Lifestyle

Ephraim Lebeloane03/10/2022

How far are you willing to go to gain followers? There’s a constant inclination on social media engagement and online activity – online digital media has indefinitely replaced traditional media. Brands and corporates are putting in a lot of money in online marketing collaborative brand partnerships and this has people desperate for followers.

Online viral video content creators and social media influencers are the go to for paid partnerships and advertising. Viral content has become a currency to this generation. The number of followers one has and things such as online presence are factors which play a key role in convergence and metrics such as pay per click (PPC), cost per click (CPC) and cost per view (CPV) determine how much money one could make. Social media influencers rely on clout to attract followers and they use these metrics to lure brand partnership deals and monetize.

The stakes are getting higher, social media is a billion dollar industry and its dominance is spreading at a rampant speed “Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company plans to pay out $1 billion through 2022 to users who create content for its Facebook and Instagram social networks. It’s one way the company hopes to attract influencers to create content for its platforms as it competes with other popular services, such as TikTok” (Salvador Rodriguez, CNBC, July 2021).

Controversy has become more appealing than telling compelling narratives, and this has got kids messed up. I could equate this to how gangster rap had black youths thinking guns and drugs are cool. It’s one and the same thing, the youth is willing to do anything to trend even if it means negatively exposing themselves to the world. Oh, and don’t get me started with social media self-proclaimed scholars who believe their opinions are set in stone. Everyone likes to believe their ideas to be omniscient and omnipotent – it seems as if everyone has Phd of some sort and they are experts and therefore have better acumen than everyone else. There’s no room for constructive open dialogues, things always get out of hand and messages get lost in translation.

Hyper sexualism, antagonism, controversy, hate speech, mockery and trolling have become a part of our lives via social media. Influencers are willing to break an arm and a leg for the sake of relevancy. Just think about the viral video of the young school pupil from Limpopo, Mbilwi secondary school who committed suicide after she was bullied and violated by another pupil on camera. Not only was she abused and violated, it happened in front of the world to see and her perpetrator was cheered by other pupils. What about the recent passing of South African legendary actor Patrick Shai who committed suicide after a social media escapade. The culture of trolling and the hyper sexualization of women is appealing to the masses.

A few weeks ago, a South African young lady posted a picture of her private parts on Twitter and the picture went viral. Unmistakably, her strategy worked, she gained more followers. OnlyFans has become an online brothel of some sort, with users selling nudes and adult explicit content. “OnlyFans is a social media content sharing platform with statistics showing that there are more than 170 million registered subscribers and over 1.5 million content creators around the world. Let’s take a look at some OnlyFans statistics that might surprise you” (Jason Wise, EarthWeb, February 15, 2022).

Often too many times what trends is vile content and sad enough it has become a normality.

I have a love and hate relationship with social media, I acknowledge how it has created a platform for content creators, businesses, marketers and people to connect with the world. Take for example how it has accelerated the growth of Amapiano as a new genre and thus setting it to the world in a short space. Or how entrepreneurs market their businesses and people get jobs via social media. A couple of celebrities also do buy school uniforms and groceries for the needy and giveaway bursaries and or education aid via social media. I love the positive and empowering aspect of social media, what I have a qualm with its negativity.

Bonginkosi Ntiwane07/16/2021

“I know every man understands what that’s about, when you have the baddest [sic] girl in front of you and it’s all about to happen and you can’t even believe it,” says Maxwell in describing the essence of his track Stop the World, which is on his BLACK Summer’s Night album. The sensual singer was speaking in the short doccie, 5 Days of Black which came with the 2009 project.

But that quote and the song itself, talk to the delightful significance of consent right before intercourse. Lovemaking, ukubhebha, thobalano or whatever you call it, has an inconceivable lovely thrill to it. It sometimes finds you cornered by stress and anxiety, especially when your thirst for it has been an elongated one. It then releases your endorphins, oxytocin and you from the bondage of that angst. If done right, with the right person of course.

Maxwell’s quote above zooms-into that moment just before doing the nooky when you can feel and clearly see that she too, wants to share this here intimate moment with you. That’s where the beauty lies, in the agreement.

But speaking to a handful of guys, you notice that this seems to be a grey area for some people. “Sometimes she says ‘no’ but actually means yes,” one fella told me, explaining how a woman would spew the word no, simultaneously smiling and nodding her head to his advances. “I like it when there’s a bit of tension involved,” another guy said to me.

Rape by definition, is the unlawful activity, most involving sexual intercourse against the will if the victim through force or the threat of force or with an individual who is incapable of giving legal consent because of minor status, mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness or deception. Rape has been part of our fabric as a society since the existence of humanity. But we’re living in a time where it’s slowly being called-out and eradicated, but we still have a long way to go until it’s no longer a part of who we are as a people, especially as men.

There’s clearly a culture created by men around rape. Before the dawn of democracy in South Africa and also even in the new Mzansi jack rolling was a colloquial term in the country’s townships for rape. Prevalent ekasi, it is a crime where men gang-rape their victim in retaliation to a perceived cold shoulder from the female victim who is being asked out. She’s basically being raped because she simply isn’t giving the guy her time.

While Jack rolling is the modus operandi in urban spaces, in our rural areas Ukuthwalwa works well for the men there. Ukuthwalwa is an old age customary marriage practice where a man, by force, takes a girl to his home with the intention of following through with a customary marriage. In his 2018 doctoral thesis, which News24 wrote a piece on last year, Mkhuseli Jokani explains that there are three types of Ukuthwalwa.

Ukuthwalwa ngemvumelwano – abduction by agreement happens when the girl is aware of the abduction that will take place. This could occur for example when there is a conspiracy between the girl and her suitor.

Ukuthwalwa kobolawu – abduction for arranged marriage happens through an agreement between the families of the girl and the groom’s family. In this case, the girl is unaware.

Ukuthwalwa okungenamvumelwano – abduction without agreement is when the girl and her family isn’t aware of the abduction and months go by without the male’s family arriving at the girl’s home to negotiate lobola, or even explain what has happened.

According to customary law, an explanation is that “the girl is not regarded as a minor if she has reached puberty and has acquired a certain level of maturity, where she can start a family.” Although largely shunned upon today, this still does take place.

Maxwell aptly titled the name of his song Stop the World, recognizing that precious moment where both (or a trio of) parties involved agree to coitus. He sings…

Imagine if it was, if this was you, if this was I

So perfectly designed to be here all night

Let the world rage outside, cause when I’m here with you

The world stops for me, the world stops for me

Since there is a culture built on, around and through rape it means we can also build a culture on, around and through the sensibility of consent. But there needs to be commitment from men, in instilling those values on the impressionable young boys growing up today.

Bonginkosi Ntiwane05/18/2021

The State Theatre in Pretoria was the venue for the inaugural Kulture Blues Festival and one would easily assume this to be an Africa month celebration, looking at the line-up.

“That was pure coincidence,” says the event’s producer Kulani Nkuna. “That was simply the day that was available for us. But we are Pan African in outlook and ideology.”

The unrivalled Thandi Ntuli headlined the two-day festival which began on Friday night with an intimate performance by the pianist. While Saturday saw Makhafula Vilakazi and Iphupho L’ka Biko on stage.

Together with her band, Ntuli serenaded the sizeable audience inside Malambo Theatre with her gentle voice. She could’ve sang the whole night and we wouldn’t have cared for time. She has the astuteness of a Thelonious Monk on keys, while her voice has the gentleness of a Spha Mdlalose.

LADY WITH KEYS: Thandi Ntuli. Photo by Khulisile Nkushubana

It’s a sad truth, but it is a rarity to have such artists playing together in a prominent space such as The State Theatre, unless the country’s commemorating a holiday day like Youth day or Africa month. There’s a paucity of spaces that accommodate the not-so generic artist. “Some of the content is not palatable to white sensibilities, so most veer away from these artists and their content,” Nkuna says. He pitched the idea of the festival to the State Theatre a while back and fortunately they opened their doors.

The festival’s name was inspired by a Putumayo compilation album titled African Blues. “That album was essentially the blues but in an African context and in our African languages. The Kulture part was taken from the name of our platform Culture Review and an attempt to pay homage to our particular type of sound,” Nkuna tells me. This will be an annual festival.

BIKO' DREAM: — Biko’s dream in full effect. Photo by Khulisile Nkushubana

There’s a palpable inquisitiveness and a longing for African spirituality and a steady growth in Pan Africanism, particularly with this generation. The art scene hasn’t been an exception. Artists are creating works that are inspired by the aforementioned elements.

BLOWIN': Sthembiso performing at The State Theatre with Thandi Ntuli. Photo by Khulisile Nkushubana — BLOWIN’: Sthembiso performing at The State Theatre with Thandi Ntuli. Photo by Khulisile Nkushubana

Iphupho L’ka Biko is one ensemble that creates music that revives the spirit. The band was on stage Saturday evening after Vilakazi’s performance. While the smell of dank weed ushers you at Hip Hop shows. The aroma of impepho burning filled the auditorium during Iphupho L’ka Biko’s performance.

“The art scene is beaming with artists who make music that speak to the dire conditions of black people in this country live in. Art is a critical mirror that speaks to the brutality meted to black bodies by the state and by whiteness,” Nkuna says.

POLITICALLY CHARGED: KK performing at The State Theatre. Photo by Khulisile Nkushubana

Iphupho L’ka Biko performed their hit Uthixo Ukhona and they also played songs which commemorate lost black lives including that of American Sandra Bland. An ode to Chris Hani titled Thembisile is so moving, it should be heard by all South African school kids to help give them insight about our past. But IPhupho’s performance felt all over the place at times. They should shelve the afro-beat inspired section of their set; it’s a paradigm shift from the more jazz and protest sound they have. But Iphupho L’ka Biko surprisingly had a bigger audience than Ntuli’s the previous night. This is probably due to the fact that the band had performed at Black Labone on Thursday night.

“the artists performed at an exceptional level, and the audience were really in tune with the performers on stage,” says Nkuna post the event. Nkuna’s still unsure of the exact number of attendees of the festival as he still awaits for a ticket sales report from webtickets.

Bonginkosi Ntiwane03/18/2021

In this installment of Urban Ish On Lock we present Open Ended Talk. This is where the guys are joined by a new member to the team, Tsheola Mapalakanye and on this episode they’re talking pornography and the role it plays in society.

Be it setting unrealistic expectations regarding the deed or how it exposes our insecurities around our bodies.

This is only the first part of a long and tantalizing conversation you don’t wana miss.

Leave a comment and let us know what kind of relationship you have with le punna.

Bonginkosi Ntiwane02/26/2021

The earliest form of illustration would have to be paintings on caves and rocks. I imagine these weren’t created for mere decorative purposes. The art was for posterity. They were passing on knowledge. I also imagine that such an undertaking was a spiritually-laden one, whether the illustrator was aware of this or not.

Queue Nkosana Nkomo. The boy must be his ancestors’ wildest dreams come to life. His work might not be etched on caverns, but his old Wacom Bamboo tablet which he uses to illustrate is sufficient to carry the sacred works he makes. Again my imagination informs me, that he creates with the spirit kindred to that which led the cave illustrator. “My work is heavily inspired by African spirituality,” Nkosana tells me.

“When I first began it was for a purpose of putting black fantasies in the light it deserves, but as time went it became clear that it wasn’t a case of a black fantasies, but was more spiritually inclined work. This became clear to me when I saw majority of my audience being spiritual individuals who took a great liking to my work and some even said they receive messages from their elders from my work. What I thought was imagination was actually me being guided. The significance at play here is that my artwork just doesn’t reflect me and my “imagination” or that place I get taken to, but many others that can relate to the sacredness and magic in spirituality. I didn’t know the greater purpose of my art, until spiritual healers commented on my artwork and the more I created, the clearer things became.”

He goes by the moniker Nkosana The Art and the devilish algorithms brought me to his work while I was loitering them Instagram caves. The composition of Nkosana’s work is attractive but I was more enchanted by what he describes as the “spiritual realm dwelling beings” he depicts. They are surreal, undeniably African and are portrayed with an enlightened meticulousness.

“Commission based artwork is where I deal with real life people, they send me their photos and tell me to do what I do, and I do what I do. Surprisingly some even think I am a divine, because of the outcome of the art. One time I created for this lady and I just went in and placed in all sorts of elements according to how I felt she should be represented, like a crown made of corn cobs and Protea flowers and after she saw her piece she asked me why did I place all those elements in there and I really had no idea, so I made up some reasons as to what they each represent and she gave me a description of how each of those elements relate to her growing up and till present. Crazy right?”

Born in Heilbron in the Free State, but grew up in the Vaal in Sebokeng, he describes himself as an old soul, young at heart in a body of an artist. “Isintu is everything to me and my work. Abantu is everything to me and my work. Amadlozi is [sic] everything to me and my work.”

“I grew up in a Christian family and a lot of isintu wasn’t taught in the household, my grandmother who was a sangoma lived far, but I picked up a lot in the little best time I had with her. The elders who made rituals every year passed on when I was at a young age and as I grew up, I drifted away from isintu and got involved in cosmetic churches in my teen years. All of that didn’t make sense or relate to me as time went and I withdrew from being a Christian and am now learning more of isintu. Can you believe it? I am 30 years old and only knew izithakazelo zam four years ago by asking what they are. But ever since I have been on this path, isintu has been working wonders for me and with every chance, I am learning,” says the now Ranburg based artist.

It’s a generational thing; the infatuation with spirituality be it heeding the calling yok’thwasa, the fascination with astrology and numerology- the peoples is tryna find themselves. In finding self, this generation draws strength from owning and telling their stories. As much as Black Panther brought excitement on the continent and in Africans in the diaspora, the story was originally created by white men who aren’t from here. There’s a growing number of comics or graphic novels created by Africans.

Nkosana has a skeleton of a graphic novel which he’s working on together with two writers and an illustrator, but won’t say much about the project. “The story [is] about African mythology and is based in ancient times. I will end that there,” he says laughing out loud.

Music artists have utilized Nkosana’s skill for the album covers. “Some of these artists are from the United States and Europe, but most are from home. I worked with Piff James, Liqwa, Masta Roach, Vic Mover, Dominque Ivory, Lilow NTK, Fnote and Mandingo Bay Warriors. There are more who enquire and tell me they will be back for the art cover when the music is ready.”

I imagine the fella from the cave smiles to know that Nkosana sees everything as a canvass to impart messages from the other realm. “…T- shirts, billboards, carpets… I would love my work to be received by anyone out there in the world who sees it for what it is and fulfilled by it. The space I wish my art to occupy is the heart, mind and spirit, even if it is for a second, it will have served its purpose.”

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