“Is this Hillsong?” the driver asked. We were 100 meters from my house. There was not enough time for a sermon. In the front seat of the cab, I gathered myself before I answered. “No, it’s not Hillsong at all. At all. It’s Lianne La Havas,” I said, in a measured tone, collecting the overwhelming… Continue reading Riding through Joburg with Lianne La Havas
Category: Reviews
Finding a Place Between the World and Ourselves
I had been anticipating Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book, Between the World and Me for all of three weeks. I must confess, I had not heard he was writing a book and I did not want to know too much of its content before reading it, in the same way that I detest previews and would rather watch… Continue reading Finding a Place Between the World and Ourselves
On Best White and Other Anxious Delusions
If you watched last year’s MTV Video Music Awards, where Beyoncé received the coveted Video Vanguard Award, you will know that Laverne Cox had a better time than anyone else. During Beyoncé’s flawless 16-minute performance, Cox was dancing, singing along and being an endless source of “yaaaaaaaaaaasssss” memes. Reading South African author Rebecca Davis’ book… Continue reading On Best White and Other Anxious Delusions
On Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar didn’t make an album. Or at least not in the traditional sense. To Pimp a Butterfly isn’t an album you’re going to want to just throw on. Its shuffle play value is low. This is an album you revisit. It’s an album you sit with. It’s an album you study. Kendrick didn’t make… Continue reading On Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly