Download - Heritage Day Special Issue
rowing up in an area that breamed of different people of different walks and cultural background, I lost the essence of being a son to South Africa. My daily routine was filled up with numerous competitions against my friends on whose culture is superior and whose isn’t. We would debate up to a point of anonymity of each other and our friendship will take a dramatically break-up, well up until the next day or hours later, when we reconcile. Through these, we would grow up with a mindset of tribalism. With the emergence of Social Networks on this part of the world, I began to slowly start a habit of alienating my friends and other people of a different culture of my own, through damning and degrading stereotypes. Quite funny come 24 September, each year I would celebrate Heritage day. I believe I am not the only one who grew up in this fashion. Heritage Day according to my newly found knowledge is a day to look in the mirror and see a South African son/daughter and not a Ndebele, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu or whichever culture. Go out with your boerewors and red meat, celebrate our diversity as a South African people and turn a blind eye to Tribalism.
Unarine Ramaru Founder and Chief Editor
Una Ramses
G This is a special heritage day issue, a little different from every issue we’ve had. A limited number of interviews are featured in this issue. K.O. from the award-winning group is on the cover of this very issue, sharing his life with us in a somewhat eye-opening interview, and as you know it there is more to the Y-Not Culture than fashion, music and dance, we also bring to you the best in food, religion, cars, relationships and questions answered. Enjoy, as we did while documenting your culture!!!
THE MESSAGE HASN’T CHANGED
#BringBack
#BringBackOurGirls
Unarine Ramaru
Founder and Chief Editor
Magnific Media House Publisher
Hatsu Mphatsoe Content Advisor
Pretoria
Kimberly Pearl Moyo Journalist
Johannesburg
Refilwe Mphirime Fashion Editor Bloemfontein
Pontsho Ledwaba
Religious Editor Pretoria
Nonsindiso Qwabe Sub-Editor
Bloemfontein
Thenjiwe Vaughan Hugo Poetry Editor Bloemfontein
Vuyisile Kubeka
Interviewer and Columnist Bloemfontein
Daphney Livhalani
Columnist Bloemfontein
Y-Not Culture is published by Magnific Media House. All rights reserved. Contributions
are welcome. All due care will be taken with material submitted, but the magazine and
publishers cannot be held responsible for loss or damage. The editor reserves the right
to edit, amend or alter material in any way deemed necessary. Y-Not Culture is not
responsible for unsolicited material. The opinions expressed in the magazine are not
necessarily those of the editor or publisher of Y-Not Culture
Head Office
695 Kliplyster Street Nkwe Estate
Rosslyn Pretoria
0200 Cell: 0767633021 ◦ Fax: 0865294769
Spring 2014 ◦ #IssueNo11
Contributing Writers
Anathi Nyadu, Marck Maphori, Takudzwa Gezi and Lebogang Moeng
Y-NO
T
2 Editors Letter 25 Y-Not Fashion Tips 49 Y-Not Relationships 51 Y-Not Reviews
53 Y-Not Poetry 62 Y-Not Food 66 Y-Not Sports
16 Tiisetso Maloma 30 LOUD Clothing 54 Philippa
18 ZOT Media
12 Side Guy 24 Delightful African Literature 28 Signs that show a man that you are into him 38 Perfection
44 Through the eyes of Gran and
Mom: Snippets of my heritage
K.O. design by Magnific Media House designs. See page 42
September 2014 ◦ #IssueNo11
Y-NO
T
Very often we talk about side-chicks
and mistresses when we refer to
someone cheating. And this is quite
unfair to be blatantly honest. There is
a very serious case of "side-guy" that
happens which no one ever talks
about. Now the side-guy is pretty
much the same as the side-chick. He is
simply the guy who the girl is using
because her boyfriend either lives too
far or just bored with her guy. There
are certain type of guys this usually
affects, and this is usually the sweet,
innocent and loving guy.
Side Guy
NO GO
Let's dissect this issue. Now, there are many
guys out there who really struggle with girls
and this boils down to their shy personalities.
Yes, the guys that usually get friend-zoned.
These guys will end up with a girl who is
committed to another man under the guise of
friendship. As we all know, this friend was
built on attraction rather than actual
friendship. There will be a lot of "hanging
together" and doing things that are supposed
to be harmless. All looks well and safe to this
point.
Here is where it all starts to go downhill. The
guy starts to give the girl major attention. He
will drop everything he does to help his lady
'friend' through all and any trouble that may
arise (Yes, even carrying her handbag cause
it's too heavy). The two 'friends' will always
be together in private settings as they prefer
being alone. From experience, time can
create the impression that feelings are
developing and it can quickly escalate into
the false impression of being in love.
Somewhere, somehow there will come a time
where the guy would get kissed and the girl
utters these words which somehow drive the
guy deeper into a place where he will drown.
Those words are; "You know this is not
serious, right?. I have a boyfriend". That
sentence really irks me. There is a
justification of the action which will the
words I don't want to repeat.
This will happen a couple more times till the
point where the girl will either push the guy
away or the boyfriend finds out. The sad part
is that the girl gives the side-guy so much
hope that he can be triumphant and claim
the girl as his new girlfriend. Sadly the
chances of that happening are really low.
The type of side-guys I described earlier
usually have troubles letting go and end up
becoming clingy which will not do him any
favours in the "get a girlfriend" department.
So, here is what I prescribe to the Side-guy:
•Leave the girl. Don't become friends with
her.
•Delete her number and avoid unnecessarily
talking to her.
•Next time you encounter this situation, know
that any girl in a relationship is a "NO-GO"
area.
So ladies, I plead with all of you who are in a
relationship to leave the poor lads alone.
Rather give him advice and become the wing-
women and help get him a single girl. And to
all the gentlemen out there who are single,
don't be a destroyer of relationships by
looking for someone who is already taken.
#ENTERPRENEURSLEKGOTLA
When it rained, with my very clean school
uniform, I would walk into the pool of rainwater
outside our front yard. Sometimes I would throw
my grandma with stones. This was all in protest
not to go to school.
Such tendencies made sure I went through Sub A
to standard 1 by the whip, grade 1 to 3 as it
known today. The rod wasn’t spared. The child
didn’t perish. S/O to Kwanamoloto Primary
School.
1993. I was 6 or 7 years old. I still wet my bed
and I stayed with “mma”, my grandma.
I saved up money to buy vegetable seeds: carrots,
cabbage and spinach. With passion and hard work
I nursed my little farm. We didn’t have running
water, most of the houses didn’t. Actually none of
the houses in the area did.
Every (or most) morning after noticing that I had
wet my bed, it would be a reminder to water my
garden. I did.
When my garden had ripe fresh produce,
neighbours came to ask for my veggies. My
grandma, she is sweet, she gave them a bit. They
were poor. To come to think about it, we were
poor as well – mud houses and stuff. I dint know
we were poor.
ABOUT WRITER: Tiisetso Maloma is a
the founder of Startup Picnic and author
of ‘Forget The Business Plan Use This
Short Model, He researches on
entrepreneurship, consult and does
motivational talks. As part of our guest
entrepreneur column, Maloma talks about
his love for entrepreneurship
“I give credit to
grandma and her
daughter (momma) for
not only infecting me
with the spirit of
killing businesses. But
also never
discouraging me from
doing anything I
wanted to do in life,
and actually allowing
such space.”
A bit for everyone was all of my produce. I didn’t
make any cent off my first business. Grandma killed
it.
Who knows, maybe I could have been the 1st rich and
young black something.
1997 or 8, like a true m*^&&* I came back and
started a farming business again, this time at my
house (parents’ house). It wasn’t long enough till my
mother killed it in the same fashion her mother did to
my first. Mxm!!
I guess she got it from her mother!
Many years later, I also killed a lot of businesses.
I give credit to grandma and her daughter (momma)
for not only infecting me with the spirit of killing
businesses. But also never discouraging me from
doing anything I wanted to do in life, and actually
allowing such space. They gave me the money to buy
those seeds.
I appreciate it. I am able to persist and move forward
after a dead venture.
I thought it would be fun writing this post, I couldn’t
figure the moral of it. It is just a reminder of my love
for entrepreneurship.
012
organization based in Pretoria
- developing the much
needed jobs, tourism
attraction and talent nurturing
needed in growing a solid
cultural industry."
With that said, it's no doubt
they have had a few
challenges along the way.
They admit the past four
years have brought a long
string of them. "The biggest
though has to be financial
injection, the nature
of the company hasn't yet
developed an accurate way of
assuring a consistent cash
flow from month to month -
mainly because of the lack of
funding from sponsors, venue
pricing being ridiculously
high and fly-by night
entertainment companies that
come and go giving
creditable youth owned
companies a bad reputation."
Also things that derail their
progress and that of many is
the lack of support from the
public, promoters, sponsors
and such.
We aren't just building a company but a mindset as well, a life-style. The Pretoria entertainment
scene has produced talented
youth of late. It's rare though
to see a lot of the Youth
handling the business side
and actually striving in it.
So when we heard of the 012
movement and the moves
they are making. We had to
have a chat with them.
012 Entertainment
Movement, the team behind
the much popular THOFAs
(previously known as
HOFAs) is a group of young,
creative, ambitious minds
with the aim of being a
formidable force to be
reckoned with.
The Movement was
established in 2011 by four
founding members.
It has since grown to have a
total number of seven
members, which comprise of
M. Mdluli - CEO/Managing
Director, M. Mulaudzi -
Chief Operations
Officer/Communications
Manager, N. Matshazi -
Marketing Manager N.
McWazzer- Chief Analytics
Officer/Creative Logistics
Manager, P. Sanyane-
Information Management
Specialist, T. Msiza -
Publicist/Choreographer and
T. Makgamatha-
Choreographer/Talent Scout.
They have four divisions
which are Coordination,
Production, Music and
Dance.
They want to be "the biggest
Entertainment/Media
“
NOT JUST AN AREA CODE
The THOFA's are on their 4th
year and they being their
biggest and longest running
event have come back under
a new name and this is why
"we decided to dub the 4th
Annual THOFAwards with
the Tshwane prefix. It is the
perfect time seeing that 2014
has brought many more
talented Cap Citizens. They
have hit the bigger local
Mzansi industry and are also
carrying the city's good name
on their back to assist our
fellow patriots."
"We aren't just building a
company but a mindset as
well, a life-style. A company
is made up of all those
factors. A sponsor to help
fulfil a vision, the venue
owner to be understanding
and reasonable, the promoter
to spread the word and the
masses to bring the vibe -it's
a link of all these elements,
but it depends on us the most
as we must keep the ball
rolling even when we don't
have all that we need."
Talking about keeping the
ball rolling
A company is made up of all those factors. “
Only a few people in my
circles know who the genius
that is Athol Fugard is. And
only a handful have the
advantage of knowing that
there’s an African writer by
the name Nguni wa Thiong’o.
Needless to say, these friends
are not ashamed of their lack
of enlightenment about
whose the great Africans of
our generation are. On the
flipside, almost all of them
know who Shakespeare is.
Out of the more than ten
friends I asked, not even one
knew who Athol Fugard is.
The plan was to at least ask
fifty.
I would’ve carried on with
my asking had my friends not
given me the ‘you-think-you-
are-smart’ looks. Some of
them on hearing my
questions would be quiet for
a little while as if pondering –
searching the caves of
emptiness for a name,
familiar but foreign – and
then they would ask ‘who the
eff is that?’
It is only when you tell them
that Athol Fugard is the man
who wrote the novel Tsotsi,
from which the award-
winning screenplay was
adapted, do they say ‘Oh!
There’s even a book? I need
to get myself a copy.’
Interesting enough, they all knew who
Shakespeare is, and without any
provocation whatsoever they would
even name some of his works. If you
are lucky they might even quote a few
lines of his poetry, but can they do the
same with Shakespeare’s namesake,
their very own Keorapetse William
Kgositsile? No! This tells you
something about how much people
know themselves, their own continent
and its legends, so to say.
“Interesting enough, they all knew who
Shakespeare is”
Needless to say, I’m no big
fan of the Bard of Avon –
Shakespeare. In fact, when I
learnt that I will be doing
Shakespeare’s Merchant of
Venice for my second year
English I wanted to kill
myself! No, no, no – make no
mistake, the guy is a good
writer! Or at least that’s what
people, including our
education system, believe.
Unfortunately, the
Shakespeare bug never bit
me! To begin with, I cannot
relate to his setting and
storylines. His archaic way of
using words is a speed bump;
his round-about way of
saying even the simplest
things makes reading a
complex issue.
Which is why I prefer my
Gordimer, my Achebe, my
Mphahlele—my African
literature! African literature is
not important only because of
its relevant setting and
relatable storylines. It also
increases our social
conciseness, and raise
awareness of social, political,
and economic crises that the
African continent is facing.
What makes African fiction even
more interesting is the fact that it is
about us – Africans. It explains the
mysteries, intricacies, ironies, and
tragedies of life in a language we
understand without going extra mile
of checking Google. In it we
encounter ourselves; we come face-to-
face with the hideous truth of our
continent. We learn the histories of
our people; learn African proverbs;
learn African values.
The other day I was reading Siphiwo
Mahala’s I African Delights. Good
timing, I have to say, because I was
starting to wonder where the hell the
writers of our generation are. As a
result I ended up reading works by
fresh young African writers such as
Wame Molefhe’s Go Tell The Sun,
Thando Mgqolozana’s Hear me alone
¬¬– and I was convinced that indeed
African tales are delightful.
Now, there’s only one question, I
would like to ask my non-reading
friends, and the youth at large: if you
don’t read your own writers who will
read them? I mean there’s no harm
that can be done in investing in a book
that will open your mind to the
complexities and pleasures of being an
African.
“What makes African fiction even more
interesting is the fact that it is about us –
Africans. It explains the mysteries, intricacies,
ironies, and tragedies”
Comes and goes
but style.
..Style ladies and
gentlemen is
forever, it is
eternal
but I’m one hundred percent a
spring baby! I know I’m not the
only one, I can't be the only one. I
don't like winter at all, I really
struggle to get dressed and I gain a
whole lot of weight. I know as
spring approaches many think they
need a whole new wardrobe, but
can I please be the one to tell you
that it’s not true! You do not
necessarily need a whole new set
of clothes. And besides some of us
can't afford to go shopping every
season, so why not learn to work
with what you already have?
Fashion comes and goes but
style...style ladies and gentlemen is
forever, it is eternal. Why do
fashion when in fact you yourself
can be fashion? Why follow trends
when you can create them and be
totally authentic? Too often it’s
like we try so hard to be like the
next person, and this might sound
redundant, but c'mon- seeing that
that person already exists, we don’t
need another copy, BE YOU.
The most gorgeous accessories one
could ever wear is your smile and
confidence. It’s often said fashion
is what you buy & style is what
you do with it. I dare you, yes you
reading this TO BE 'STYLISH'
every single day, even on
Monday’s. A trick I learned to beat
the Monday blues, is to dress even
on Monday’s like its Friday. That
lil’ myth about feeling good when
you look good is actually true!
I swear I’m addicted to crop tops.
You wear them with anything;
skirts, pants, shorts, all sorts of
everything! I'm even getting
'spring ready' just so I can rock
them. What’s your addiction?
oon we'll be saying
goodbye to winter and
Hello to spring! How I
can't wait! This winter
season wasn’t the worst, S
Be You
To Be
Stylish
SIGNS THAT SHOW A
MAN THAT YOU ARE INTO HIM
So I was given the task of
coming up with 5 signs that a
guy must look out for in order to
know whether a woman likes
him or not. And believe me, I
jumped at this opportunity and
quickly connected ideas in my
head, ranging from checking out
how the girl in question looks at
you, to how many times a day
she tries to make convo with you.
At first this task seemed pretty
easy and straightforward, I mean
you always hear how guys say to
each other “dude, that honey is
into you, check how flirtatious
she is with you”, so with that in
mind I was certain that 5 signs
wouldn’t be so hard to pin down.
However one morning as I
thought about this again, I hit a
mental block of sorts. Your 21st
century woman is driven, head-
strong, and goes for what she
wants the minute she lays her
eyes on it. This is the kind of
woman who isn’t afraid to go up
to a guy she likes, makes her
feelings known, and state what
kind of arrangement would suit
her best. For this woman, typical
signs would speed a guy up on
where her intentions lie.
But then, you meet the kind of
woman who was taught that
keeping her feelings to herself is
what being respectable means,
along with not showing a guy
how she really feels as this
makes her look cheap and
desperate. The woman who
believes that playing hard to get,
or rather hard-to-figure-out, is
what intrigues a man. For this
woman, loving a guy could be
torture because these feelings are
either kept to herself, or made
known to everyone but the guy.
The poor guy might not even
have an idea that some woman is
head over heels in love with him
because she’s too busy trying to
act normal. And those feelings,
because they aren’t made
obvious, will die as words
unspoken.
What I’m trying to say is, when
it comes to women, not
everything is as it seems. We’re
complicated like that. I could be
crazy in love with you and you
wouldn’t even have an idea
because my actions don’t say a
word, or I could be showing all
“signs” of liking you, only to
find that you’ve been strictly
friend-zoned.
5
LOUD Wearing It
And Proud What happens when you put two indubitably
confident personalities together with an equal
amount of love for tailoring? LOUD Clothing.
Meet Tshepo Mareka and Lenka Damazane, two
friends who hail from deep within the Free State,
Botshabelo and Welkom to be exact. Since most of
you probably don’t know these two small towns,
you’ve probably never heard of LOUD Clothing
either, but it’s their star-quality suits that spoke
volumes when they caught my attention two years
ago. Still hungry to penetrate the industry, it goes
without saying that this duo has just the
persistence, determination, raw talent and their
desire to take customers ‘beyond comfort’ that will
earn them their major break. It brings me great
pleasure to introduce you to LOUD Clothing…
Growing up, was fashion always the
career you knew/thought you’d want to
pursue?
Tshepo: Nah...I'm very good at drawing,
so I've always wanted to be a graphic
designer until 1988, my mom was
swamped with orders and she asked me to
help her iron. That's where I started
developing a love for tailor made clothes.
Lenka: Not at all. I used to think I'm
good at playing soccer, so I saw myself
becoming a future soccer star, only to
find out I suck (laughs). Later when I was
in high school, I started printing t-shirts
and altering pants with my mother's old
sewing machine.
Have your families always been
supportive of the career path you’ve
chosen?
Tshepo: Yes in a way, but my mom was
always there for me, sadly my father
wanted me to become a teacher which I
didn't like at all because that's what he
wanted. My dad eventually came around
when I participated in the 2008 Macufe
Fashion Show as a student. He then gave
me his blessing.
Please describe the kind of background
you both came from and the role
fashion played in it, also how your
partnership came about.
Tshepo: I don't come from a wealthy
family, but we managed to survive in the
dusty streets of Botshabelo by designing.
I come from a background where fashion
played a huge role because my mom is a
designer which helped me a lot when I
went to study fashion because I knew the
basics very well.
Lenka: Well, I come from a very
spiritual and poor family, whereby we
always hustled for all the fancy little
things we wanted. We sold chickens to
make ends meet for a very long time. So
things were very tough.
Tshepo: Lenka and I met in 2008 at the
Macufe Fashion Show (lightly laughs);
we met very weirdly. He didn't have a
camera and he asked to borrow mine, and
just like that; I didn't even know him, but
I saw a very humble ninja. Only to find
out we have the same ambition, sense of
style and taste in music. I met Andile
Mndende in 2012 in Cape Town as a
friend which I introduced to Lenka and
that is how our partnership came about.
We are however on Facebook; LOUD
Clothing.
What are your plans with LOUD from
this point onwards?
To get as much exposure as possible and
make it globally.
Who were your biggest fashion icons
before you started putting together
your own garments?
Lenka: It was a Gianni Versace, which I
still adore, but right now it's Roberto
Cavalli.
Tshepo: It was my mom, I know it
sounds weird but, she was my designer. I
was that kid back then that everyone
wanted to go out with.
How has your mother shaped your
fashion/style choices?
Tshepo: Oh well, she hasn't shaped it that
much because she specialises in tailoring
for women, I'm in the men’s department,
and we cater for men.
Lenka: (Laughs sarcastically). My
mother isn't into the fashion world at all.
My friend and business partner here
(gestures to Tshepo) moulded me as I'm
still looking up to him. He works magic
on a garment. I respect him.
Lastly, what does a woman’s style say
about her upon first glance?
Damn...it says a lot about her, it shows or
tells you about who she is, without even
having to ask. And not forgetting how she
applies her make-up.
Lenka: They didn't actually know the
benefits of being a fashion designer as
they thought I'm just going to alter
clothes until I gave them the bigger
picture of the fashion field.
Describe your brand and how it’s
unique to other brands.
Our cuts are simplified but in a very
classy way, using old school fabrics,
bright colours with high quality. We
always prefer our fitted cuts with less
detail.
Your slogan is ‘Go Beyond Comfort’,
what do you want that to mean to your
customers?
We basically want for them to know that
they will feel beyond comfort in our
clothes.
Being a start-up business, what are
some of the challenges that you’ve
faced thus far, and what have they
done for LOUD as a brand?
Marketing has been the biggest challenge
we should say, getting the word out so
that people know what we can do, and
funds.
With that being said, what have you
been doing to put your brand on the
market?
We are still not financially stable as we
are working out on our own pockets, but
we are wearing our own clothes with
confidence and pride which is a
marketing platform.
No I’m not stressed, I just occasionally sweat blood. I
am barely in my 20s but I feel like I have already suffered
from menopause, a mental breakdown, insanity and a mid-life
crisis (more like pre-life crisis). Am I the only one who feels
like life is going by just a little too fast? Leaving us with so
much to do with so little time?
The past few weeks have been nothing less than hectic. And
my response to this has been nothing less than dramatic. I found
myself negotiating with my own body to cooperate. Lashing out at
myself to calm the heck down before I get a heart-attack. Yes I am
being dramatic.
There’s one thing that I have taken form this experience. The fact that
most of my stress was caused by my constant and impossible impulse to be
perfect. I know that I am not the only one who experiences this, it seems to be
some kind of thing going around these days. If it is not your best and if your
best is not perfect then it is not good enough.
To some degree I bought into it; kept running even though I was running on empty, only to
realise when I crashed. The media, as in most cases have a hand in this formed perception. In
this modern age (talking like I’ve lived in any other age), everything we see around us and
what is sold to us is all about the perfect fit, the right alignment and most importantly we are
told that in order for us to succeed we have to be perfect.
Think about it, most of the lead characters in the biggest TV shows are perfect at what they do.
Think of Mike Ross, he has a brilliant mind and therefore gets away with everything. Olivia
Pope, a master at reading people and getting out of sticky situations, she never loses at
anything. Which then makes it ok for her to be the most “dignified” side chick in the history of
all side chicks.
What I am saying is that we have indoctrinated with the notion that if become perfect in what
we do, we will inevitably get away with murder and the rest of the world will then accept us.
Forgetting that the best lessons are learnt through making mistakes. Making mistakes is
human, it shows that we are alive and that we are not stagnant in our lives and actually doing
something.
I am probably not going to stop striving for perfection but what I need to do is learn to accept
that I will not be perfect. Perfection is knowing your imperfections.
PERFECTION
I am a Zulu woman living
in 2014 in modern day
South Africa. My heritage,
whether knowingly or
unwittingly so, has shaped
how I carry myself in life.
Embarking on a journey of
understanding my roots;
and the essence of who I
am; I engaged in insightful
conversations to get a
genuine and vivid image of
my heritage. I sat down
with the two women who
continue to play significant
roles in my life - my maternal
grandmother, my personal
definition of a strong woman,
who has raised even stronger
women in her lifetime and my
mother, quiet and meek, but
very dynamic in the way she
carries herself. These women
have shaped who I am today;
and I realize now that at the
heart of once seemingly
insignificant things like
cooking big hearty meals for
my family,
Through The eyes of Gran and
Mom
wanting lobola from my future
husband, and absolutely loving
the idea of a big traditional
Zulu wedding celebration; are
deep rooted values which have
been instilled to me by those
who have raised me.
My grandmother is 70 years
old today. She has raised 4
generations: her siblings, her
children, her grandchildren,
and since recently, great-
grandchildren.
Snippets of my heritage.
She grew up at a time when your
heritage as a Zulu woman meant
taking pride in walking with your
breasts bare, and being able to
perfect house chores meant that
you were raised well. “I learnt
how to cook and clean at 8 years
old. By 9, I knew how to fetch
wood for fires and cow dung for
the mud houses. Education was a
myth to us at that time; I’m
privileged to have made it to
what is now known as Grade 2.
Women weren’t seen as having
anything worthwhile to say-how
much more young girls. Marriage
is also a great value in the Zulu
culture. As a girl, through lobola,
you increase the cows in your
father’s kraal; therefore his
riches, and because of this,
getting married is celebrated,
especially at a younger age when
you are still “fit” to bear many
children for your husband”. At
the age of 15, my grandmother
was a married woman. She bore
7 children; 2 girls and 5 boys.
Her children are successful in
various fields. Both daughters
grew up to hold directorate
positions in South African
government; and I have a lawyer;
businessmen; carpenter, and
manager for uncles- yes I’m
bragging. “When I raised my
children; the only vision I had for
their lives was that they be better
people; even my daughters. I
gave them education with the
little I had because I realized that
being black didn’t mean you had
to be backward in life.
Yes gender roles were set up by
my society; but I wished success
for each of my children. I never
thought I’d be inside a car in my
life, and your grandfather was
able to buy one for us. If my
dream of riding a car could be
fulfilled; I believed in the even
bigger dreams of my children.
Today, because of them, I get to
ride in the latest cars. The joy that
brings me is indescribable”.
The second pillar of my heritage,
my mother, is in her late 40’s
today. She holds a deputy
director post. You wouldn’t
believe this about her merely
because she’s a simple and
reserved woman; until she opens
her mouth and you’re left
speechless. “I never imagined I’d
be where I am today. Growing
up, education was not a priority
for a woman. Taking care of the
household was mandatory, and I
too felt the wrath of this societal
idea. I could cook, clean, and
hand wash laundry at 14. As the
eldest girl in my family, these
were non-negotiable
responsibilities. My culture and
roots instilled values that I still
pride myself in today. Love,
respect, pride in being a woman,
humility, and strength are
qualities that were passed down
to me by my mother. I do not
consider myself as a “cultural”
woman today, and as a result I’m
raising my daughters to take
pride in being educated and
vision driven;
However at the core of who I am,
my upbringing beats heavily.
Instilling values that have gone
for generations to my own
children is still a daily act.
Because of how I was raised; I
am raising modern Zulu women
who take pride in their heritage,
are respectful and well
mannered, loving, and adhere to
cultural values and morals. I’m a
modern woman. When in my day
I had Umemulo to signify my
coming of age; I’d much rather
help my daughters plan their 21st
birthday parties. I still want
lobola though. I’m not raising 3
girls for nothing” she says with
loving humour.
I have long and wonderful tales
about these two women, and our
conversations provided
understanding of, and pride in
my heritage because I believe
that I am in many ways an
extension of the two of them;
although as a modern young
woman, I’m also the total
opposite of their personalities!
If I had to sum myself up in a
sentence, I would say I am a
strong Zulu soul who embodies a
very colourful and modernized
way of living, which is rooted in
strongly instilled cultural values
and principles.
I would say I am a strong Zulu soul who embodies a very colourful and modernized way of living
If I had to sum myself up in a sentence
We didn't expect for it to do so well hey! But when I made the record I knew
that it was going to resonate with the people.
You featured KidX in the single Cara Cara; why him? You derived from
Teargas and he derived from Cashtime Fam. Is that similarity the reason
why this collaboration came about?
Our plan was to launch him as a solo artist as well after the whole Cashtime
FAM thing. Cara Cara just happened to be the tool to make that dream a reality.
What is Cashtime Life? Is it a recording label, or a movement?
Both. But we’re also involved in other things like film and event productions.
Being in the limelight is not always amazing; you come across obstacles that
you are expected to tackle in the humblest of ways possible. How do you
handle such?
We are dealing with a fickle bunch of people here so expect them to switch on
you at any minute. All you need is a thick skin.
What do you think of social networks and the power that they possess?
Social networks are an effective extra tool in a public figure's campaign.
However, it makes you more accessible to people even those who are not rooting
for you. To an extent it has given cowards an outlet to act tough behind their
computers or smartphones.
What is your opinion in regards to the current state of Hip Hop in South
Africa?
I'm excited coz for the first time it looks like we are now running neck and neck
with House music. From here on the aim is to become the most successful genre
in S.A.
Do you feel that there's room for other upcoming rappers in this industry
and what do you think should be done in order to introduce them to the
masses?
There's plenty room for hungry and determined artists! These days no one is will
to give hand-outs, an artist literally needs to get their own career of the ground;
the same way L-Tido, Aka and recently Cassper, did their thing. All
independently.
Finally, 2014 started off very well for K.O. What are you currently working
on; can we expect a follow up single to Caracara or an album?
Yeah my 3rd single drops in August (by when the interview was done) or so and
I'm looking to drop an album shortly after thereafter
Now the question is, what God is
saying concerning that
relationship. Is it something you
planned out yourself or is it
God’s will? Many of you may be
asking yourself “but how do I
know if it’s my will or His –
God’s will?” Well it is pretty
much simple. First thing is first.
How did that person end up in
your life? Did you ask God for
him/her? Before you get into the
relationship, did you ask God if it
was the right thing to do? Were
you patient enough to really hear
from God or you were too scared
that they might just go? These
are some of the questions you
need to ask yourself before
getting into a relationship with
someone. It might look good in
your eyes and the people around
but God knows best. Let Him
take the lead. And if you get too
scared that they might leave, well
they were just not meant to stay.
Don’t be in a rush. God has the
best in store for you.
“Those who wait upon the Lord
will not be put to shame.” KEEP
THE FAITH!!
You Deserve
Look if he’s/she’s making your
life difficult why are you still
there. You deserve way better
than going to bed with a broken
heart. You need to wear a smile
every day because that’s just how
it should be. No one ever died of
waiting for their perfectly
imperfect person whom with
their imperfection, they are still
able to make you smile because
they are meant for you. That
what’s meant for you will
definitely make you smile more
than you cry.
If you cry more than you smile
with or about your partner than
you are involved with the wrong
person and you definitely need to
move. You cannot sacrifice
happiness for someone. Do
yourself a favour and leave. As
you wait, ask God who is your
perfect Father for that one person
that’s made for you and prevent
the mistake of being impatient
just because you don’t want to be
alone.
“Weeping may last through the
night but joy comes with the
morning.” (Psalm 30:5) The sun
will shine for you too. KEEP
THE FAITH!!
What is God
saying/What
did God say
In this days, it is rare to find the
partner you have wished for but
it is not impossible. You can plan
out your relationship and get
almost exactly the same thing
you were looking for.
“
”
From necessitous upbringing to one of the
youngest South African authors, Tiisetso
Maloma’s story in business is one to share.
In this Township Biz FastTrack, Maloma
shares the principles which the township
business down the road, applies to keep in
business longer than expected. By
recounting his failed start-up businesses,
Maloma’s Self-Help book advice
entrepreneurs, on how they will accelerate
the growth of their businesses and the
country.
Throughout the book, it is an easy read and
written in a way that creates an
understanding, especially for people my
age. He incorporates his real life business
experiences and interviews with other
business owners into the book, helping the
reader learn from their mistakes and failures.
Being a person from a similar setting,
where a Spaza is the immediate outlet, the
book managed to get me form part of the
scenarios.
His past ventures in Gabble heights
Clothing, Rural Joss and Bhovas & Sam,
and his (co-founder) current DVD disc
based Edu-training-app authoring
company, DVDapps, provides him with
reference on how a business can be in its
springtime today and out of business a
week later. His practical knowledge and
history to this, serves the purpose of the
book. In the book, Maloma details how
South African township business owners
perish in business when there is competition
available. He also provides an all-important
advice on how they can withstand this to
also expand their business from maximum
profits to expansion of the business.
.
Book Review by Unarine Ramaru
Her veins are a river brimming sweet waters of life
Her tears are gold: the treasure that falls from her eyes
Her strength is amazing like that of a digger in a mine in filthy Jozi
Her skin as brown as caramel, her hair black diamond
She is nature itself…
Her heart is a rock impeccable with incredible might
It braves cold winter mornings and hot summer nights
It embraces windy springs and the dryness of autumn
It battles the odds of life and always comes out tops
It is nature in itself…
Who is she? But a woman
A woman who knows how to treat her man
The pillar of the strength of the world;
Forever oozing confidence and forgiveness in her word
She is nature itself
Goddess of the world, mother of the nation
Shepherd of lost flocks always there to guide them to the right directions
She carries the weight of the world in her diminutive shoulders
Her womb is a safe train that delivers her off-spring
She is nature itself
Who is she? But a woman of insurmountable might and power
A woman overflowing with love and protection
In terms of love, she gives more than necessary
The best of qualities and the greatest in quantity,
But she never regrets
She understands that she is a spot on creature resembling peacefulness of nature
And in her ways she reflects the calmness, gentleness and beauty of nature
Who is she, but nature itself?
She is nature itself
P
It’s not every day where you
read or hear about women in
architecture. The design and
structure industry has been known
to be a predominantly male one, so
you can imagine how intrigued I
was when I discovered Philippa
Tumubweinee….
Philippa Tumubweinee is a senior
Lecturer at the Department of
Architecture at the University of the
Free State [UFS] South Africa, a co-
Founder and Director of IZUBA
INafrica, and a Doctoral student at
the University of the Free State,
South Africa. She has also served on
the Board of Directors for: VEGA:
School of Graphic Design and
Adverting, iMPAC: The Moving
Images Festival, and GIfA: Gauteng
Institute for Architecture.
Philippa is an ideal envisage of a
21st century woman. This Ugandan
beauty is bold, strong-willed and
authentic. However, on her
definition of how this woman is,
she feels that she isn’t there yet.
According to her, the 21st century
woman is “diverse, operates in
different settings, is skilled in
various areas and knows at least 4
international languages!” .
We sat outside, conversing over a
cup of coffee, and it came across
how comfortable she is around
nature. Not fazed by the bees
finding comfort zones all around
her; she answered that in her
culture, bees are a sign of good
luck! So seeing those bees actually
came with great expectations!
With such an impressive resume,
it’s amazing how humble she is.
She doesn’t consider her
achievements anything worth
bragging about. We talk about her
innovations, and she reveals that the
Esquared house in Johannesburg,
along with the 40 000 Bubbles club
for wine drinkers come out as her
favourites. She loves collaborations
in design, is passionate about food,
and is totally appealed by
structures. The shoes she’s wearing
on this particular day reflect the
latter very much!
Asking her about her interest in
architecture, I’m surprised when she
tells me that it wasn’t her first love,
but fashion design was. In an effort
to reach an agreement with her
parents-whom she says developed
her sense of self and pushed her to
discover what was out there- on
which interest to follow, she job-
shadowed an architect for a year,
and that’s when the architectural
bug bit her.
A 2
1ST CEN
TURY W
OM
AN
She then pursued a Bachelor of
Architecture in 1999, and has since then
bagged a lot of achievements in
architectural design. In 2006, she was
introduced to Academia teaching at the
department of Architecture at the
University of Pretoria as an assistant
Studio Master in the First Year Studio.
From there she progressed on to join the
dept. of Architecture at the University of
Johannesburg [UJ].
She taught at this department from 2007
to the middle of 2012, also working as the
First Year coordinator, and the Design
Studio master, while co-founding the
design and architectural firm IZUBA
INafrica alongside Architect Denver
Hendricks in 2010. In 2012 she served on
the National Judging Panel for the SAIA
Awards of Merit and Excellence. In 2013
she became a part of the prestigious
AfriSAM Sustainability Awards panel.
These ladies and gentlemen, are just
snippets of Philippa’s life. And this won’t
be the last we hear of her. The future
looks just as innovative, with more
collaborations underway. I asked if she
considered herself a workaholic, to which
she calmly replied: “If you love what you
do, it won’t feel like work. It’s simply
who you are”.
“If you love what you do, it won’t feel like work. It’s simply who you are”.
60
I chose this recipe because it’s quick, easy, and you
really can manipulate it the way you please. No one
wants to spend hours slaving away in the hour to
produce a good meal; the quicker, the better. So here it
is; Quiche. It’s got no label to it because I don’t provide
one specific filling to use- you can literally add
anything in your fridge, or even get adventurous and try
weird combinations. I mean YNot! Preparing this meal
will take less than 30 minutes. Hope you enjoy getting
creative as much as I do!
Y-Not KITCHEN
www.ynotculture.com
Y-Not Culture
@YNotCulture
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Y-Not Culture
Y-Not Culture
Y-Not Culture
A fresh take on the original
green salad
Ingredients: Head of lettuce
1 cucumber
2 tomatoes
Mild Vegetable atchar
1 bottle of Mild fruit chutney
Method: Finely chop lettuce
Dice cucumber and tomatoes into
small cubes
Add spoonfuls of atchar
Tablespoon of aromat
Chutney according to your taste
Stir everything together and leave in
the fridge.
It's great when served cold
Enjoy!
Soak the bread in milk and leave it
until later
In a bowl add the mince, onions,
parsley, salt, pepper and spice.
Mix these together.
Add the egg, cheese, and breadcrumbs
to the mixture.
Drain the milk out of the bread, mold
the soaked bread into a pulp, and add
it into the mince mixture.
Once all the ingredients are mixed
together, leave mixture to rest for 15
minutes
Form medium to large sized balls.
Brown the meatballs in a hot frying
pan.
Once evenly browned, put the balls in
an evenly greased dish, and sprinkle
Worcester sauce for flavour.
Grill for 25-30 minutes, turning them
halfway through.
500g mince meat
1/2 finely chopped onions
2 slices white bread
1 tspn dried parsley
1 tspn salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 tspn barbecue spice
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 grated cheese (any kind)
1 egg
KEEPING UP WITH
SPORTS Marck Maphori
Manchester City just has so
much talent. With that said, they
still have question marks around
their defence. They will be
hoping that Vincent Kompany
stays fit and avoids suspensions.
Man City will also hope that
Sergio Aguero remains injury
free. These two players have a
way of inspiring the team to
success and will be important for
them.
Liverpool has been impressive
in the past season and managed
to secure Champions League
football (Manchester United
must be livid about this fact).
With the departure of Luis
Suarez in the English summer
one feels that Daniel Sturridge
will be a key component to a
successful season for the Anfield
team. Liverpool's defence
always got questioned last
season and Dejan Lovren will
need to be the backbone of that
defence.
Chelsea has been arguably the
best side in the league currently.
Having bought a number of
players in the window, José
Mourinho has managed to draw
in talent out of La Liga in the
form of Diego Costa, Felipe
Luis and former Arsenal skipper,
Francesc Fabregas. My two key
players for Chelsea this season
will be Diego Costa because he
is the type of goal scorer the
5 games into the English
Premier League season and
already we have been dealt
surprises and plenty of goals.
We have seen the continued
struggle of Manchester United
even under a new boss (New
boss Louis Van Gaal has worked
hard to avoid defeat by buying
the squad new pencils so that
they could learn how to
"Draw"). We have also seen the
might of Chelsea and the
surprise package in the form of
Swansea with Manchester City
probably having the strongest
squad on paper. We shall have a
look at these teams and pick out
2 key players will be
instrumental in the top 5 teams.
We shall have a look at the
Champions League qualification
specialists, Arsenal. Arsenal
have qualified for the
Champion's League an
astounding 17 seasons in a row.
For Arsenal, there are two
players who are going to have to
step up to prove their worth and
that is new signing Danny
Welbeck and Mesut Özil. Danny
Welbeck for me, is an
underrated player who was
played out of position most of
the time. Ozil as we all know
loves playing defence splitting
passes and it will be key for the
Gunners that he forms a
partnership with Danny
Welbeck.
club needed, a poacher and the
second player is Nemanja Matic.
Matic is a player who has done
well in containing players in and
around the midfield area.
The only reason I am including
Manchester United, it is because
they actually have classy players
who will probably do well
(Note: I am not a United fan).
They have spent the most money
in the transfer window globally
even after Real Madrid and
Barcelona splurged on James
Rodriguez and Luis Suarez. Man
United for me, need to look to
Wayne Rooney once more to lift
them out of this hole. Now,
more than ever, he needs to step
up after being announced as
captain of the side following
Vidic's departure. David de Gea
will also be key in the survival
of United. De Gea will be paired
up with a real shaky defence that
will force the Spaniard to stop a
lot more shots than he should.
That is it, the top players to look
out for during the league season.
While I am predicting who key
players will be, maybe I should
predict who will be on top at
Christmas. And I am going to go
for Chelsea based on the current
form as well as the depth on the
bench. It is bound to be an
exciting season ahead and it will
also make for good
representation in the Champions
League.
#YNOTSPORTS