Taking back the tongue: Afrikaaps remixed for Nederland

To all my Netherlands-based friends. You need to check this out starting TODAY.

My dear friend Dylan, the filmmaker attached to this project, writes on Africa is a Country:

Afrikaaps, the South African theater production which explores the mostly unknown creole history of the Afrikaans language, is currently on tour in Holland...Afrikaaps is essentially an effort to liberate the language from its status as the “language of the opressor”, taking it back for all who speak it (who happen to be mostly Black, or Coloured.)

Billed as a HipHopera, it should be a truly exciting show. I've seen one of the performers, Jitsvinger, in Cape Town a few years back, and he was explosive.

If Dylan's past work, aesthetic sensibility, and sociopolitical stance are any indication, I have a strong feeling this show will be highly engaging, entertaining, and well worth going to. His documentary connected with the show is screening at the Africa in the Picture Film Festival on the 8th October at Het Ketelehuis, Amsterdam.

I am pouring out tears of sadness that I am not in NL for the show.

Still not convinced? Check the vids:






Etch it stone cold in your diary:

AFRIKAAPS TOUR DATES 2011:
22 & 23 September (try-outs) Lieve Vrouw, Amersfoort
29 & 30 September, Theater aan het Spui, Den Haag, (30 sept première)
4 October, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam (Rabozaal)
5 October, De Gouvernestraat, Rotterdam
6 October, Stadsschouwburg Utrecht
7 October, Toneelschuur, Haarlem
13 October, Bijlmerparktheater, Amsterdam
15 October LUX, Nijmegen

Whoa, check the flow on Lego

Back in the US, which means time to get properly poppin' on the blogosphere again (is that one or 2 G's or 3G--or a G6, I don't know).

Anyway, I just had to share this track with everyone. For those of you who like a touch of the UK grime, and/or have a fondness for the Minaj or MIA, this is something that will blow your mind:



This woman, Lady Leshurr, spits it fresh to impress on her upcoming single Lego, independently released in October. I heard this track on BBC1Xtra radio and immediately had to listen to it many times over. It's arresting for its minimal yet percussively addictive backing track, allowing the purity of the rhymes, the wordplay, and the flow to really shine. Letting her MC skills speak for themselves practically unadorned is a rather daring choice for a single, I think. She's definitely one to watch, people.