It's me again

It's again been a while and a lot has changed since then. I have moved back home in the East Rand of Benoni Daveyton living with my mother and brother and my sister whenever she comes around. I wish I could have stayed till December but unfortunately circumstances did not allow such to happen. I will miss my housemates and I can only wish them well for the future.

Anyway I am currently busy with my NGO and planning to organise an event and I do hope it will work out for the best. I also hope to work with my NGO in future and I also look forward to working with the local radio stations and newspapers of my community the VuthaFM radio station and Vutha News and Benoni City Times.

Living back home will make everything else easier as I will be working side by side with the local NGOs of my community and the local media, entertainment companies and communication agencies as I have yet to do my internship.

Sadly I got some bad news about a friend of mine I once knew who used to go to this same school with me. Her name was Thobeka Sothomela she got killed in a traggic car accident I don't have the full details about her death all I know is that her family and friends couldn't get hold of her friends from varsity and so buriel arrangements were made without us knowing. The funeral took place last month 15 July. We do however plan to go see her family somewhere in September if all goes as planned. May her soul rest peace.

The Simmons

 

Hey remember the family reality show Runs House featuring wife Sophie Simmons of the former Hip-hop star and DJ; the Rev Joseph Simmons the younger brother of Hip-hop godfather mogul legendary Russell Simmons. Don’t forget their children Vanessa Simmons (25), Angela Simmons (23), their younger brother Jojo Simmons (19), and their two younger half brothers Diggy Simmons(17) and Russy Simmons (15). Well just thought I’d break it down a bit for you in case you didn’t know them or forgot about them.
Anyway the show ended in 2009 and the children are all grown up now taking their own paths to follow their dreams. Vanessa has been and is sill currently pursuing her dream as an actress and model and now also has her own lingerie line. Word is she and J Cole had a thing back in college but I personally don’t think it’s true. Her younger sister Angela is editor of a celebrity gossip, lifestyle and fashion magazine who last was going out with hip-hop star Bow Wow, and both the girls have a shoe line of their own called Pastry and have their own show called Daddy’s little girls which showcases their social lives, troubles, love lives and business side and basically their journey to success and of living together and turning to daddy when troubled. Last I heard the IRS was after them for not paying tax and that they may have to go back home and live with their dad, well that is where you turn to when things go wrong after all there is no place like home so they say. Anyway these are probably just player hater rumours, the media can sometimes exaggerate and hopefully they did this time. Their younger brother Jojo is last I heard was still trying to break it in the music industry along with his hip-hop crew but I have to admit I heard him rap on a radio interview on a surprise beat and I must the boy is very talented however he does at least he have his communications/broadcast/sound engineering/music degrees (any of them are possible the boy is multi talented and skilled for goodness' sake) to fall back on otherwise I think he should also go into acting. I also heard that he was taken hostage and then it turns out that it was just one of those nasty rumours that were created to protect him or something like that. The other story was about him dating a transsexual on twitter but shame hey he didn’t know as matter of fact he backed out before it went too far but of course unfortunately the media got hold of that story and well I’m sure you know what happens then. What I can back up however is for definite this time and that is he once got arrested for buying marijuana, resisting a police officer and reckless driving not because he was high but because he was trying to escape the police and hit the car in front of him and the other at the back of him. I can back this one up because his sister Vanessa said and I quote "We all make mistakes and my brother knows what he did was wrong and has learnt from his". So I guess that’s much about the drama we can get from the Simmons.

Their younger half brother Daniel aka Diggy however has broken into the world of Hip-hop and is doing pretty good for himself. The kid was signed to Atlanta records at 15, and already has his own clothing line and has already sent out a response beef track called what you say to me which someone else decided to leak out to 27 year old hip-hop star J Cole for dissing both him and his older sister Vanessa where he said he supposedly slept with her back in college and decided to brag about it in his song track purple rain, unfortunately J Cole couldn’t respond considering the large age gap, I mean he can’t say things like I’ll take your girl, or start swearing at the kid, but tell me who you think was better between the two but personally I think it was childish of J Cole to brag about his sex life in the first place but in his defence nobody actually knew who J Cole was actually talking about until Diggy responded but I have to hand it to Diggy for sticking up for himself and his sister and he really dissed J Cole if I do say so myself.
As for that cutest adorable Russy who was just always himself and very real on the show at the age of 9 back then, he made viewers feel like the show was real. He is now 15 and focusing on his studies I always saw him playing the guitar, playing ball games, video games and so on so maybe he’ll be a rock star, a DJ or a sports star or some sort he is talented as it runs in the family much thanks to his dad the Rev Run Joseph Simmons, so it seems and besides he has countless opportunities thanks to his parents but whatever he decides I’m sure his family will support him and so will I.

I'm OvEr IT NoW

"I guess you just don’t want to know

But I’m over it now" (By Reverend Marvin Winans)

From a Tyler Perry movie: "I can do bad all by myself"

This is for the lonely and broken hearted

I’ve hurt so many nights

I’ve hurt so many hours

Trying to make it right

But I just didn’t have the power

You ignored all my tears

And it hurt me so bad

You wanted them to disappear

I tried to let it go

I tried to let it show

But I guess you just don’t want to know

If I had a dime for every time I tried to call your name

Some tell me I’d be wealthy

But I learned that I could cope

Through my struggles I discovered that I could make it

I wouldn’t change a thing

Not for the knowledge that I gained

But I learned that I could grow

I tried to let it go

I tried to let it show

But I guess you just don’t want to know

But I’m over it now

Over it now

I can’t say how

I’m over it…

Kaizer Chiefs???

 

One can only wonder what happened to South Africa’s top giants in soccer Kaizer Chiefs, a soccer club that was founded by Kaizer Motaung the former Pirates player and son of late former Pirates player Ceyland Motaung.  Kaizer was said to have left his father’s club to start his own after his return from his soccer career in North America. The formation of the club then was created under oppressive times whereby then if a major rebel club such as Pirates at the time was beaten in a match, chances of leaving the stadium alive seemed very  impossible. One can say that Kaizer Chiefs then was formed at the right time as its colours and attitude as well as behavior promoted love and peace and demonstrated through words and actions that sports was about comradship and unityas such was done in those violent eras of that time. The club has great support all over the country from the East Rand, Soweto, North West, Pretoria this is because some of the players were recruited from Sundowns and Moroka Swallows which are rooted from the East Rand Pretoria and North West and some players at the time who were expelled and some who were friends of Kaizer were recruited from Pirates itself. Kaizer Chiefs has had its own supporters for such reasons and has always been percieved as Orlando Pirates biggest rebel giant, almost like a father verses the son type of game they were always on top of the log niether the less. 

However before last year Chiefs always won a couple of championship leagues now all of a sudden they get beat down by small time clubs like Amazulu, Wits, Platinum Stars and what not. I think Chiefs always prepared itself when playing against its biggest rivals Pirates who because of its losses against Chiefs before last year prepared itself against every team they challenged and was even more prepared against Chiefs. With Chiefs having to lose to small time clubs mentioned it cost them not making it on top of the championship leagues such as the Absa cup, Telkom Charity cup, Ned Bank cup, Premier Soccer League among others which were all won by their biggest rivals Orlando Pirates and of which then created this negativity around Chiefs and caused them a losing streak that they were no long prepared as they used to be against Pirates which has taken every advantage as possible.

Well we should not only blame the players for their mishaps it has occurred that Chiefs former coach Vladir Vermezovic may be partly responsible for the teams tragic losses, he for starters kept using inexperienced young soccer players in serious championship games matches instead of grooming them in friendly games. He had all the good experienced players sitting on the side lines, I mean I’m not a sports analyst but even I can tell that was a bad call. The guy should have been dismissed from the beginning of this year and maybe Chiefs would have won the recent Absa Cup, Soweto Derby and Premier Soccer League this year, considering what happened last year and would have prevented some people saying that Chiefs is no longer the way it used to be, “ouch”.

Anyway the Chiefs board dismissed Vermezovic this year April 2012, and hired sports former soccer coach Stuart Baxter along with former Chiefs soccer player Doctor Khumalo as assistant coach. The team did at least make a comeback after beating one of South Africa’s biggest soccer clubs Mamelody Sundowns which unfortunately resulted in saving Pirates from either beating the them again or competing against them through a four club match. This is where both teams play in this cas it would have been Pirates and Sundowns which would have played against two other clubs one for each and whichever team scores against the other team consumes more points and has a better chance of winning the league, and in this case Sundowns would have been it. Motivated by the negative comments made on facebook and twitter Chiefs captain and goal keeper Itumeleng Khune got back in the game by keeping the ball from hitting the back of the net,  if only he did that all along and unfortunately by the time Chiefs made these changes and came back from its last game it was too late and therefore fans can only wonder what’s next for the club, they must be feeling “hopeless”.

Best of luck for the Black Lable Cup though on the 28th of July 2012, do your people proud.

  

Orlando Pirates winning streak

Orlando Pirates a soccer club that is rooted from the most recognised historical townships in South Africa, Soweto, Orlando East was for a very long time eight years to date the most disappointing soccer club ever. Let me break down how it used to just spiral down for Pirates. First of all it would make it in all the leagues, play all the way to either the semi finals or the finals and lose at the end leaving its fans with great pain and sorrow but hopelessness never seemed to destroy their love and loyalty for their team. Orlando Pirates has been on the winning streak since last year 2011 and is now known to be the best soccer club in South Africa as it has won five times in a row just last year alone. Its victories include The Absa Cup, Telkom Cup, Ned Bank Cup, MTN Top8, Premier Soccer League as well as the first Black Label Cup tournament between its biggest rival in soccer Kaizer Chiefs. Oh Pirate also just won the resent 2012 Premier Soccer League championships. I wonder whether Pirates is either using good strong traditional muthi (herbs), or are united in a Higher Power or whether the players are all disciplined in training, perhaps their last and current coaches have been nothing but strategically excellent in the way they execute the game plan through the players on and off the pitch, maybe there is good management within the club itself. Well whatever it is that they are doing is certainly working for them. With all the victories that Pirates have achieved I guess the club’s perseverance and the fans’ loyalty has been worth it. The question is however how long will Pirates keep winning, as we all know that the fuel eventually runs out when you forget to refill the tank, in other words will Pirates stick to the same strategy, or will it make detrimental changes like some clubs have of which I will not mention and anyway Christmas as we all know it is not every day. Maybe the players will eventually have such a big ego that they won’t even think of kicking the ball in front of them, or perhaps this lucky streak of theirs will eventually run out, but then again has it been luck or is Orlando Pirates just happens to be blessed for now or...     

BROWN DASH GONE

 

It has yet been another sad time for South Africa as we have lost yet another Kwiato star and legend Brown Dash, another star gone too soon. Brown Dash originally from the streetsw of Soweto died from a long term illness at the Chris Hani Baragwana Hospital on the 8th of May 2012. He was last seen performing at the 18th South African Music Awards at the Sun City Superbowl along with other great Kwiato stars such as Mandla Spikiri of Trompies, Bricks Brigado just to name a few. He was known for his great hit singles such as Phansi gom thunzi welanga (under the shadow of the sun) which he by the way shot in my hood Daveyton, his other popular hits were Ngeo hlala thandana nawe (I will always love you), Gezani Umtwanami (take care of my child) as well as puff n pass. He was known by many locals of my hood from carwash and fastfood joints and he came a couple of times to my church when he was then dating one of the now famous twins Hlelo and Ntando YFM radio DJs and social lights. It was after a finacial disbute that he parted ways with his former record label TS records and producer DJ Sbu that his music career suddenly spiraled down the drain. He had dissappeared for a very long time and was said to be living some flats in the Joburg City. Word is that some unknown girl friend of his was killed by the virus and then later so was he. He seemed so thin the last I saw him at the music awards although he did somehow look very happy and energetic and gave a great performance along with the other stars he did not however stand out as some of them did. I got the post about his death on facebook and was very shocked and hurt by it as I remember the great moments of him and his music and he was not one of those distant artists I never got to see or know and therefore I must admit that it hit hard and very sad indeed. Last night was a tribute to him at in Midrand Shoosh which had a great line up and was really on fire. The line up of course include almost everybody who knew him and worked with him such as the likes of Zola, DJ Sbu, Bricks, Malinga, Spikiri and the list is endless. Fans from all over came to support paying R50-00 and really enjoyed an hot night on every side at every moment. The funeral will be tomorrow at 8:00am at Naledi Hall in Soweto, unfortunately I will not be there at I will be attending a cousin's funeral on that day so if you happen to be there please be sure to let me know how it goes. To Brown Dash RIP my brother you will be dearly missed by many of us knew you and will never be forgotten as your music will live in us for many years to come. MUCH LOVE.

THE SAMAs

Ok enough about me lets focus on other things for a change, so last week Monday the 30th of April 2012 were the what was supposed to South Africa's greatest events of the year ok maybe they lifted the standard a little but I can't help but notice that the standard has dropped since Lesly Sedibe CEO of EMI Records stopped being fully in charge of co ordinating the awards. Anyways about the SAMAs (South African Music Awards) was held in Sun City at the Super Bowl where audiences or fans rather paid an amount of at least R300 to be part of this biggest event of the year. The show started out with platinum artist of TS Records Zahara who sang one of her number one singles Loliwe, she sounded so good and natural with perfect high pitches and low notes and that is how a real artist is supposed to sound when perfoming live without the help of audio studio recorded sounds in the background. Her presence on stage was just magnifacent and she surly made many fans appreciated by her humbleness and excellent performance I have one word for her charisma. Other great perfomances were the collaboration performed by three award winner Hiphop star AKA, and South Africa's number one Afrikaans Hiphop star Jack Parrow who the audience truely enjoyed. The other great perfomances were number one Motwako rapper HHP with his famous number one single Bosso Kemang (whose the boss) as well three award winner new crew Misica who did a live performance just to suit the television vierwers at home whci I must say superb. One could rather say that the SAMAs were most between AKA, Zahara and Misica and that a private ceminar should have been organised just for them. Oh lets not forget unnominated awrd winner DJ Cleo for the most downloaded song on MTN music who walked away with all three of them as usual and always as it seems he takes those specific awards home with him every year. On other matters all in all the SAMAs were not as bad as the Metro awards where the sound was just terrible, although I must admit that the broadcast of the SAMAs were not as good as they used to be I think a lot can be done to improve the broadcasting of the awards events as well as the performing line up. Like allowing artists like Madluphuthu who is really better off as a comdian that a musician to perform is an absalute no no in my opinion, I think if people are going to pay R300 for a show than they should get greater quality service, there should be no place for mishaps or flaws of anysort. The camera people should also spot artists on the ground floor from time to time which creates a better impact for the audience after all the night is about them. Otherwise it wasn't as bad although there is always space for improvement, as I said earlier the standard has dropped, a good line up of artist who will give good top perfomance as only three acts out of ten other acts stood out, good presenters like Bonang who is always a pleasure to watch, good hosts who will not be unsure of themselves probably because they did not feel confident in what they were wearing and I will not mention names, good hands on broadcasting and most of all good sound at all times will surely boost the enthusiasm of the live audiences and home viewers. Let's hope next year's SAMAs will be much better.