The side Chick story

While we were off on a minor break some creators were steady on the grind making waves in this searing December or as popular culture would coin it “Dezember”. This year’s festive season sees lyricists Wontu and Mr-Elle consolidate with rapper and producer Dee the beat monkey to form a group called 3^rd degree. Now these three artists are no strangers to each other nor the realm of hip-hop, the assemble grew up in a place most of us ignorant people know as the region with the biggest bananas….water melons, peaches, heat that is most likely to steam your lungs at every gasp of air and roast the flesh of your bones in a fraction of a second, no this is not a contrast between the garden of Eden and Hell, it is of coarse Limpopo. I’ve personally seen these cats rip mics apart, I’ve even had the opportunity to experience them eloquently fading mc’s like your favourite  barber in Athlone.

Before they were called 3^rd degree, these cats were your so called “not in your face” kind of rappers, Wontu was a more reserved rapper with a fiery temper that blazed ciphers with infernos of metaphors, whilst Mr-Elle (formally known as Cyclone) always had the buttery lines laced with wit and glazed with punch lines, his panty dropper style should not be challenged as he’s technique is equivalent to that of proverb in his prime. Dee the beat monkey has been experimenting with music from an early age, re-inventing himself and his sound on many occasions, a beast on the beats and one of the very few producers that have successfully immortalized or rather evolved the distinct sound of Kwaito in his hip-hop beats, he is also a cunning lyricist with a sharp tongue and a lyrical dexterity carried out with the utmost composure, Dee has been analyzing the music scene for years, working with countless artists from different genres.

Recently 3^rd degree released a song titled “Makwhapheni: the side chick story” and received a warm welcome to the mainstream, the tune is catchy, well produced and well executed. It is definitely one of those songs that one will be bumping at braai’s and parks alike while singing along to the chorus and wondering if your partner knows that she is in fact the side chick. As the song rapidly spread over the niggernet, the group was already planning a shoot for the video and it went down on the 10^th of December, here are some of the behind the scenes shots.

Follow 3Rd Degree on twitter @3Rd_dEGREE_SA

Not Everybody Can

The temperature soars past the point of comfort in Johannesburg and the heat of the afternoon scorches everything in sight and renders it hideous to the eye. I need to find beauty where it no longer exists before the very concept ceases to exist in my reality.  I need to source the kind of beauty that can remedy my heat induced misery.

Beauty is, in most cases, a visual experience, so the obvious answer is to venture into the city looking for a stimulant to the optical membrane.

The decision taken is to mission. It doesn’t take long before I encounter some relief from the abject crudeness of the day. I stop in front of a rundown building, headquarters of the Goud Street street-walkers, decorated with the brilliance of street artists armed with nothing but spray cans and vision. The graffiti on the ashen and cracked walls is effortless in constructing a beautiful aura around this otherwise unsightly scene. Even the exposed thighs of the most wanton prostitute look striking against the back drop of the graffiti on the wall behind her. Graffiti is the chosen remedy, and seeking out more will only prove to quench this thirst for beauty. Plus, I can’t stand there any longer, lest this woman thinks that I am here to challenge her for her territory.

In recent years, graffiti has been recognised by the somewhat uppity art world as a ‘real’ form of art and has been commissioned by art galleries and private collectors alike, worldwide. Graffiti has transcended cultures as it was predominantly been associated with the Hip Hop culture, although it has been present as a form of expression throughout history. I mean, the Khoi-San and the Egyptians can be placed amongst Africa’s original graffiti artists. Personally, I prefer the murals that are not commissioned by the rich as I feel that there is more honesty in these pieces and given their sometimes precarious locations, they prove to possess a character that is not captured on the white walls of galleries.

My journey continues and takes me on a ride to Newtown where almost every wall has a piece on it. The majority is breathtaking but I cannot help but to notice the minority. My instinct as a pseudo art critic, schooled in the corridors of appreciation, begins to take over and I get angry. Coupled with the masterpieces are random and irrelevant pieces, usually tags by people who could afford the R25 it costs to get a can of spray paint at Mica. The mediocrity that plagues any community has seeped into graffiti. It is evident in the meaningless abuse of the spray can. This for me takes away from the battle to be heard and be relevant in a generation that needs much guidance. I beseech you, if you are can in hand to respect the art and if you really have something to say, pick up a pen and put the can down. Not everyone can.    

Written By: Mantedieng Mantis Mamabolo   

Its Your Right to Vote!

Sup Oaks,bras,dudes,homies, hombres,Ninjas, brothers, sisters and all of that Jazz please take a second to vote for this cat, he's one of the dopest photographers I've ever worked with...you dont believe me? check out some of his work right Here

and when you are done please vote Here for Picture #7

EVENTS too look out for...

Johannesburg and Cape Town

 Another person who just never seizes to stop going for gold is Anthony Bila, he made it on our news just a couple of weeks ago as he emerged the winner of the GQ best dressed reader awards, I’m pretty sure most of you had an itch to click and follow the link to his blog, that very itch turned into action and BOOM! You entered a world of colourful inspiration.  Anthony Bila has a crisp eye for art, fashion and accessories, he’s a young man of different shades and immense depth and his sense of style definitely shines through the squeaky clean finish of his blog and that is amongst the many reasons why he has been nominated for two South African blog awards, a little Birdie tells me that he also clinched a sponsorship deal with Stuttafords, check out his blog and vote for the young man>>>that's only if you like his his sh*t.   

http://www.anthonybila.tumblr.com/

Simply Tumi

On Saturday the 5^th of November Kaffein Online Magazine was invited to the second monthly High-Five Music & Clothing store event on Kloof street, a street that encompasses the good life of artists and creatives alike, I have to admit it reminds me of Greenside in Johazzardousburg because amidst its apple-pie order environment, restaurants and retail stores there's always a movement brewing in the underground that seeps through the tiny cracks on the streets, introducing relatively new artists on to the scene including new works by those who have solidified their stature, it was one such night that I was amongst a small crowd that experienced the amazing voice of a chanteuse  by the name of Tumi, a timid creature at first sight, humble in nature with a radiant skin and a cute cocky character complimented by her  charismatic smile.

She confidently stepped up to the mic and She sang songs that gave people their groove back, songs like The Groove(Get Down) had hip-hop heads losing their minds and finding their soulful rhythms. The songs that stood out for me were Soldier and The point of maybe, she pulled a rabbit out of a hat with two renditions of the following songs: A Tribe called Quest - Find a Way and HHP - Tswaka, and those songs are going to be featured in her forth coming project. I must admit I was astonished, blown away to a point that every note she hit covered every inch of my body with a sheet of goose bumps as I nodded my head to the beat with my eyes fixated on this master piece called Tumi. It was almost as if the crowd were in a trance and all  the “coolness” and “Pride” was stripped off every single person in the store as they jammed "naked" to her songs, recorded her performance and even sang along to her addictive lyrics. Tumi is definitely one to look at from here on in, she is that crack cocaine, that 50 cent coin that the game has been missing and needs to continue to the next level, that playful Soul music we have been yearning for...South Africa, Africa...stand up!

Check her out on Soundcloud

And also look out for her mixtape due to drop in the near future

Last but not least shout out to the organisers of the event at High-Five Music & Clothing, and shout out to Boogie 2.0, you have an eye for talent boy!

Letter from the Founder

I remember the first time the “fit in” Bug bit me, it was way back in 1995 during the infant stages of South Africa’s democracy, 1994 was my best year and the only flashes of memory of that year I have are the dusty streets of Daveyton, the scorching heat, my dad making me a kite and also a wire car(a car made out of wire...duh) I guess I was a lazy child and my dad had the experience and the perfectionist quality that I lacked at that time so I figured the best thing to do is make him make all the street toys I wanted while I act like I’m listening and paying attention to the process...

Those were the days where I was just me and the only influences that I had in my character and appearance were those I received from the parents...then mother f*@% 1995  arrived and everything changed, I was transferred to a multi racial school called Arbor primary where I was a part of a small group of black kids that had never been around white kids before and so we had to learn English, make new friends, go on tours all over south Africa...blend in...adapt, that’s when the accent came in, we were eating marmite and going to pool parties and munching down hot dogs and sippin’ on Oros, making fudge at home for fun days, it felt comfortable at that time I mean who wouldn’t want to learn about a species that you used to “wow” about in town when your mother would tell you not to stare? and that is when I learnt to blend in. I started to question the difference in the quality of life  and so in my township I was perceived as a cheese boy and in the “burbs” I was just another black boy. That’s when it hit me, people perceive you by the way you look, act, speak and carry yourself, people tend to be more comfortable around the well-off than around the disadvantaged...and 16 years later the question evolved and popped up as random as a pimple on date night...

 We live in a world where social or financial status plays a major role in people’s perceptions of others, Idealistically one would enjoy a world that requires nothing of them, a world where you as an individual can be accepted as is, but on a more realistic front the world is shaped in a way that you have to look and think in a certain way and talk a certain way in order to fit in a certain place. what I find peculiar is that the people I find stick out are usually the ones who feel no pressure to be equal to any social and financial standard, so with that thought in mind I decided to ask the facebook people: “is it more attractive/socially acceptable to look rich and live poor or to look poor and live rich”.  

These are some of the comments:

"I would rather be Mentally Rich, Bank account rich, Physically rich, and to hell with anything that says poor...Now you jus took up 25 secs of my money..."

"As long as I have food and water I'll make even PEP boutique clothes look reg so I really don't care about money or the status that comes with it. Its nice to have it, but people give it far too much precedence." 

"It's more attractive for stupid ppl to look rich and live poor (wich is wat most ppl do 2day) bt it's more logical and sane to look poor and live rich"

"Real Talk.......... People with no money wanna live like people with money, and people with money.......well they jus trying to get mo money... Money is everything to people without it regardless of what they say.... Some of the rich and famous wanna look poor only cause they trying not to get noticed.. But those with no money wanna get noticed cause they are seen as nobodies..... That is the Realness of things my friend"