National Auditions for Aspiring MCs to host Awards Ceremony

Dynamic young presenters are invited to audition to MC the Finals of the 2014 ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Scholarships Awards.

After a countrywide series of auditions due to take place in June, the sixth annual ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships will culminate in a Final performance, allowing the six finalists the opportunity to showcase their acting, dancing and singing abilities to a live audience and an independent panel of judges. Performed in the format of a variety show, the showcase of their talents needs to be brought together by a charismatic presenter into a seamless performance for the audience and judges to enjoy. The finalists will be competing to win one of three performing arts scholarships, with a combined value of R315 000. The event, hosted by UJ Arts & Culture at the University of Johannesburg, will take place on 13 October 2014.

“Deciding to audition means that you have already completed the most daunting step,” says Altovise Lawrence, host of the 2013 Scholarship Awards Finals. “Being awarded the chance to be the ACT Scholarship Awards MC for 2013 was the opportunity for me to push myself to the limit. It was a gift and I was given a chance to showcase my talent on one of the biggest stages in my career thus far. The most important lessons that I walked away with was that it requires a team to see a vision through - that I do not have all the answers and that as people, it really makes a difference when we listen more.”

“The ability to captivate an audience and take them through a journey that keeps them engaged is increasingly becoming a highly sought skill and career path. As a bank for all, Nedbank is committed to providing such opportunities to young and talented people who want to make their dreams happen” explains Maseda Ratshikuni, Head: Nedbank Cause Marketing. “We have been so impressed with previous MCs of the Scholarship Awards, that they have been approached to take on further work for Nedbank and other corporates.”

Auditions for the person to fulfill this role of ‘dynamic host’ will take place around the country on the same dates as the auditions for the Scholarships themselves. There is no registration fee, and interested candidates can apply in writing, to Rahiem at rahiem@act.org.za, who will supply audition material and details. Closing date for the MC registrations is the 13th of June 2014.

Auditions will take place:
Saturday, 28 June: Durban, hosted by Stable Theatre
Monday, 30 June: Cape Town, hosted by The Stage in Bellville
Wednesday, 2 July: Port Elizabeth, hosted by the PE Opera House
Tuesday, 15 July: Johannesburg, hosted by UJ Arts Centre
Wednesday, 16 July: Johannesburg, hosted by UJ Arts Centre
Saturday, 19 July: Nelspruit, hosted by Church Unlimited (R40 Baberton Rd.)
Saturday, 26 July: Bloemfontein, hosted by the Scaena Theatre at the University of the Free State


For more information or to register for participation in the Scholarships programme, please visit www.act.org.za.

Music & Politics

They say the mind is a terrible thing to waste - yet when you utilize it to the core, they limit you. You can't do as you please, there are rules to follow. You can't say what you want - hell even I was told in a heated argument, that even freedom of speech has limits.

So does that say we need to be sheep and just follow?
For years musicians have broken free and spoken out, sung and campaigned for what they believe in. Does that make them unpatriotic for standing up against their country? Let’s look at that word...What Does It Mean to Be Patriotic? You are loyal to your country and you love your country - in plain English - love and devotion to one's country.

So does it mean when Bra Hugh spoke out against apartheid - he didn't love his country or Kanye's now famous outburst on live television of "George Bush doesn't care about people"

Well this is not to talk about who you should vote for (in future) or not vote for, but highlight that maybe when you step on to many toes – one will retaliate. Yasiin Bey - formerly Mos Def has been barred from going back home. It is unclear why he would not be permitted to re-enter the country. United States citizens retain their citizenship even if they leave the country, unless they renounce citizenship, or commit an act of treason.

Bey has canceled his U.S. tour after being denied entry into the country of his birth. The "Mathematics" rapper has been living in South Africa for some time now, has been barred by "immigration/legal issues,” according to a statement on the Boston Together Music Festival. In recent years, Bey has been increasingly critical of U.S. policies, in July 2013, Bey teamed up with the human rights group Reprieve to reenact a force-feeding such as the ones endured by hunger strikes jailed in Guantanamo Bay.

In the graphic video, Bey can be seen begging his team to stop the demonstration and breaking down in tears. Bey told Rolling Stone Magazine in March that he had found a peace in South Africa that he couldn't find in the country he once called home.

Days before the South African elections, iFani was also caught in the mix of politics when the Eastern Cape native wasn't allowed to perform at an ANC rally because he was also booked by the DA.

The late great Michael Jackson couldn't have said it any better in "They Don't Care About Us". Turn it up as I sing along.

Tell me what has become of my rights/Am I invisible because you ignore me?/Your proclamation promised me free liberty, now/ I'm tired of bein' the victim of shame /They're throwing me in a class with a bad name /I can't believe this is the land from which I came /You know I really do hate to say it /The government don't wanna see/But if Martin Luther was livin'/He wouldn't let this be, no, no.

The Catch Up

Signs You Need To Hustle

Well we can't all be hustlers now can we? We don't agree with that - if it's not your own grind - then hustle a new job, new post.

Here are signs that you need to get up and do something.

1. Your work offers no change in routine

This is perhaps what you’d be doing five years from now, and your career goals do not align with what you currently do. If your position feels static and you don’t see a way to earn further responsibilities or get ahead even after offering ideas on the subject, you’re probably in a dead-end job.

2. Your skills are not being explored.

Your supervisor doesn’t tap into your skills set or go beyond what you’ve been contributing for quite some time. You may have been passed over for promotion – or your requests to take on more challenging projects have been ignored.

3. You're not challenged.

You feel unchallenged by your job, your boss, or your co-workers with no welcome avenue to change things.

4. Your thoughts and opinions don't matter.

Your voice is no longer heard and your opinions are no longer valued. Your boss may seem annoyed when you bring up new initiatives. In a 'no win job,' bosses often prefer that you don't rock the boat. At best, you find yourself forced to be a follower, which is tough if you're naturally a self-starter."

5. No change in pay, title, or responsibilities.

Every payday when you get the SMS from your bank, the zeroes are the same – you think maybe it’s a mistake and consulate your payslip, but still no change. You have been doing the same work for more than one or two years without a promotion, increase in pay, or increased responsibility. While some people may enjoy working on the same tasks, a tell-tale sign of a dead-end job is employees who are not being offered advancement or new training.

6. You lack motivation and enthusiasm.

You get that Monday morning feeling nearly every day, what you used to enjoy doing is no longer enjoyable.

7. You're too comfortable.

You are part of the furniture - there’s a sense of too much comfort with the status quo.

Technology Is Not Musicians’ Enemy

When musicians fail to generate income – they are quick to point the finger at file sharing sites. Some even point to the past that, there were no downloads then – yeah but there were TDK cassette and one would wait for the radio to play his/her favourite song and press record. Remember that?

Well techno has moved past that and allows many to just click download and within minutes you have the album. We are not by any means promoting piracy but saying that musicians can make modern technology work for them.

Musicians need Spotify, Pandora and other streaming services more than ever.

Yes, I know both independent artists and superstars alike have criticized the services about the royalties they pay to artists. Spotify hands out “$0.006 and $0.0084″ each time a song is played (that money goes to the rights holders, who takes a cut before the artist is paid). Spotify says it paid $500 million to labels last year. While most artists can’t depend on music streaming for cash flow these days they must rely on Spotify and others for something even more vital–exposure.

That’s because traditional radio is becoming both more monotonous and conservative. Radio is creating its own self-fulfilled prophecy–the more popular the song, the more play it receives. Like blockbuster movies, the top 40 songs are hogging all the space–blocking new artists, not to mention new songs by established artists, from ever reaching listeners’ ears.

That’s where Spotify and Pandora others come-in. The early Internet blew the gates off established media outlets (blogs, social media, YouTube etc) and let an entirely new set of voices be heard. Now music streaming sites are doing the same for the music industry. No longer do you need a powerful record label, a glitzy marketing campaign or prime place on the music store shelves to have an international hit.

With radio out of the discovery game, musicians must embrace companies like Spotify. Currently it’s their only hope.

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Dr Dre Is NOT A Billionaire After The Sale Of Beats

Despite what reports and people are saying, Dr Dre will not be a the first billionaire in hip hop after Apple acquires Beats. Apple has bought the headphones company for $3.2 billion, so naturally it was assumed that Dre would easily become a billionaire, bit that’s not the case.

Dre owns 20-25% stake in Beats, according to Forbes. With the sale and after taxes, that would leave him with a net worth of $800 million.

The sale would make him the richest rapper, leaving him with $100 million over Diddy, who was just named the worlds richest rapper recently. But it would not leave him with enough to crack Forbes top 400.

The Black Billionaires Club

We salute hustlers - these folks are getting it, and we mean making cash.

Nigerian cement tycoon Aliko Dangote is still the richest black person in the world, and he’s the richest by a long shot – $9.7 billion richer than Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi.

This year, Nigerian oil tycoon Folorunsho Alakija joins American TV mogul Oprah Winfrey and Isabel dos Santos of Angola as the only black female billionaires on the FORBES billionaires list.

These are the 9 richest black people on earth:

Aliko Dangote, $25 billion

Nigerian, Sugar, Cement, Flour

The Nigerian-born Cement and commodities tycoon is the world’s richest black man. Last April, Dangote, 56, who made the bulk of his fortune trading in cement, sugar and flour, announced plans to build a private oil refinery in Nigeria. Expected to be completed in 2016, it will have a refining capacity of 400,000 barrels a day and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on oil imports. Dangote started out in business more than 3 decades ago by trading in commodities like cement, flour and sugar with a loan he received from his maternal uncle and went on to build the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa. The company’s crown jewel is Dangote Cement, the $24 billion (Market Capitalization)

Mohammed Al-Amoudi, $15.3 billion

Saudi Arabian, Oil Refineries, Mining

Mohammed Al-Amoudi, the son of a Saudi father and Ethiopian mother, made his initial fortune in large-ticket construction projects in Saudi Arabia. He holds both Saudi and Ethiopian citizenships and has been investing heavily in Ethiopia through his private holding company, Midroc Ethiopia Technology Group. Midroc’s assets in Ethiopia include hotels, gold mines, leather factories, pharmaceuticals and cement manufacturing outfits. He also owns a 70% stake in the National Oil Company of Ethiopia. Outside Ethiopia, he owns oil refineries in Morocco and Sweden and oil fields off West Africa.

Mike Adenuga, $4.6 billion

Nigerian, Oil, Telecoms

Adenuga built his fortune in oil and mobile telecoms. His Conoil Producing Company was one of the first indigenous Nigerian companies to be granted an oil exploration license in the early 90s.  The company is the operator of six blocks in the Niger Delta and also owns a25% stake in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 4. He is also the founder and sole owner of Globacom, a Nigerian mobile phone network that has more than 24 million subscribers.

Isabel Dos Santos, $3.7 billion

Angolan, Investments

The oldest daughter of Angola’s president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos is Africa’s richest woman. Her holdings include a 25% stake in Angolan mobile phone company Unitel and a 25% stake in Angolan bank Banco BIC SA. Other holdings include a substantial stake in ZON Optimus, a listed Portuguese cable TV company and just under 20% of Banco BPI, one of Portugal’s largest publicly traded banks.

Patrice Motsepe, $2.9 billion

South African, Mining

South Africa’s first and only black billionaire is the founder of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed mining company that has in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal, copper and gold. Motsepe is fast becoming one of Africa’s most prominent philanthropists. In February last year he announced plans to give away half the income generated from assets owned by his family to his charity, the Motsepe Family Foundation which supports causes affecting South Africa’s poor, including education, health, unemployment and advancing women.

Oprah Winfrey, $2.9 billion

American, Television

Oprah is still the richest African-American person in the world thanks largely to the 25 years of her profitable daytime TV show and earnings from her Harpo production company. Her cable channel, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) is also cash flow positive for the first time and is enjoying favorable ratings as a result of securing exclusive TV interviews with headline-grabbers like disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, Beyonce and gay NBA player Jason Collins. One of America’s most generous philanthropists, Oprah continues to give to education causes and has spent about $100 million on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Folorunsho Alakija, $2.5 billion
Nigerian, Oil

Nigeria’s first female billionaire is the founder of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian company that owns a substantial participating interest in OML 127, a lucrative oil block on the Agbami deep water oilfield in Nigeria. Alakija started off as a secretary in a Nigerian merchant bank in the 1970s, then quit her job to study fashion design in England. Upon her return, she founded a Nigerian fashion label that catered to upscale clientele, including Maryam Babangida, wife to Nigeria’s former military president Ibrahim Babangida.

Abdulsamad Rabiu, $1.2 billion

Nigerian, Cement, Sugar

Nigeria’s newest billionaire is 54 year-old Abdulsamad Rabiu, the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in sugar refining, cement production, real estate, steel, port concessions, manufacturing, oil gas and shipping. BUA Group’s annual revenues are estimated at over $2 billion. Abdulsamad got his start in business working for his father, Isyaku Rabiu, a successful businessman from Nigeria’s Northern region. He struck out on his own in 1988, importing rice, sugar, edible oils as well as steel and iron rods.

Mohammed Ibrahim, $1.1 billion

British, Mobile Telecoms, Investments

Sudanese-born Mo Ibrahim made his pile when he sold off Celtel, an African mobile phone company he founded, to MTC of Kuwait for $3.4 billion in 2005. In 2007 he founded the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which promotes good governance in Africa and awards the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership – a lifetime award of $5 million given over 10 years to retired African heads of state who have left their countries materially better off and more transparent. He is also the founder of Satya Capital, a Private Equity firm that typically commits over $20 million or more into companies focused on healthcare, financial services, energy and natural resources in Africa.

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Neo-soul Songstress Goes Digital

By embracing digital platforms to record, market and distribute her music, neo-soul artist Elnathan Sidu – known as Nubia Soul – is proving that independent musicians can live their dreams without having to break the bank.

A spoken-word poet, singer and songwriter with a proud heritage rooted in the Nubian (ancient Northern African) and Southern African regions, Nubia Soul underscored her determination to break into the music industry by recording her first demo album, Rise, entirely on an iPad, using the GarageBand application.

Now, she has followed it up with her official debut album, Love Chronicles. While this album was recorded in a professional studio, Nubia Soul continues to break through the digital divide that still constrains many African artists – and has even been interviewed by CNN on how she has used cyberspace to expand her digital footprint.

She is supplementing the album’s release with a new music video that showcases her versatility and firmly announces her as an exciting new face and force to be reckoned with.

“The motivation behind my music is the ever evolving journey of us as human beings, whether it be social, economical, political or religious,” says this driven musical storyteller, who hails from Ceres in the Western Cape and grew up in Soweto.

“I enjoy conversations with people – no matter what colour, language or creed – and I also take pleasure in observing things around me with intense scrutiny.”

With its neo-soul and lounge house feel, with a touch of reggae, Love Chronicles encapsulates the artist’s natural curiosity, examining the various stages and milestones of love. The album was produced by Thabang Madisha, who has worked with the likes of Flabba from Skwatta Kamp.

Through her evocative music, and drawing inspiration from influences such as Damian Marley, jazz quartet Fourplay, Dwele, Zonke, Lulu Dikana, Nina Simone and house vocalist Monique Bingham, Nubia Soul articulates her deep-rooted respect for the continent’s traditions, cultures and natural riches.

This proudly African mindset is bolstered by a progressive artistic outlook that embraces all the digital tools at her disposal to get her music out there and heard. This includes distributing her album via platforms such as iTunes, Amazon and the Nokia Music Store, and bolstering her online presence on social networking sites as well as via her website, YouTube, digital newsletters, blogs, electronic press kits and SoundCloud.

“Digital platforms are a plug-and-play scenario to expand my craft as an artist and to connect with my fans and to easily distribute my art,” she says.

“The face of music industry has been drastically changed by the digital revolution, as opposed to back in the day where the only way to gain entry was through established music industry channels. Now, digital platforms are at least an entry point for up-and-coming independent artists.”

They also enable artists to express themselves in multiple dimensions to give fans a holistic experience as well as a personalised connection, she points out.

Having cut her teeth in school choirs and freestyle rap competitions as a budding MC, the young Elnathan Sidu progressed to writing poetry and music. She went on to study civil engineering and worked in information technology, from which her ease and comfort with the digital realm emanates.

Poetry still plays a major role in Nubia Soul’s recorded music and live performances, and she retains a deep reverence for the written and spoken word.

Taking the wisdom of Socrates – “the poets are the only interpreters of the gods” – to heart, she fuses the symbolic power of words with rhythm and melody in her work. As she explains: “Poetry brings life to dead things; it paints the colourless world; it aligns the thought patterns of a confused being.”

The philosophy of this go-getting new kid on the music block is that “music is part of our lives, and either it enables or degrades us”. She hopes to expand awareness of her music, and in the long term envisages being seen as “a scientist of music and poetry” who bridges the gap between generations.

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DROPPING TOMORROW

J. Cole: A Music Mogul In The Making

Three years ago, when J. Cole was filming the video for the song “Party” with Beyoncé, he had an awkward moment with a Bugatti.

The appearance of the multimillion-dollar sports car featured in the shoot prompted Beyoncé to say, “I want one of these.” Cole wasn’t quite sure how to respond. As he noted on his track, “Villuminati,” the vehicle’s cost exceeded his own net worth at the time.

“What do you say to that?” he recalls thinking. “‘Yeah, sure, treat yourself.’ I was so far from being able to have one. It’s one of those now-and-later raps. Jay Z had a line: ‘Rap about it now, hope you get it later.’”

Lately, Cole’s financial prospects have perked up considerably, as evidenced by his placement on the first-ever Hip-Hop Cash Princes list. Along with A$AP Rocky, he’s one of two names in that group with a six-figure average concert gross. And his 2013 sophomore album, Born Sinner, moved nearly 300,000 units its opening week, nearly outselling Kanye West’s Yeezus.

“It worked out even better than I imagined,” he says. “And I’ll leave it at that.”

Adds Cash Princes judge Kevin Liles: “J. Cole would rather be known as one of the greatest rappers, not just a guy who had a hit record.”

Cole’s bright future is the result of a remarkable and well-chronicled past. In 2007, he camped out in front of Jay Z’s studio with a CD full of beats, hoping his production would get him in the door and enable him to become a rapper, the same route followed by West. Jay Z didn’t take his CD, but the mogul heard Cole’s work a year later and eventually made him Roc Nation’s first artist.

Now Cole is following in his mentor’s footsteps with his own label, Dreamville, which recently landed a partnership with Interscope. For Cole, the move allows his acts—including Bas, Omen and KQuick—to have their music released by the same parent company that distributes Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and Diddy’s Bad Boy Records.

“J. Cole represents the new music business,” says his manager, Wayne Barrow, who once managed Notorious B.I.G. and sees some similarities in his young charge. “He is intelligent, witty, creative and not afraid to step out on the ledge and do it his way. Risk is the nature of true business growth, and he has [done] and will continue to do what’s necessary.”

For Cole, the Interscope agreement also offers an opportunity to broaden his work as a producer, a skill that has proved crucial to his career thus far. He’s been making his own beats since writing his first song as a 15 year-old growing up in North Carolina.

Cole was raised on a diverse mix of music that ranged from classic rock to R&B to contemporary hip-hop (“Lil Wayne was my last favorite rapper before I was my favorite rapper,” he says). When he started making moves toward a rap career of his own, he found he had to keep making his own beats out of necessity.

“[My mentors] were busy saving their best beats for themselves,” he says. “So I decided, ‘Well, I’m going to make my best beats.’”

Cole’s career exploded in the wake of his Roc Nation signing, and he realized there were major financial benefits to his production strategy. In hip-hop, the songwriter’s publishing share can dwindle quickly. It’s usually split in two directions: 50% to the writer, 50% to the producer.

If you have two writers (a rapper and his ghostwriter, say) and two producers (one for the backing track, one for the hook) on a song, the rapper’s cut falls to 25%. That number can be even smaller if the track involves heavy use of samples. Some artists don’t contribute at all to the writing or production behind the songs they perform.

“There’ve been huge records, a lot of No. 1s, where the artist who performed the song didn’t receive a dollar of publishing,” he says. “Because they didn’t do anything. They didn’t write, they didn’t produce.”

Cole, on the other hand, wrote and/or produced every track on both of his first two studio albums; for many, he was the sole writer and producer. And he doesn’t use ghostwriters.

With two gold albums under his belt since that conversation with Beyoncé, he may have to rethink his line about the Bugatti. The car retails for nearly $2.5 million—is he still worth less than that sum?

“No,” he says. “I wouldn’t say that.”

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