2nd May 2003, Mega Music (Newtown), Johannesburg. R 50 gets you in. Doors open 7:30. Show starts at 9:00.

Africa’s most widely acclaimed Hip-hop group, Positive Black Soul from Senegal and some of Southern Africa’s finest come together for one night only to stage the ultimate live African Hip-hop experience, Afrosentrix at Mega Music in Newtown Johannesburg on the 2nd of May. 

Brought to Johannesburg by the French Institute and www.rage.co.za, Positive Black Soul’s Didier Awadi and Amadou Barry will be performing as part of the annual Playtime Festival. They headline the Afrosentrix show, which includes Soweto’s H20, Zimbabwean/Zambian/SA group Originz, as well as Tumi & The Volume, which is made up of South African and Mozambican members.

Positive Black Soul, representing for Senegalese and African Hip-hop since the mid-1980s, has performed all over Africa, Europe and the US, and worked with Youssou N’dour, Baaba Maal, KRS 1, Red Rat and Kymani Marley. With a mission to make heard the strong voice of a new generation of Africans that holds on to utopian ideals and speaks out against corruption and abuse of power, their CDs (1995’s Salaam, 1997’s New York, Dakar, Paris and 2001’s Run Cool) music and their vibrant show complete with a band and dancers combines Hip-hop with the sounds and dances of Senegal as well as reggae, jazz and funk. 

H20’s Menzi and Sphiwe made their recording debut on 2002’s Rage CD explored township issues on tracks like Labafana Base-4 and The Coming. Their brand of Hip-hop favours poetry and a real message over empty flossing. In 2003 South Africa has fallen in love with their feel-good, Ella Fitzgerald-sampled Hip-hop anthem It’s Wonderful’, which gives props to township folk who’ve hit the big time despite the odds, and can be found on the Sprite Expressions Hip-hop compilation. 

Afro-soul/Hip-hop band Originz is fronted by rapper Zubz and singer Hope and bases much of its content on the African experience of life, love and laughter. Their highly popular Family Of One off the Rage CD is their light- hearted look at South Africa’s different peoples, whilst Guns is a plea for an end to the bloodshed in Africa. ‘The duo’s MC Zubz has acquired acclaim on several platforms such as curtain-raising performances for Talib Kweli and Black Thought at Jozi’s 2002 Black August tour and UK Hip-hop spear-head Blak Twang in March. Zubz and The Originz appear on the Sprite Expressions SA Hip-hop compilation as well as the Maximum Sentence mix CD. 

On the 2nd of May The Originz will be performing live with hip hop DJ Redwood.

Volume is a slam poetry/Hip-hop ensemble (complete with drummer, bass player, guitarist and violinist) fronted by 22-year-old MC Tumi. Well known on the South African spoken word circuit, Tumi also featured at the Dead Prez show in 2000, the Black August tour to South Africa the following year, and alongside prominent poets Sarah Jones, Saul Williams and Mutabaruka in 2002. Half of Volume’s members spread their talents to include residencies in groups like 340 ml and Freshly Ground.

Funk, soul, dub, reggae, jazz, consciousness, poetry, singing, dancing, MC’ing all beautifully fused within a real Hip-hop vibe.

Press: For more info contact:

Maria McCloy: 082 3400 262/ 011 483 0988

log onto http://www.rage.co.za

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