Read This

By now, every South African household should own at least one copy of I Write What I Like. No dog ears, please. There's not much I can say about the collection of Steve Biko writings but I reckon if you're old enough to read and care about your place in the world, you should read this. Go ahead.

Whose Rhyme Is It Anyway?

Cool Gin-i-Grindith pic taken from HERE

This week has been a tough one on the bodies. Just ask Dude, he'll tell you. The staying out late, waking up early and eating Rice Krispies in between sipping on Red Bull will catch up with you. Before it's even Friday. Anyway, on Wednesday, Dude and I got to do something really fun. We made our way through that scary ass storm and headed to Grayscale Gallery. Yeah, that's the store/gallery that is owned and run by artist-extraordinair and a cool guy in general, Rusty.

So we were all amped to be attending a show called Whose Rhyme Is It Anyway? Twenty Mr Sweet jelly beans for you if you guessed that it's modelled after the popular US improv show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, except they use rhyme. And there's no Wayne Brady, thank goodness. The idea was for all the freestyle kings in Johannesburg to come through and play some improv games - NOT battle.

So then the games began. Breeze Yoko was the host for the evening and provided a few laughs. However, it was the rappers who partook in the showing of freestyle finesse that were hilarious. Don't get me wrong, there were some pretty awe-inspiring moments (coming up with GOOD RHYMES off the top of your head is no small feat) and times that warranted a Rap 101 approved "ooooohhh" accompanied with a scrunched up face.

But, at least to The Ordinary Girl, it was the carefree and fun way that the rappers delivered the impromptu scenarios they were placed in that was most enjoyable. Shape Shifter and his dope dreadlocked partner (please forgive me, Breeze didn't tell us your name) were good sports. Really dope gentlemen. But Gin-i-Grindith was king. Maybe it's because he's had overseas experience with the games he asked everyone to partake in. Or maybe it's because he's just that dope.

The Ordinary Girl even got to play along in a 30 Seconds-like segment of the show and Gin-i-Grindith's wit and precision made it easy and friggin cool to guess the words. In general, the crowd in attendance was madd cool. No pretense, everyone was there to share laughs and figure out Whose Rhyme Is It Anyway?

Word is this is meant to be a monthly gig, here's hoping it happens. Support good SA hip hop blaggers and blaggettes.

Bump This. Now.

The promo mix for DJ Hamma's debut album, Ctrl Alt Del, hit the nets today! Best believe when we tell you that you want to hear this. The 25 minute-long tape features some original material from some of the country's finest lyricists. Truth and no lies, peep the tracklist:

1. Intro - (Dj Hamma)
2. Calendar Girl (Dj Hamma)
3. Turn Me Down (Dj Hamma ft. Hishaam, Optic, Jbuxx)
4. Still Got Love - (Dj Hamma ft. Reasonthemass)
5. We Like To Party (Dj Hamma ft. Reasonthemass, Amunishun)
6. Gimme Music (Dj Hamma ft. Reasonthemass, EJ Von LyriC, RJ Benjamin)
7. Mad World (Dj Hamma ft. Zubz Tha Last Letta, Jitsvinger, Hakeem, Tumi, HHP)
8. Verify The Truth (Dj Hamma ft. Zubz Tha Last Letta, Jbuxx)
9. My Life (Dj Hamma ft. Zubz Tha Last Letta, J-Sumthing)
10. The Operator (Dj Hamma)
11. Anniversary Theme (Dj Hamma ft. Hishaam, RJ Benjamin)
12. Everyday Shit (Dj Hamma ft. Ben Sharpa, Nathalie)
13. Instinctive (Dj Hamma)
14. Line for Line (Dj Hamma ft. Dj B-Cut, Dj Pacman)

We're not mad at that at all. Bump Ctrl Alt Del. Now.
You can download it on Divshare (click on that word right there) when the boss isn't looking.

Random Ramblings

While doing the usual social network lurking, Dude's lifetime fantasy woman, Claire Mawisa popped up. Claire is on Facebook? Wow. Anyway, in case you needed reminding on why Claire Mawisa should be made a national treasure and why some of us are breathing sighs of relief that Claire is babymomma-ed up (even though that didn't take her Halle status down a few notches) and unavailable, here it is. You're welcome.

PS: The Hype Awards recap and footage is coming soon, we haven't forgotten about it.