WHERE: SONGWRITER'S CLUB

WHEN: 3rd November 2004

TIME: 8PM TILL DEATH

DAMAGE: R40

Those who still don't know what MIDWEEK MADNESS is all about: It is an EXCLUSIVE session filled with high quality performances by the most prolific poets and MCs, live funky jazz bands of our time, and DJs are also in the mix. To expose all the hidden/overlooked greatness of Jozi's creative spirit, we host this session every last Wednesday of the month at the Songwriters Club down in Newtown, Corner Carr and Quinn Streets, behind Carfax.. 

The distinctive character of our sessions is not only that they are the most if not the only vibrant occasions that bless Jozi nights in the middle of the week, but also the combination of flavas of expressive, entertaining art forms showcased here gives us the winning formula. In addition to all the guaranteed fun, the sessions provide a crucial networking platform for artists and all the other interested parties.

Our last Midweek Madness session took place on the 29th of September, featured Blazin' Spear, Fifth Floor, Black Sunday Family, Robo and the Cashless Society on the hip-hop front. Uju was the name of the band that provided a tight live performance of funky jazz and poetry, whilst The Common Man and Afurakan held it down on the poetic tip. To make up for the emptiness of the October month, we will host TWO MIDWEEK madness sessions for the month of November, the first one being on Wedneday the 3rd. This time around we are bringing the following acts to you:

Hip Hop 

Robo The Technician:
This is the same dude who used to blow up spots such as Le-Club and Metropolis, back in the days when Blaze and Bionic used to hold it down on the wheels of thrill. Ask anybody, from Tumi, Amu, Skwatta Camp and Ramesh, they will tell you that Robo is one of the greatest blessings Jozi gave to the hip-hop movement. He is back on the line up by popular demand. Peeps were not satisfied by his last performance at the 29th September, they cried for MORE, and we had no choice but to respond to the cries of many hip hop lovers.

Obita 
Fiercely passionate about Afrika and it's people, Obita was born in Uganda and raised in Botswana. He started rapping at the age of ten after getting inspired by the first rap video he ever saw by ice-T. He was later influenced by the likes of Tupac who showed him that rappers could also make a lot of money and NAS with the album Illmatic who taught him that consciousness and commercial were not mutually exclusive concepts.
Obita has graced the stages of Horror café, Carfax, Café Vogue and the Summer Jams festival in Botswana to name but a few. He believes that music must be used for the upliftment of people and as such should be accessible to the general masses.
With a sista called Lavern on vocals, Obita is set to rock !

Solo
This cat is also one of the most gifted MCs to be bred in the south western area of Jozi. He used to kick it back in the day, when he was still part of the dopest crews of the 90s era, Othello. This time around he is back on the SOLO tip. With his powerfully entertaining lyrics, solo has graced the Black Sunday stage on several occassion, flossing his rare combination of Sesotho, isiZulu and English in his rhymes. 

Witchcraft
Witchcraft is most definately one of J.SEC's hardest underground acts, and for a while they operated under the name Incredible Hulk. Made up of the Kanef, who is notably a dope producer currently working on Bravestar's soon to be dropped come-back album, and Shorty Skills, who used to be a member of Township Frequency, alongside Amu, Loco and Dennis the Menace(currently known as Wicked). The most memorable contribution Shorty made was in the Motherload compilation, via a track that also featured Loco, the Village Anthem. Witchcraft were also Baseline instrumental in the hosing of the Soul Fire Sessions, which used to take place at venues such as Bassline and Kippies, which provided exposure platforms for cats like the Common man, skwatta camp's phantom slick and MXO. Kanef is also notorious for producing the title track of the Hymphatic Thabs last album, Perfect times and BMP's Klapkop.. A while back Kanef and Bravestar formed Electron, a crew that pushed hip hop barriers to unknown limits, by introducing an accoustic/rock influenced hip hop. Witchcraft also features Bafana on the vocals and Alkabulan. If you really love hip hop, Witchcraft's tight stage act is bound to leave you in a trance.

Poetry 

Lebo Mashile:
This sister is most probably the most popular and respected poet of the current generation. Apart from presenting the Latitude TV show that used to be on SABC 1 on Thursdays, Lebo has performed her poetry in international gatherings such as the presidential inauguration, Urban Voices Festival and Poetry in Africa, where she once got a five minute standing ovation. She has also been around the world, performing in countries such as Jamaica and Cuba. She is also known as a member of an all-female poetry collective, Feela Sistah that has performed around the country and beyond. Those are some of the many reasons why Lebo commands respect within literary circles. 

Mac Manaka
Mac is an electrifying poet who has built a reputation for challenging traditional thought. He is considered one of the bright sparks in South African poetry and has honed his skills at venues and events that include Urban Voices (2001 - 2003), Switzerland, Poetry in Lokomotion at Cool Runnings, Isihlo Women's campaign and the Windybrow theatre. He has featured on both YFM and Metro Fm as a poet, and continues to grow from strength to strength. More recently he has been featured in a compilation CD titled Afrikan Poets Society as well as performed at the presidential inauguration 2004 and has toured Cuba and Jamaica. Mac has a published a book titled "If Only", which was edited by Don Mattera

Funky Live bands

Kwani Experience
The Kwani Experience is a six piece musical ensemble made up of a lead female vocalist, a lyricist/poet, a pianist, a drummer, a bassist and a percussionist who come from a diverse sphere of backgrounds across Jozi. Kwani Experience sets no boundaries when it comes to performance and presentation, and in collaboration with other young skilled artists they fuse music with other art disciplines, to create the audio-visual experience that is Kwani.
Kwani Experience - producers of sense stimulatory experiences.

The BLKJCKS
The BLKJCKS have little to offer but glimmer and awe, they feel what they do has always existed and just lacked the media attention to manifest its existence, young black and ready to conquer the impurities of this industry, they fuse rock (and roll), with jazz, afro pop, blues, funk, and kwaito doing it like they never existed on this planet for the last 40 years, they've come to free everyone from the shackles of modern convention and to show what possibilities lie in open-mindedness and tolerance.

Their music is full of surprises, emotion and character. A soulful mixture of socially conscious ballads to whisky drenched blues of relationship hangovers, to south African protest songs done in distorted guitar and lyrics explaining the abuse of freedom and yuppie wet dreams of the new generation, the Blkjcks are here for a reason long unfulfilled and to ensure literacy and quality in south african pop music today

DeeJays

Sista Matic 
This is one of the tightest Dj's on the jozi scene. Having grown under the influence of projects such as The One Love Movement and the vibe of Le Club (before before) Tumi is a pioneering sister who started dj'ing from the early age of sixteen. She has since earned respect from her male counterparts in numerous underground Hip Hop events where she flexed her skillz on the decks. She recently returned from Belgium, where she played for a massive crowd that attended a film festival.

Khoi
This brotha has been on the Hip Hop scene from long before before. He was one of the pioneers behind the Tembisa Hip Hop movement where they ran a Hip Hop sessions at a joint called Ziniko. A member of the crew Kwabulawayo Kraal which reigned supreme in the east rand and beyond during the times of Le Club and Rap Activity jam, they were one of the first crews to come with a Hip Hop album in African Languages. He has worked tirelessly in the East Rand and featured in the Touchbase tour.

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