LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Jul

29

2020

How women’s untold histories shaped South Africa’s national poet

LITERATURE

ARETHA PHIRI, Senior lecturer, Department of Literary Studies in English, Rhodes University UHURU PORTIA PHALAFALA, Lecturer, Stellenbosch University KEORAPETSE Kgositsile, the South African-born poet who passed away in 2018, lived in exile in the US from 1962 to 1975 and was at the centre of the country’s 1960s and ’70s Black Arts Movement. Informed by his South African and Tswana background, the poet makes a case for multiple inflections of voices, geographies, and histories in the making of transnational black modernity. Analysing his work offers ways in which African poetry can disrupt dominant thinking on Black Atlantic studies, particularly Paul…

Jul

28

2020

By The African Mirror

Moroccan women break through in rap scene dominated by men

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AHMED ELJECHTIMI IN a rap scene dominated by men, women's voices are starting to make waves in Morocco. Houda Abouz, a 24-year-old who majors in film studies at a university in the northern city of Tetouan, has long been fascinated by hip-hop, and, encouraged by friends, she picked up a mic and began to perform. In January she appeared in "Hors Serie", a song in which she performed alongside three big male rap stars in Morocco, Elgrande Toto, Don Bigg and Draganov. The video has been viewed around 16 million times on YouTube - a reflection of the popularity the…

Jul

26

2020

By The African Mirror

#Jerusalema reaches 50 million views!

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER #JERUSALEMA, the incredible musical phenomenon created by South African music producer, DJ and artist, Master KG, has continued to grow like wildfire and has reached 50-million views across the world. From monks, celebrities, chefs, wedding parties, to ordinary people, everyone is dancing to the hit song which, together with its maker, has become a global sensation. In the song Jerusalema, Master KG features Nomcebo Zikode. Master KG’s song, Jerusalema, has inspired the #JerusalemaDanceChallenge that has gone viral. The song also made it to the iTunes top charts in the USA, Italy and several other European countries. According…

Jul

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Gilbert Matthews – a pioneer and a visionary of South African jazz

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

GWEN ANSELL, Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria SOUTH Africa has done little to acknowledge the passing of a jazz great and titan of drums, Gilbert Matthews. For Bra Gil, who brought credit to South Africa from a host of international jazz stages, the official silence remains deafening. Matthews was a visionary of the South African jazz scene. Although his beginnings were on the conventional Cape Town club jazz circuit, his talent took him across the world – he was, for a time, Ray Charles’ regular drummer – and the music he was exposed to…

Jul

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Rich Mnisi and Karabo Poppy release everyday capsule collection

BEAUTY AND FASHION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER TWO of South Africa’s world-class creatives have collaborated and produced a stunning collection during the COVID-19 lockdown. Designer Richard Mnisi and illustrator Karabo Poppy Moletsane have released a capsule collection. Titled “Running Errands”, the collection was officially released on July 20th and features a number of casual clothing pieces featuring signature illustrations by Moletsane as well as some of Mnisi’s signature clothing items, such as his scarf. Both Mnisi and Moletsane wanted fashion-lovers to see their first errand-wear capsule collection as a combination of different artistic styles intersecting multiple identities just as complex as South Africa’s diverse…

Jul

21

2020

By The African Mirror

Rapper Nicki Minaj expecting her first child

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER TRINIDADIAN rapper Nicki Minaj is expecting her first child. Minaj announced her pregnancy on Instagram. She is expecting her first child with her husband Kenneth Petty. The ‘Yikes’ singer posted four pictures of herself cradling her expectant belly taken by American photographer Dave LaChapelle, with the first caption written “#Preggers”, while wearing a two-piece with a jewelled bra and cradling her prominent baby bump. https://www.instagram.com/p/CC3ffwbDEM5/ In her second post, Minaj wore the same bra and wrote: “Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement and gratitude. Thank you for all the well wishes”. Minaj married Kenneth Petty, a…

Jul

18

2020

By The African Mirror

Fashion from waste

BEAUTY AND FASHION

ELLEN WULFHORST UNLIKE some designers, Daniel Silverstein doesn't mind when others freely copy his style. In fact, the designer of fashion from scraps and fabric remnants welcomes imitators. "The more people that do this, the more we see a solution," the New York-based designer told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "My job is to keep innovating and pushing forward and creating new things for people to rip off." Silverstein, whose fashion company is Zero Waste Daniel, creates clothing from bits and bolts of leftover cloth, with an eye to using, reusing and recycling all that he can. From a storefront studio…

Aug

01

2020

By The African Mirror

Snazzy face mask fashion reaches Nairobi neighbourhood

BEAUTY AND FASHION

THOMAS MUKOYA MOST of us have accepted COVID-19 face masks as an inconvenient, albeit necessary, safety measure. For the style-conscious like James Maina Mwangi, however, they are an unmissable fashion opportunity. Mwangi's brightly coloured suits and hats made him stand out even on the busy streets of Nairobi's Umoja neighbourhood, where nobody ever seems to sleep. Since the pandemic hit and Kenya made face masks mandatory, his outfits have become even more eye-catching. This week, the 59-year-old jack of all trades modelled his collection of face masks for Reuters. "Men knew how to wear clothes in black, brown, grey or…

Aug

09

2020

By The African Mirror

Black designers lead push for a more diverse fashion industry

BEAUTY AND FASHION

THIN LEI WIN and NELLIE PEYTON BRITISH-BORN Ghanaian designer Samata Pattinson taught herself to sew, launched her own label before the age of 30 and now runs an initiative showcasing sustainable fashion on the Oscars red carpet. She has found success in a cut-throat industry, but has never been allowed to forget her differences as a Black woman surrounded by mostly white executives, designers and models. "You feel like you're in the room, and then there's another VIP room and you can't get into that one," Pattinson told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview. "There's pressure because you're…

Aug

05

2020

By The African Mirror

Footballer who tackled poverty stars in British Vogue’s Black ‘hope’ issue

BEAUTY AND FASHION

DARNELL CHRISTIE FOOTBALLER Marcus Rashford, whose campaigning pushed the government to change policy on free school meals, has won further recognition for his poverty-fighting efforts - starring on the cover of a British Vogue edition celebrating Black leaders. The Manchester United and England forward appears alongside fashion model and mental health campaigner Adwoa Aboah on the cover of September's magazine, which features them and other activists including leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement. Rashford and Aboah were photographed by Misan Harriman, who became the first Black man to photograph the cover image in the iconic magazine's 104-year history. Rashford,…