALL CAPS. (@mfdoom) The rapper’s wife Jasmine confirmed his death on his Instagram account. In a note addressed to the rapper, his wife paid tribute to "the greatest husband, father, teacher, student, business partner, lover and friend I could ever ask for". Tributes from the hip-hop fraternity have been pouring in for the innovative artist, including tributes from Tyler, The Creator, presenter Zane Lowe, A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip and Run The Jewels. The…

Jan

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Vanessa Mdee Rotimi ring in 2021 with engagement

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO TWO of Africa’s biggest stars, Rotimi and Vanessa Mdee, entered the new year on a high, with the announcement of their engagement. The Atlanta-based couple have been together for over a year, having met at the 2019 Essence Festival in New Orleans where Rotimi was due to perform. The Nigerian-American actor (born Olurotimi Akinosho) dropped down on one knee in a ‘Coming 2 America’ setting on December 31, asking his Tanzanian singer girlfriend to marry him. Rotimi and Vanessa Mdee on video. Picture: Instagram The actor posted the video of the proposal on his Instagram page with the…

Jan

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Meghan Markle & Prince Harry abandon social media

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex have decided to step away from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for good. Their decision was disclosed by a source close to the couple, who told The Times of London that it is "very unlikely" that the royal duo will not return to social media due to the immense amount of "hate" they have received from online users. The source also informed The Times of London that the couple had no plans to create social media profiles for their Archewell Foundation or return to their personal social profiles for the foreseeable future. The…

Jul

21

2022

By The African Mirror

Remembering Frantz Fanon – six great reads

LITERATURE

FRANTZ Fanon, the Martinique-born psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary and leading pan-Africanist, would have been 97 on 20 July 2022. He left a remarkable imprint. His views influenced many in the field of mental illness as well as pan-Africanist thinkers and anti-colonialism and black liberation campaigners. Fanon’s wide-ranging interests can be gleaned from his writings on numerous subjects including politics, psychiatry and even sports. Six articles from our archives attest to Fanon’s influence and legacy. Author THABO LESHILO, Politics + Society, The Conversation Psychiatry in colonial society Fanon highlighted how, by institutionalising patients, psychiatric hospitals tended to further alienate them from their…

Jan

11

2021

By The African Mirror

New Books | Archie Mafeje’s political thought

LITERATURE

BONGANI NYOKA ASPECTRE is haunting the South African academy, the spectre of knowledge decolonisation. Academics and university students are calling for decolonisation, but what they call brilliant is not new, and what they call new is not brilliant. As early as the 19th century, the South African poet William Wellington Gqoba grappled with the impact of Western education on Black people; in the early 20th century, Benedict Wallet Vilakazi and Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo were debating the role of language and modernity in South Africa. Equally, the works of Cheikh Anta Diop on sources of knowledge and social history, Kenneth…

Jul

19

2022

By The African Mirror

Ladysmith Black Mambazo shrug off power cut to sing for Mandela

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

TIM COCKS LADYSMITH Black Mambazo sang their warm-hearted choral harmonies in honour of peace icon Nelson Mandela, with a 45-minute forced intermission caused by one of the power cuts that have become a part of daily life in South Africa. The concert in Johannesburg's main theatre, a day before U.N.-declared Mandela Day, his birthday, celebrated the life of the man who steered South Africa from the manacles of apartheid to multi-racial democracy while narrowly avoiding a civil war. "Madiba has been an inspiration for us," Sibongiseni Shabalala, band member and son of the band's late founder Joseph Shabalala, said, using…

Jul

19

2022

By The African Mirror

South Africa mourns legendary poet Don Mattera

LITERATURE

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER SOUTH Africans from all walks of life have paid tributes to and celebrated the extraordinary life of Don Mattera, the poet, author, cultural activist and community leader who passed away after a short illness. Mattera - 87 - was buried at the Heroes Acre at the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to Mattera, who was honoured in 2006 by the government with the Order of the Baobab for his “excellent contribution to literature, achievement in the field of journalism and striving for justice in South Africa” President Ramaphosa said: “As a…

Jul

19

2022

By The African Mirror

100 years of pop music in Nigeria: what shaped four eras

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early months of 2020 shut down nearly all physical and social human activities. For musical practice, this meant near death. Performing music is, after all, one of the oldest forms of social human engagement. In Nigeria, the shutdown of concerts and public music performances was swift. Not even the Nigerian–Biafran War of 1967 to 1970 could shut down all of Nigeria. In fact, popular music activities boomed in Lagos as bombs rained on Biafra. The pandemic was a watershed moment and offers a compelling reason to trace the trajectory and evolution…

Jul

16

2022

By The African Mirror

Nigerian’s dream comes true with “Iyanu”

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY "A dream 15 years in the making" is how Roye Okupe described the announcement that his African superhero creation Iyanu would be turned into an animated series on HBO Max. "That's right, folks, YouNeek Studios IYANU has been greenlit and is set to become an ANIMATED SERIES ON HBO Max!" the US-educated Nigerian creator of African-inspired superhero & fantasy stories behind YouNeek - known for its EXO series of graphic novels - said when announcing the news. “Iyanu: Child of Wonder” is a superhero tale set in the magical kingdom of Yorubaland, which draws from…

Jan

14

2021

By The African Mirror

NKWO looks to a sustainable future of fashion with new collection

BEAUTY AND FASHION

MPHO RANTAO THE world is only two weeks into 2021, but talks have already resurfaced regarding the ever-growing concern on climate change and the damaging effects that the fashion industry has on the environment. In a report published in Business Insider, the production fashion is responsible for 10% of total global carbon emissions, is considered to be the second-largest polluter after oil, and uses up to 1.5 trillion litres of water at the risk of the planet’s biodiversity. The Gerewol Jacket from a 2020 collection. Picture: Instagram/nwko_official The staggering reports released by environmental organisations, along with the wide-spread criticism from…