I am reading Black Heart by Mike Nicol. It is the last in a trilogy and I’m enjoying it. I try to read across genres. I alternate between thrillers and memoirs. Reading other genres reveals possibilities writing-wise.
In Umlazi, we are big on Âshisa nyama. In my section alone, we have three — KwaZulu-Natal is just crazy about meat. I’ll go out for pasta at Mimmo’s once in a while to break the bovine cycle. It also serves a mean grilled hake. I have that on the days when I try to eat healthily. On special days, Havana Grill at Suncoast Casino for aged beef also does it for me.
My favourite food is flamed or pan-fried beefsteak with amadumbe. It’s just meat and starch, but tasty as hell. I tried to add a green salad to the meal the other day, but there was something missing — it didn’t quite hit the spot. Pasta is another favourite for being so easy and quick to prepare. I watch Jamie Oliver or Giorgio Locatelli cook pasta on TV and cook it the way they do.
Then I add meat. It’s the KwaZulu-Natal in me.
I was a teenager during the hip-hop explosion of the Nineties, so I always lend an ear. At the moment, I’m listening to Lil Wayne’s I Am Not a Human Being and Atliens by Outkast. But hip-hop goes out when it’s time to write and Cassandra Wilson enters the fray. Her voice is a musical instrument all on its own. Her album, Traveling Miles, makes up three-thirds of my writing playlist.
I have yet to find my favourite city — I have to travel more before I can give a definite answer. I love Durban for being home, Jo’burg for the hustle and Cape Town for its beauty.
Sade, 2pac, Cassandra Wilson, Outkast, the Roots, Moses Molelekwa, Lil Wayne, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, Bobby Womack, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ghostface Killah, Bob Marley and the Brand New Heavies are just some of my favourite artists. Like books, I take lessons from different kinds of music.
Musicians are storytellers in the medium of melody. They tell tales in few words, so music is a medium that interests me. It’s on a par with literature and film as an art form.