South Africa’s oldest football cup competition is around the corner. MTN8 is coming your way in August and what better to way to kick-start the festivities than with choosing a song that will be chanted during this year’s MTN8 Wafa Wafa football tournament.
Please vote on 083 123 6868
South Africa’s oldest football cup competition is around the corner. MTN8 is coming your way in August and what better to way to kick-start the festivities than with choosing a song that will be chanted during this year’s MTN8 Wafa Wafa football tournament.
The process began when an official invite was sent to record companies to submit unique songs that would capture the spirit of the MTN8 tournament. After a gruelling judging process, we’ve managed to decide on a top 8, but we call upon you Mzansi to help us choose the best of the best.
The winning song needs fuel players’ passion for their team and the game of football itself. With this in mind, the selection criteria for songs ranged from a soccer theme, cultural identity, artistic execution, and melody and entertainment value.
The judging panel was made up of various experts in entertainment such as SAMA’s CEO Nlanhla Sibisi, House and Radio DJ Glen Lewis, record label owner and music producer Petro Stathoussis, YOLO board member Siyabonga “Slikour” Metane, Lynette Davis of LLJ Productions, and music and PR specialist Lerato Sengadi. Judging for the final 8 took place over a two-day period and was quite a difficult task, but we trust you’ll be pleased and excited to see who made the final cut.
The ultimate Last Muso Standing will be announced at the launch of the MTN8 competition at the end of July and walk away with a R 250 000 cash prize including iPad Mini‘s courtesy of MTN.
The choice is in your hands Mzansi! Each musician has been allocated a unique number that you can dial to cast your vote. Voting lines open on Wednesday 10th July and close at midnight on Friday, 26th July 2013. Plus, the more you vote, the better your chances of winning a home entertainment system worth a whopping R70 000.
Without further ado, we proudly present the top 8 musicians chosen by our judges.
| Musician | Track Title | Voting Line |
| DJ Clock | Mahamba Yedwa MTN8 | 083 123 6861 |
| Razokutt | MTN8 Anthem | 083 123 6862 |
| Oskido, Professor, Busiswa & Zulu | Wafa Wafa | 083 123 6863 |
| Shugasmakx & Kwesta | Hola H8 MTN8 | 083 123 6864 |
| Soweto’s Finest & DJ Mshega | MTN8 Nazo | 083 123 6865 |
| Cruz featuring SK line | MTN8 Happy Song | 083 123 6866 |
| The Mahotella Queens featuring Zamo & Brickz | Gazette (Kazet) | 083 123 6867 |
| Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse | Shikisha | 083 123 6868 |
If you’re hungry for more on each of these musicians, you can also watch their videos, download each of their MTN8 Anthem songs (and CallerTunez), by visiting MTN Play.
Original music was the big winner at the inaugural Wawela Music Awards on Friday night, at which the shining lights of South African songwriting were celebrated.
On Friday, 28 June 2013, a constellation of the country’s music stars gathered at the Sandton Convention Centre to pay tribute to an elite group of music composers and authors whose work has made a significant impact locally and abroad.
Presented by Gareth Cliff and Azania Mosaka, the event aptly illustrated the power wielded by creators of original, homegrown music as guests were entertained by the eclectic sounds of The Soil, Phuzekhemisi and Koos Kombuis, with one of the highlights of the evening being an electrifying duet between Dorothy Masuku and Nhlanhla Nciza from Mafikizolo.
The isiZulu word “Wawela” means “to go beyond”, and this SAMRO initiative was launched to give credit to local music creators who have achieved excellence in their craft across various platforms, including composing for film, radio and television.
The awards ceremony – the first of its kind in the country dedicated to honouring composers – saw the industry uniting to applaud the leading lights, trailblazers and unsung heroes of the South African music scene.
The Standard Awards were open to SAMRO members, who were required to submit entries accompanied by motivations. The major winner on the night was Kgomotso Mashigo, also known as jazzy-pop songstress Black Porcelain, who walked off with two awards: for Best Creative Album and Best Female Artist and Composer.
The sublime Lira was crowned Songwriter of the Year, while Tumi and the Volume were named South African Best Duo or Group. The multi-talented self-taught musician Daniel Baron took home the trophy for Best Male Artist and Composer.
Other winners were celebrated composer Philip Miller, whose score for the film Leaving Father was voted Best Soundtrack in a Feature Film or Theatric Documentary, and former Via Afrika vocalist René Veldsman, whose music for the Shoprite advert was judged Best Song or Composition in a Radio Commercial.
Composer and sound designer Gregory Reveret took home the Wawela Music Award for Best Song or Composition in a Television Production, for Loxion Kulca Roots, while Jerry James Barnard bagged top honours for best song or composition in a television commercial for his work on the Bells advert.
The judging panel, comprising respected names drawn from the industry, also handed out a number of Special Awards on the night. Among these were Inaugural Recognition Awards that honoured the immense contribution made by South Africans whose groundbreaking work has enriched the reputation of the local music industry.
The five awards went to Los Angeles-based film and television score composer and production music library pioneer Alan Lazar, who made his name in South Africa as a member of Mango Groove; world-renowned writer, composer and producer Mbongeni Ngema, whose Sarafina! musical took Broadway by storm; keyboard player, composer, producer, and studio and record label owner Sizwe Zako, who has taken local gospel music to dizzying heights; Golden Globe-nominated film music composer Trevor Jones, who went from District Six to the bright lights of Hollywood thanks to his twin passions for cinema and music; and Lebo M, the celebrated singer, songwriter, composer and musician whose music for The Lion King scooped a Grammy.
Jones also scooped the Breaking Through the Borders Award. JB Arthur, a South African Music Award- and Emmy Award-winning composer, musical arranger and producer, was rewarded for his international success with the Statistical Award for Broadcast and Live performances.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to the evergreen Dorothy Masuku, a pioneering force in Southern African music who continues to perform, enchant and inspire. And Johnny Clegg, one of the country’s most beloved musical sons who has sown the seeds of South African music around the world while producing work of a consistently high calibre, received the Prolific Catalogue of Works Award.
THE 2013 WAWELA MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS
Best soundtrack in a feature film or theatric documentary:
Philip Miller for Leaving Father
Best song or composition in a television production:
Gregory Reveret for Loxion Kulca Roots
Best song or composition in a television commercial:
Jeramy James Barnard for the Bells commercial
Best song or composition in a radio commercial:
Rene Veldsman for the Shoprite commercial
Best creative album of the year:
Black Porcelain for Invincible Summer
Songwriter of the year:
LIRA
Best South African duo/group:
Tumi and the Volume
Best female artist & composer/co-composer:
Black Porcelain
Best male artist & composer/co-composer:
Daniel Baron
Statistical Award
JB Arthur
Wawela Inaugural Recognition Awards
– Alan Lazar
– Mbongeni Ngema
– Lebo M
– Trevor Jones
– Sizwe Zako
Breaking Through the Borders Award
Trevor Jones
Prolific Catalogue of Works Award
Johnny Clegg
Lifetime Achievement Award
Dorothy Masuku
For more information on the WAWELA Music Awards:
Twitter: @WawelaMusic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WawelaMusicAwards
The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) is proud to be hosting the inaugural WAWELA Music Awards, the only awards ceremony in South Africa that rewards music creators for their outstanding international achievements. For further information on SAMRO, please visit www.samro.org.za
South African jazz giant Abdullah Ibrahim joins Grammy Award winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard and celebrated pianist Ahmad Jamal at the opening night of Standard Bank Joy of Jazz, which runs in Newtown from August 22 to 24.
In 2013 the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz once again reinforces its status as South Africa’s premier jazz festival, and one of the best on the African continent, thanks to a stellar line-up of musicians from around the globe.
These include American Carmen Lundy, an enduring artist in a jazz vocal tradition that stretches all the way back to Billie Holiday; acclaimed “Big Chief” of the sax Donald Harrison who will be performing with his nephew the acclaimed New Orleans trumpeter Christian Scott as well as South African trumpeter Lwanda Gogwana; Grammy Award winning tenor saxophonist Eddie Daniels; Japanese jazz pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto and American saxophonist Tia Fuller who was a member of the all-female band touring with Beyoncé.
Also on the bill, which features more than 50 artists, is Dennis Edwards, a former lead singer for the Motown act The Temptations who will be appearing in The Temptations Review which features Paul Williams Jnr, son of original Temptations member Paul Williams; Peter White from the UK who first gained fame with his distinctive guitar style as accompanist to Al Stewart and played on Stewart’s landmark Year of the Cat album; Argentina’s Tango String Quartet; the DRC’s Ray Lema; US vocalist René Marie; Cape Verde’s Marie de Barros and Lenora Raphael from the US.
The South African contingent includes Ray Phiri and Stimela; Mlungisi Gegana who will be paying tribute to the late South African jazz double bassist and pianist Johnny Dyani; Sipho Mabuse who pays homage to Zim Ngqawana; Sibongile Mngoma (a former Standard Bank Young Artist) who will release an album in June this year in which classical meets jazz; Afrotraction; Kabomo, Selaelo Selota, Mbuso Khoza, Ivan Mazuze, Jeff Maluleke and Themba Mkhize.
From his roots growing up in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South African composer and keyboardist Adam Glasser is now recognised as one of the world’s leading jazz harmonica players. Glasser has put together a unique jazz collaboration for Standard Bank Joy of Jazz combining musicians he has played with in both the UK and South Africa including Australia’s Carl Orr, South Africa’s Concord Nkabinde (former Standard Bank Young Artist winner for jazz) and Nduduzo Makhathini as well as Ghana’s Frank Tontoh.
Shane Cooper, the 2013 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Jazz, will be performing with Bokani Dyer, Kesivan Naidoo (another former Standard Bank Young Artist winner for jazz), Reza Khota and Justin Bellairs.
There’s a performance from the Peter Auret Trio comprising Auret, Roland Moses and James Sunney of Watershed fame with special guest Joe Penn on saxophone.
Described as the most gifted musician ever to blend African and American music, Abdullah Ibrahim has enjoyed a career that has spanned half a century as a pianist and composer. He has worked with many legends of South African and global jazz. When he returned to South Africa in the 1970s to record his masterpiece, Mannenberg, he earned his place among South Africa’s greatest musicians. His sold-out performances continue to thrill jazz fans from around the world.
In his autobiography, Miles Davis describes the impact of hearing celebrated pianist Ahmad Jamal: “He knocked me out with his concept of space, his lightness of touch, his understatement.” Named as an NEA Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Living Jazz Legend, Jamal is a bona fide jazz star and the source of inspiration to many younger pianists.
Although he has four Grammy Awards for his jazz recordings, Terence Blanchard also ranks among the most creative, in-demand film score composers, particularly for his collaborations with Spike Lee. He is now putting the finishing touches on his first opera, commissioned for Opera St. Louis. Blanchard has also assumed roles as a music educator as the artistic director of the youth-oriented Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and, more recently, as the artistic director for the Henry Mancini Institute at the University of Miami Frost School of Music.
The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz will take place on eight stages in Newtown including the Dinaledi Stage, the Conga, Mbira, Bassline and The Market Theatre. Other venues include free concerts at Sophiatown, Shikisha and Nikki’s Oasis.
Event producer Peter Tladi of T-Musicman says: “Over the years we have brought the finest jazz musicians to our shores as desired by the event’s fans, friends and supporters. Because we believe all people deserve to hear the best musicians the world has to offer, our 2013 line-up pays tribute to the listener’s choice as it were, it is our gift to our friends and festivalgoers who insist on the most interesting, the out of the ordinary, the push the boundaries type of artist, and most importantly the best of class. This is a line-up for the discerning jazz lover.”
Go to: www.joyofjazz.co.za
Tickets are on sale at Computicket with a 15% discount for all Standard Bank customers valid from from May 21 until June 30 (terms and conditions apply).
On Mother’s Day, 12 May, The Table of Peace and Unity will bring together 700 celebrities, religious leaders, citizens from all walks of life and captains of industry on Table Mountain to join together against child abuse and in particular, child sexual abuse.
We will break bread at a sumptuous feast prepared by top South African chefs, enjoy excellent entertainment including ,myself Nataniel, Sterling EQ, the Amy Biehl Choir and Kristi Lowe.
Sipho remarked ” I am honored to be invited and to give of my time to inspire and speak out about the abuse in our society”
Abuse has reached catastrophic levels. In South Africa, a girl has a better chance of being raped than learning to read. It is estimated that a child is raped every 17 seconds, which is totally unacceptable. Ordinary South Africans are standing up to say that we refuse to be the rape capital of the world.
All funds raised from ticket sales and auctions at the event are used to purchase safe homes, equipment and supplies for charities focusing on the needs of our vulnerable children. To date, the Table of Peace and Unity has raised over R14 million for more than 20 organisations around the country.
Past projects benefiting from The Table of Peace and Unity have been able to build facilities in which rape survivors are treated and counseled, purchase clinics in Soweto, KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape, purchase vehicles, build playgrounds and fund community projects.
We have funded a trauma unit and treatment room for abused children at Red Cross Children’s Hospital and built an outdoor area for psychiatric patients at Tygerberg Hospital.
Join us at The Table of Peace and Unity. Tickets are available from Computicket or contact The Table of Peace and Unity at 021-702-2280 or email kristi@fieramilano.co.za for more information.
6B: You began working in the Music Industry while the old laws of apartheid were still governing the country. Despite that you still made your mark in the industry. What inspired you to keep pushing?
Sipho: I come from a generation of musicians who saw themselves as an investment, an invest in ourselves. If you believe enough in what you do, then you have to invest in yourself so that others can believe that they can invest in you, be that materially, or intellectually. We’d go out, rehearse, book the venues, write the banners and put them up, we’d load the equipment, drive ourselves to a venue – we were investing in ourselves. You don’t find people doing that anymore – all they want to do is rehearse and wait for a promoter to knock at their door.
6B: How has the music industry changed over the years?
Sipho: I call it “The dependence syndrome” It’s what is affecting younger musicians these days – They believe that the only way they can grow musically is through record companies and promoters. “I want to remain an artist and let everybody else take care of what I do…” This is a dangerous space to be in, because you find that you cannot create a space in which you can operate on your own. Interestingly, the challenges have always been the same, the issues around royalties, copyright, remuneration and so on. Unfortunately, most young people, particularly black young people, see music as an escape from poverty, and the only way in which they can find themselves employed – through television, recordings and performances. Little do they understand the pitfalls and the challenges that there are. We would never discourage them from wanting to be performers, but they also need to understand what it is that they are getting themselves involved in.
6B: You have said before that you thought you were destined to become a doctor or lawyer, what made you decide to go into music rather?
Sipho: I am studying through UNISA at the moment. I managed to complete my matric last year, because I wanted to do it. I left school to pursue my dreams, we had a band and toured all over Africa. I’m not encouraging youngsters to drop out of school, but I do encourage them to actively pursue their dreams – whatever that means to them. Just stay grounded whilst doing it.
Read more at 6B Magazine – Sipho Hotstix Mabuse.
Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse 