YOU hear Bad Boy Records and instantly think New York. The mention of Death Row jogs one’s memory to Los Angeles, California. But Kalawa Jazmee is synonymous with all townships in all of South Africa. In the 25 years of Nelson Mandela’s democratic South Africa, no record company has been the soundtrack to kasi life as Kalawa Jazmee.
The record company was found through a feud between two stables, Trompies Jazzmee Records and Kalawa Records. The former was co-owned by Spikiri, Mahoota, M’jokes and Bruce while the latter’s owners were Oskido, Don Laka and DJ Christos-who departed in 1995. The dispute was over ownership of Trompies hit song Sigiya Ngengoma.
They’ve gone on to churn out more hit songs as one independent company for more than two decades now, telling stories from the township while making us dance. They’ve introduced and developed a slew of artists like Busiswa, Alaska, Professor, DJ Zinhle, Dr Malinga, Heavy K, Tira, Big Nuz and so many more. It is fitting that this year’s Delicious Festival will honour Kalawa Jazmee’s 25th anniversary.
But if one were to have a Kalawa Jazmee All Stars, many would agree that these five make the starting five.
SOUTH AFRICA’S currently the world’s biggest fad, based on the number of international guests coming to our shores this season. One of the world’s coolest parties, Everyday People, is to be hosted down South on the motherland.
“I firmly believe that SA is one of the most popular trends in the world right now based on how much interest I have seen in the music and culture while touring overseas,” says Kool Out Creative Director, Akio Kawahito. Kool Out, together with Feel Good Series and Nescafé will be Everyday People‘s South African partners for the two events which will be hosted in Joburg and Cape Town next weekend.
“Everyone is looking to Africa right now and in particular South Africa. I definitely believe that Everyday People is getting a jump on everyone else and will further cement SA’s rep overseas as a destination spot.” Akio says.
The Delicious Festival takes place this weekend and is headlined by international songstress Erykah Badu and Jordan Rakei. While a number of international jazz kats will grace the Joy of Jazz stage later this month, including vocalist Bilal, events such as the Global Citizen and Afro Punk are also concerts stuffed with overseas artists. All these grow the notion that Mzansi is the place to be, this warm season.
But DJ Akio says Everyday People‘s decision to launch their growing brand on the African continent was organic more than anything. “I have a friend in New York City who is close with the Everyday People squad and they had expressed interest in wanting to expand to South Africa. She recommended partnering with Kool Out so we setup a meeting while I was in New York and came up with a plan to launch in the Spring and do an all-out bash in December. We assisted Nescafé with their International Coffee Day initiative last year so they hit us up again for this year. We presented Everyday People to them and they loved the concept and decided to make it part of this year’s initiative.”
What’s distinct about Everyday People is that it’s an all-black party which takes place during the day. The monthly parties started out in New York City and then branched out to other cities such as Miami and Los Angeles- as much as all their shows make one feel like they’re on the African continent, this will be its first time on the motherland. “We’re really trying to emphasise the daytime element and hope it works out that way. At the same time, you know how South Africans love to show up late. It’s the first time we’re doing it here so we’ll see how it goes and make adjustments for the next ones,” says Akio.
The Everyday People event in December event will be an alternative for those who’ve grown a sense of dissatisfaction with Afro Punk, which will be in the country for the second time this year. Next week’s shows in Cape Town and Joburg will be launches, hence the line-ups only have Disk Jocks.
THERE’s a number of international artists who will pack venues this South African Summer/Spring. And if Erykah Badu’s recent performance on NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert is anything to go by, South Africans are in for an unforgettable, engaging performance at this year’s Delicious Festival from the Queen of Neo-Soul.
Her career spans more than two decades and in that times she’s released five studio albums, a mixtape, one live album, played a number of sets as a DJ and also released a compilation project. But there are three things which stand out about Badu. If you’re fortunate to have a ticket for the Delicious Festival, look out for these three things when she’s on stage:
HER STYLE
Google her and see the images that pop-up. It’s just amazing to see how much her look has transformed through the years. On stage, her style is another presentation on its own accompanying the music. She’s done the all-natural look before the doek became fashionable, mixed it up by rocking an orange hued suit swathed in an indigenous blanked topped with a hat, she has worn dungarees with accessories all over her-but still somehow looks cool!
Erykah Badu on stage. By PinterestErykah Badu in 2014 clad in Givenchy. By Riccardo-Tisci
But whatever change she embraces, those beautiful piercing hazel eyes are a mainstay of her beauty. Her unique style, which is not influenced by a personal stylist, has and continues to inspire men and women to embrace their uniqueness and the comfort of expressing it without feeling awkward about it, but rather appreciating the cathartic experience that comes with the fun process. Her style is a symbol of her personality- she tries, if it works for her it does, if it doesn’t then it is what it is.
HER PERSONA
Some artists can express themselves as good in person, as they do behind the mic. They have a sense of humour, they articulate their thoughts well and don’t take themselves too serious. In the live performances I’ve seen and heard of Badu, she always throws in some banter and shares her opinion about anything between her performances- similar to a Clarence Carter. She’s a 47 year-old with a young spirit, who manages to have fun with her band on stage, like a new artist would.
At the beginning of her NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert performance, while introducing her band she quipped that drummer Cleon Edwards is her son, Seven, whose father is André 3000, which had the audience in stitches. It’s not surprising that she’s pondering the idea of stand-up comedy. More than just being a funny sista, she’s also in control and in charge. She never switches-off when performing- she’s like that classmate who caused trouble but somehow, got good grades.
She walked butt naked on the street, in the Window Seat video in protest. “…it was shot guerrilla style, no crew, 1 take, no closed set, no warning, 2 min., Downtown Dallas, then ran like hell,” she wrote on her Twitter about the video shoot. It took place at the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the video, she walks on the pavement removing her clothes, until she arrives right where Kennedy was shot, stark naked.
In a television interview on, The Wanda Sykes Show she said “My point was grossly misunderstood all over America. JFK is one of my heroes, one of the nation’s heroes. John F. Kennedy was a revolutionary; he was not afraid to butt heads with America, and I was not afraid to show America my butt-naked truth.”
HER HIGH QUALITY MUSIC
I hope Jill Scott doesn’t read this, but Badu is the Queen of Neo-Soul. There is no other female on the planet, who truly embodies Queen of Neo-Soul as Badu. Record label executive Kedar Massenburg rightly dubbed it Neo-Soul, which is a better representation of our generation. What distinguishes Neo-Soul from other types of music, is that it embraces the other genres. Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock, R&B, Gospel, Soul, and everything else under the sun. Badu’s music captures that very essence, without compromising on the quality and her standards. The older generation appreciate her more because she’s like a conduit of great female vocalists of old such as Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone. While youngins connect with her funk and hop that even a young Janelle Monáe can’t match up to.
She’s a multi-award winning artist who equally receives love from the commercial space and also on the streets. You can’t deny her. She has five studio albums which include the poignant 1997 debut Baduizm and Mama’s Gun which has been changing the game since 2000 and three other albums to her name. The two aforementioned albums have classics which are favourites for a lot of her ardent and new listeners, but what’s pleasantly mind perplexing is how she keeps tweaking them but has maintains their core over the decades.
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Clement Gama07/26/2019
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