Sunday 13 November 2011

Most Gifted Female in Africa

This year's Channel O Music Video Awards were held at the Sandton Convention Centre. Musicians from all over the continent graced the event. I got to finally meet the likes of Waje from Nigeria, Navio and BlaQ from Ghana and I caught up with old friends like Lizha James from Mozambique and Briget Masinga.

With Ghana's Navio
With Lizha James of Mozambique
With Bridget Masinga

The Channel O awards have a different vibe to all other awards that happen throughout the year. They are firstly unique because they are a celebration of African music by African people. We get a unique opportunity to come together as artists from across the continent and show case out talents on one stage. These awards also give us a unique opportunity to get together and arrange collaborations, touring and business opportunities. Lizha James for example has recorded at Jazzworx studios, which I have used to record all my last three albums by virtue of a meeting at the Channel O awards.

These are among my favourite awards. It's really awesome to reflect on who we are as Africans and to observe where our music is going. I feel the quality of our music video's is competitive to global music video's. This makes me proud. I salute Channel O for celebrating and uniting Africa.

I'd love to get into the performances and all but the high light for me was when the Most Gifted Female video award was announced. I was sitting there completely pressed, so mind was not even quite in the moment. My name was announced and I got the shock of my life. As I stood up to go accept the award I was thinking how amazing was, how I was not expecting it and how I had not prepared a speech and how I must hold stuff in even tho I'm about to pop! Ha ha ha!

Dressed by Sylvester Falata

I'm a little ashamed to say that the reason I did not expect to win is because I know South Africans are out numbered but what I took for granted was that all of Africa would vote. I did not consider the scores of fans that reach out to me through Facebook and Twitter and show their love and support. This blew my mind! So I'm completely humbled by this win and it means a lot to me. I have had the pleasure of performing in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana and Mozambique this year. I have also performed in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Namibia, Angola and Kenya in previous years. It is my next mission to do an All Africa Tour. This award was very affirming and will make it easier to set the African Tour in motion. I am excited about the possibilities.

I recorded a video with Jason Von Berg to express my gratitude for your votes and continued support. I had just received the awards and I was still absorbing the moment. I did also spend the entire following day celebrating with my friends! Thank you Africa!

Video Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byxz6InQV4I&feature=player_embedded

Dress: I opted for a simple, elegant, feminine dress that said "I am an African lady" :-) Designer Sylvester Falata whom I've worked with on numerous occasions made this dress to fit the brief perfectly. I'd even venture to say this is my favorite dress that I've had made this year.
www.sylveterfalata.com


The Full Version of the video that won me the award:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPtZJUn8sF0

The short version of the Phakade Music Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqm7XS67h14&feature=related






Last note:
I believe the next revolution will be an African Revolution. Music remains a powerful tool for transformation. I feel that as entertainers we have a responsibility to elevate everything that is beautiful about Africa. This includes our spirit as the people, ofcourse the uniqueness of our music and our rich culture. There is a need to preserve and celebrate this. These are some of the things that we can share with the world - I hope we can be mindful and purposeful with this.

Friday 11 November 2011

11/11/11 11:11 Wedding Proposal

Vincent Mnyameni of Port Elizabeth arranged for a Skype call between myself and his girlfriend Tamara Salman on this auspicious date of 11 November 2011. She is a huge fan and he wanted to give her an opportunity to chat with me before he asked her to marry him. The call happened around 11:09am. Tamara was too excited she could'nt say much. As per Vincent's request I had to tell her that Vincent had something to ask her, it is at that point that I began recording the BIG QUESTION... I was so excited and wanted to capture the moment. The clip is not great but you can get a sense of what happened. I think I got too excited there :-)

I love romance and this was an awesome gesture from Vincent. Tamara could hardly speak but she managed to get a "YES" out!


Congratulations to both of them!

 


Vincent and Tamara were kind enough to send us a picture - Congratulations once again!

Thursday 10 November 2011

Nappy and Happy


Sometimes I get asked if I'm 'finally' going to wear a weave now that I'm launching my career in North America. Clearly its not necessary :-). On the real though, keeping my hair natural has been the best thing for me and my hair. Although I have never worn a weave, I did keep my hair relaxed and braided for about 10 years.

While I was in College, I made extra cash by running a hair salon from my room at the student village. My own hair had to be on point so I always had it relaxed, styled and sometimes I put highlights on it. I kept a Halle Berry type of boy cut for about 6 years. It got to a point where my skull was lifeless and my hair became like plastic. It became thin and weak. So I kept it hidden by braiding it. I kept this up for another 4 years.
In 2006 when I finally decided to reveal my real hair, I found that it was badly affected by the years of braiding. My hair line had reseeded and my hair was dry and brittle but there was just enough 'growth' to start anew. My plan was to let my hair recover for about a 2 weeks before I put braids on again. I was recording my second album Feel Good at the time so I was mainly only in studio. During the first week, I started liking my natural hair, I loved the fact that I could just get up and go. The first week passed and my hair seemed to be responding well to being left alone. So all I did was to keep it clean,moisturized and soft but not greasy.  I comb it so that it does not get too tangled and then I use my my hand in small circular motions to create the messy afro that I call "The Organized Mess".


My hair has since become my trade mark. It is really the easiest hair style to have. My hair is thick healthy, soft and beautiful. I can rock it with any kind of look. I don't feel restricted by it. It reveals my face and neck and allows me to play around with accessories. When  do feel like doing something different I plait it. I dont do this for long periods of time because I want to avoid damaging my hair. When I have it braided, I keep it moisturized, using a spray and hair food which i massage into my skull once a week.
I keep my hair natural because it's just 'happier' this way. It is completely hassle free and virtually costs nothing to maintain. The best part is that I can enjoy a head massage at any time, I can jump into the pool whenever I want and I can enjoy being outside in the summer rain if I choose. :)

  I shared Hair Tips on Black Hair Magazine, Nov 2010 issue and Black Beauty Magazine Nov 2011 below:



 I'm planning to explore many more natural hair styles that do not stress my hair but allow it to grow and stay strong... watch this space.

Wrinkler Magazine Cover - Nov/Dec 2011

Wrinkler Magazine, by Mario Empaya is a magazine dedicated to women of colour. It is packed with features on beauty, fashion, hair, music and so much more. I love the fact that it looks really great. It truly celebrates all kinds of African skin tones and does so beautifully. Have a look at the website: http://winklermagazine.com/

You can also read my article on line here: http://issuu.com/winklermagazine/docs/winklermag5sa/81

Be sure to subscribe to the magazine as it has great tips on make up, hair and fashion.. advice that you can really use!
Enjoy!

Photo by : Jurie Potgieter

True Love January 2011 Cover



With the release of my 4th studio album Return to Love on 31 Jan 2011, I was geared up to start doing the things I always wanted to do. Among other things, I wanted to settle into my skin and celebrate my body. Believe it or not, it has taken me all these years to be truly comfortable in my skin and 2011 was the year of elevation and celebration for me.

This True Love cover marked the beginning of this new move. I worked with celebrity make up artist and stylist Nthato Mashishi, he created a fun, sexy look for the shoot. I wore shorts for the first time on a cover and showed my legs! I remember hearing people say stuff like "It's so unlike you". People forget however, that I'm also a woman in progress... I'm facing my demons, constantly challenging myself and finding ways of being completely free to express myself. I do take it one step at a time. Some of my struggles are not obvious to me (or others) but I'm always working on improving myself and a lot gets revealed as I go along. So 2011 was the year that I was going to dare to do things differently. I must admit, I have never felt more liberated. I really feel great in my skin and it has been great for my confidence.                                                            
My favourite pic from this shoot!

More Leggy Shots :-)

Photos: Jurie Potgieter
Make up and styling: Nthato Mashishi

Media 24 Magazine Cover of the Year Award

I had a shoot with Drum Magazine on Tuesday. The photographer showed me a report that stated that my February 2011 FairLady cover received an award for being the Best Magazine cover for 2011. These Media 24 internal awards and they don't get published for public viewing. I had an awesome time working with stylist and fashion editor Chu Suwannapha for the shoot. I wore a delicious red number by KlukCGDT.
I'm pleased that it won an award. It was one of the first really fun covers I have done. It was quite a departure from my more conservative previous covers. It also came at the perfect time because i intended to break out of my shell in 2011.. and this was an awesome way to start:

LIRA REAL MAGAZINE COVER - Nov 2011

This is one of my favorite covers of 2011. The Real Magazine November cover looks awesome.
I also love how my story was told. It goes down as my favourite overall story and cover for 2011. Be sure to get your copy!

Pictures: Nick Boulton
Make up : Esme Mashugane
Styling: Palesa
Cover outfit: KluKCGDT
Story : By Editor, Dudu

Thank you to all involved in the shoot. I had fun and I'm proud of the outcome!