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

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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

Y-NO

T

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