ONE interesting aspect of the African Nations Cup is how it profiles not only South African sport, but our culture, via its opening and closing ceremonies. Though torrential rain truncated Saturday’s opening, we saw enough to raise sharp questions about choices made in 2010, which shoved South African sounds to the margins.

Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse has been heating up rain-sodden stadium shows since his teens.

He did it again on Saturday with Shikiza: an old song but a very good one that had the whole crowd dancing, rainstorms or no. Perhaps they simply wrote more infectious songs back in the 1980s; more likely, the song had a greater effect in contrast to the formulaic flaccidity of the composed-by-the-yard corporate muzak that surrounded it.

via JAZZ: African Nations Cup, tributes | Arts & Entertainment | BDlive.