Yvonne Chaka Chaka, singer:
Best album: ‘Freshlyground: I loved the effects, they were amazing.”
Worst album: ‘Eminem, because he insults his mom. You can’t do that to someone who gave you life.”
Watkin Tudor Jones, aka musician Waddy Jones:
Best moment: ‘Performing in Cape Town at The Sound of the City and in Johannesburg at club 206’s 10th birthday party — at the same time.”
Worst moment: ‘Turning around while I was rapping at the Obs Festival and seeing DJ Fuck sitting on a beer crate behind the decks, yawning.”
Lannice Snyman, cookery book writer and publisher:
Best cookery book: ‘My own Posh Nosh. But my other favorite would be Gwynne Colyn’s Food Gurus Uncovered. It is different from anything that’s happened in South Africa before — a class act.”
Worst cookery book: ‘I’m bored in general with Jamie Oliver. Not him exactly. He’s done fab things. But we’ve got such a small buying public so let’s give the space to locals. It’s enough already. In South Africa Jamie sells. But hey, give someone else a chance.”
TK, R&B artist:
Best moment: ‘My performance at the Bidvest annual company function where I performed Somewhere over the Rainbow with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra.”
Worst moment: ‘I was at the China Bar in Durban when I got pushed aside by the bouncer as I was going to the stage. I could not perform because of the scene it caused.”
Zebulon Dread, writer, publisher, agent provocateur:
Best reads: ‘The Spiritual Vedas. I only really read spiritual books.”
Worst read: ‘The Cape Argus newspaper all year round.”
Stanimir Stoykov, cult filmmaker:
Best movie: ‘My best film of 2005 was definitely Pedro Almodovar’s Bad Education — very moving and sexy.”
Worst movie: ‘Unfortunately in 2005, I also had to suffer through Madagascar. My five-year-old niece who I saw it with was so confused!”
Eric Motloung, band manager of Tumi and the Volume and Kwani Experience:
Best band: ‘Kwani Experience. I would say that even if I wasn’t biased.”
Worst band: ‘I would have to say all-girl group Tyte. They seem so incidental. One of their members is a TV presenter and they are just using that as leverage to sell more records. They’re like the Spice Girls or something.”
Jamie Bartlett, actor in Isidingo:
Best movie: ‘The Documentary film Darwin’s Nightmare made transparent the intention of European trade. It was the most touching film, a breath of fresh air. Tsotsi, which stood up and demanded a salute for obvious reasons and made me proud to be South African.”
Worst movie: ‘Crazy Monkey perpetuated the old guard way of thinking that South African audiences are stupid.”
Paul Hamner, jazz pianist and composer:
Best album: ‘Classical and jazz guitarist Jonathan Crossley’s new album My Friends and I is beautifully put together. He is in a new league.”
Worst album: ‘Pianist Andile Yenana’s Who’s Got the Map. I’ve got enormous respect for this artist, but he set such an extremely high standard with his previous album — this one is not comparable.”
Pamela Nomvete, actress:
Best movie: ‘Sometimes in April was the best African holocaust movie ever made… Beautiful.”
Worst movie: ‘Million Dollar Baby, directed by Clint Eastwood. He is usually good but this time he was awful. It was just the story of two old men being terribly nostalgic about something.”
Lebogang Mashile, poet, actress, television presenter:
Best local Movie: ‘Tsotsi. It’s a beautiful story for right now. With the rise of the new elite, so many more people are being marginalised. It was a story about those who don’t have a voice.”
Worst local movie: ‘Drum. I hated Taye Diggs. You could see that he didn’t connect with [it] politically and emotionally.”