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Mail & Guardian
Sabelo Mkhabela

Creator

Sabelo Mkhabela

Stogie T has been a curator with unusual instincts. On aNomy, Stogie T turns history, faith and inherited
trauma into a portrait of a country suspended between collapse and renewal.

Stogie T: ‘It’s all broken’

Stogie T’s aNomy captures the tension, cynicism and spiritual searching of life in South Africa, weaving history, grief and hope into vivid storytelling

Redress: The rapper Nasty C recently released a new 16-track album titled Free

Living free: Inside Nasty C’s new era

Nasty C’s Free marks a new era of independence, balance and growth, showing the rapper beyond the beats, bars and bravado

(Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

AI didn’t kill writing — we did

How AI writing tools, especially ChatGPT, are changing the rhythm, tone and even punctuation of our prose, one em dash at a time

Thandiswa references Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, who was murdered by apartheid police in 1977, on her latest album.

The sonic soul of Steve Biko

Musicians have carried his ideology forward – but what would he make of today’s politics?

Makhadzi at the South African Music Awards at Sun City last month;

Award shows need a serious shake-up

They have consistently failed fans and artists of late. What is required to regain our trust?

Thato Saul is no one-dimensional gangster, his latest album ‘Life Is Gangster’ mixes street talk and moments of vulnerability.

Thato Saul’s life is more than gangster

Thato Saul is no one-dimensional gangster, his latest album ‘Life Is Gangster’ mixes street talk and moments of vulnerability.

Celebrating music: Urban Village (above) return to the Fête de Photos: Bantubahle Mahlangu, Pierre Merimee & Oupa Bopape/Gallo Images
 Musique Joburg and promise a new sound.

Fête de la Musique Joburg is doing things differently

The free festival Fête de la Musique Joburg makes a return post-lockdown with performances at four venues in the city

DBN Gogo are among a generation of female artists who propelled themselves to stardom, often using their own social media leverage instead of relying on the traditionally male ‘middlemen’, managers.
Photos: Oupa Bopape/
Gallo Images
Video

The rise and rise of the queens of amapiano

In a music industry often ruled by men, SA’s latest popular dance genre is ushering in a new era of inclusion

Zola 7 at the Back to the City hip-hop festival in 2017. Recent images of the star looking frail sparked a wave of eulogies usually reserved for the dead. (Photo: Sabelo Mkhabela)

Zola 7 and the undying spirit of community

The quintessential musician-turned-philanthropist is in the unusual position of being eulogised while he is still alive.

Ambivalence: Rapper Riky Rick remained accessible to fans even as his fame grew, but his single Joy contained evidence that he grappled with the emptiness of celebrity. (Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool)
Video

Communal style: Riky Rick was always for the culture

Somewhat of a dilletante, the late rapper chose to spread his talents out, which is reflected by his interests as much as his chosen mode of making music

Erasure: Lady Du says she appeared on a billboard in the US before she was ever profiled in a South African newspaper. (Oupa Bopape/Gallo Images)

Does trad media get amapiano?

The divide between mainstream media and amapiano artists is of both parties’ making

In his element: Amapiano producer Mthuthuzeli Gift Khoza, better known as De Mthuda, in his natural habitat – manning the decks at Universal Music’s headquarters in Rosebank. (Photo: Sabelo Mkhabela)

Meet De Mthuda, the landlord of amapiano

Amapiano super producer De Mthuda is shaping the soundtrack of summer, but prefers to speak through his music, not to journalists, except in this case …

Hopeful moment: HHP performing at Back To The City in 2016. ‘What we saw on stage was a man seemingly winning the war; making progress in pulling himself out of the depressive abyss,’ writes Sabelo Mkhabela. (Sabelo Mkhabela)

The Portfolio: HHP’s silver lining at Back To The City

Jabba’s Back To The City performance in 2016 was a late-career triumph for the visionary MC, but its promise would prove elusive

The 10 best HHP songs ranked (+1 for luck)

Monster hits and expressive deep cuts from HHP’s extensive catalog, ranked from best to very good by Sabeo Mkhabela

Sabelo Mkhabela’s top five podcasts

The writer of our podcast feature selects five of his favourites

Controversial: Macgyver ‘MacG’ Mukwevho (above) hosts Podcast and Chill with MacG, together with Sol Phenduka and the mysterious ‘Ghost Lady’. It is one of the few local podcasts that have been monetised to date. Photo: Courtesy of MacG
Video

Like, subscribe and comment: The rise of podcasting in South Africa

Podcasts are gaining prominence as a tool to document South African popular culture, but they still have a long way to go as a medium and business

Sbudaroc and Moozlie on the AKA TV programme The Braai Show, which also aired on SABC 1. (Image courtesy of @AKAApp)

Colouring outside the box: How local hip-hop artists are disrupting media

Artist-run platforms are overtaking traditional media, but what does this mean for a critical approach?

American rapper Joey Bada$$ performs Temptation at Oppikoppi in 2017. (Photo: Sabelo Mkhabela)

The Portfolio: Sabelo Mkhabela

Sabelo Mkhabela, a ‘writer who can take photos’ tells us about the image he took of American rapper Joey Bada$$ at Oppikoppi in 2017

In his new visual album, Shane Eagle portrays himself as a heroic character in a fictitious universe, which is the basis of rap music. (Photo: Kgotso Aphane/Maverick Seizure)

Xenergy: Domiciled in Shane Eagle’s universe

With the pandemic crimping the flow of Xenergy, Shane Eagle has released a virtual performance in the form of a visual album

Desire: Moonchild Sanelly worked hard to make it locally and abroad without using a music label. Photo: Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool
Video

The new wave way: How SA’s now generation moves different

South Africa’s newest stars have turned to the internet and cultivated cult followings to launch themselves onto the global music scene