SABC this week hastily unbanned a Prophets of da City video after it won a prestigious international award.Charl Blignaut reports
CAPE Flats hip-hop outfit Prophets of da City scooped the prize for Best Music Video/Clip from Non-Francophone Africa at the prestigious annual Cannes Midem international music awards this week. But, while in France a clip off the video was being screened at a glittering ceremony, back home it was revealed that the video was still banned from airplay on SABC-TV.
The R42 000 Midem award went to the Prophets’s co-manager, Lance Stehr, who directed the video for their song Understand Where I’m Coming From off their breakthrough album Age of Truth (1993).
Originally screened in 1993/94 on two of the corporation’s most popular music shows, Studio Mix and Ezimtoti, the music video picked up on the latent street-level frustration of the country’s youth before the 1994 elections. But when the SABC bosses saw it, they were outraged by its “spirit of violence” and banned it outright. Ironically, the video was awarded Ezimtoti’s Music Video of the Year Award in 1994.
Lobbied by Stehr, the SABC music video committee promised to review the banning after the elections. But the committee decided to uphold the ban as the video, it said, did not endorse the spirit of the Reconstruction and Development Programme.
When the video was nominated for a First National Bank South African Music Awards (Sama) prize in 1995, the SABC had no option but to allow a clip to be screened. But still the ban was not revoked.
When contacted this Wednesday by a cultural show on SABC3 for permission to screen the video, the show’s producers were told this would not be possible as an outright ban existed on the material. When approached for confirmation by the Mail & Guardian at 10am on Wednesday, an employee at the SABC’s Dramatic and Literary Rights Organisation (Dalro) office reiterated that the video was banned but said the ban could be revised.
When pressed for further comment, it was later disclosed that the committee met at 2pm that afternoon and, without any further ado, proceeded to lift the four-year ban. A publicist at the corporation then contacted the M&G to say that the video was, in fact, not banned.
Ironically, at least three members of the current committee – Dave McBirnie (chair), Noleen McKenzie and Belinda Beneke (all from the Dalro office) – were also on the committee that originally banned the video. Other members present this week included SABC-TV music programme producers Thami Shabangu, Joe Correia and Melanie Son.
At the time of going to press no official banned video revision policy was offered by the corporation’s policy-makers. Programme producers at the SABC disclosed, however, that a lengthy list of banned videos existed – most of these international – and that these were revised only if Dalro was lobbied by producers or interested parties.
The Age of Truth album was also a victim of a 1993 SABC radio ban – 15 of its 21 tracks were prohibited, but not Understand Where I’m Coming From. This proceeded to reach the number one spot on Radio Metro – but fans were not allowed to see the matching images.
According to Stehr, the 15 songs are still banned on the SABC. But when approached for comment this week SABC radio boss Govin Reddy said that, as far as he was concerned, no political bannings could be upheld in the new South Africa. Still, he admitted that no firm banning revision policy existed at SABC radio besides a standard committee similar to the television committee.
Music video producers have for a long time expressed concern at the SABC’s tight control of music videos. The SABC puts up a third of a video’s budget and then insists that record companies join the umbrella music body Association for the South African Music Industry before they can receive screening on the public broadcaster.
The SABC also has the creative power to veto video pitches, and insists that often cash-strapped production houses put up the capital for all videos, paying them 30 to 60 days later.
Irritated and disillusioned with the local music industry, Prophets of da City went to London and a lucrative deal with leading label Beggar’s Banquet in 1995. They have recently returned and their new album, Ghetto Code, is due out at the end of February.