Our Jo’burg journo’s whistle-stop London trip by Tseliso Monaheng
My arrival coincided with the opening night of Convergence Festival. The headlining act at the Village Underground gig Chk Chk Chk (!!!), and they brought along their side project Stereolad, a Stereolab tribute band. I like the expression on the face of this lady at the cloakroom.
Our hotel was located in east London, so it only made sense to head towards Shoreditch and bathe in the wondrous aroma of rapid gentrification. Ora (pictured, right) and myself crossed paths with this musician who was jamming underneath the bridge. She decided to join in and sing along as he strummed chords to Ben E. King's 'Stand by me'.
I came across this lady while walking through Shoreditch's alleyways searching for hidden street art gems. She decided to be real nice and pose for a picture. Peace to her too!
I try to look for the street art in every city I visit. This particular piece intrigued me from the on-set. Like, who is King Juju? A quick google search brought up an article which put the piece into context and, for me, enabled parallels between the Jo’burg and London - and possibly global - art scenes. King Juju is Julian Ando. He passed away in 2014, at 25, after drowning at a festival in France. His passing put to rest rifts between old mates and inspired this piece which went up in the week leading up to his passing. He was also an extended member of the BNTL blog's family tree. To me, powerful street art also serves as a colourful way of remembering the city's own. If you look closely, the city will tell you about its people.
Outside the Roundhouse on the night of a Convergence Festival event organised in honour of Gil Scott-Heron. Kwabs and Andreya Triana were on the line-up. Needless to say, it was going to be lit!
What would a trip to London be without visiting south London? This is one of the many images which happened during an afternoon stroll in Brixton.
Ora pays her respects to the Ol' Dirty Bastard before exploring the Chip Shop's chambers. Seeing rap greats honoured in such a manner inspired me a lot! Now, how sick would it be if items on the menu were also references to Wu-Tang - or Biggie, or Big L - songs?!
The author’s trip was made possible by the assistance of the British Council Connect ZA’s #ConnectingCitites journalist exchange programme. He is @nemesisrepublik on Instagram.
connectza.tumblr.com
@Connect_ZA
instagram.com/connect_za
facebook.com/ZAConnect.