#BeautifulSpaces - Misael

I love being in beautiful surroundings. Actually I think the purpose of life is the discovery and experience of beauty in all it's forms. That's really what it's all about, and what better place than a creative and inspiring space in a historic building in the heart of Cape Town.

Easily one of my favourite hang out spots in the city, Misael, is a breathe of fresh air and I always leave feeling amazed - food, art, design, fashion and music all in one.

Situated on Bree Street (103b Bree Street), Misael is more than you'd expect and more than you've experienced. It is not a traditional gallery / cocktail bar / fashion shop or anything else used to describe ordinary - it is rather a creative space filled with innovation, where you can browse, eat, drink and relax.

Fashion / Art / Food / Design / - take a bite out of life and inhale beauty, you won't regret it.

Oh, and they host wicked parties! Plus Ayanda Holo is one heck of an interesting character who never turns down an engaging conversation on just about any subject matter.

The Big 25

Turning 25 years young tomorrow

Feeling nervous about it, but strangely calm and looking forward to the next phase of life.

I really would have loved to be in Tanzania for my birthday - swimming with dolphins, but alas, that will have to wait for me to work hard and make it happen before turning 26.

Happy Birthday to me!

Dreamers recognise dreamers

"Game recognises game and you look mad familiar" - remixed by Hardy Mac

Today has been one of the most incredible days. Thanks to everyone involved!

LessonLearnt: #LiveFearlessly, #BeOriginal #BelieveInYourDreams

The universe will come together to make it happen, just dream, believe and fly!

The Ill Skillz 24hr Project: Skillz that pay the billz album

Much love

#24hr Project: The Style Grind

Style me fresh and fierce

Hip hop is a lifestyle, a movement, and multi faceted, multi dimensional exploration of expression. That said we need to pause and take note of the visual creativity also brought into the game, in this case, Ill Skillz styling

Stylists Nonhlanhla and Kaitlin of Tiger Lily came on board to make sure our boyz were in top form for the video shoot and photo shoot elements of the #SkillzThatPayTheBillz 24 hr Project

TigerLily's inspiration was to capture the progress and growth of the urban legends Jimmy Flexx and Uno July. How their love for Hip Hop has moved with them through their journey from school boys to young creative intellects

Having sourced from main sponsors Head Honcho and Gallery on 4th (Nike) to getting stylists own accessories as well as gems from vintage space Seventies80's the story of Illiterate Skill was told.

Nonhlanhla says todays project has been an amazing learning curve and an eye opener, in that it is possible for young creatives to share a space, making a mark in history and leaving a stamp on the art of being revolutionaries. The 24hr Project brought so many different kinds of people together, working hard towards and without hesitation on unchartered territory.

IT HAS BEEN AMAZING!

The images from Photo Shoot are going to be used on the album cover.

Photographer: Max

Stylist: nonhlanhla.mditshwa@gmail.com

#24hr Project: Cape Town Festival Performance

There are no other words to describe this day other than pure and burning dedication

As IllSkillz say "Let's get buzy and totally bezerk!!!"

After the video shoot, en route back to the studio, a supercharged performance at this years Cape Town Festival was on the cards

The boyz rocked the crowds, and left them buzzing...

Zaki Ibrahim and 5th Floor were also a part of the line up - you know they killed it

Check out the rest of the Cape Town Festival programme over the weekend 19 - 21 March!

Thanks to Max Matshane for images

#24hr Project: ProVerb collaboration

Hip hop has no boundaries!

Under a veil of secrecy, the man himself could not be kept away from the magnetism of the 24hr Project. You can't chain creative innovation

Let's give a round of applause to PROVERB!

He's just landed in Cape Town from Joburg, with one purpose and one purpose alone - to make history with Illiterate Skill!

He hasn't heard any of the other tracks, his plan is to let the powerful energy bubbling over in the Red Bull Studios guide and inspire him. Currently listening to one of the beats available, ProVerb getting ready to blow up the mic on the eighth track of the day! Can't wait to hear it.

Check out ProVerb for more info - this right here is a busy man!

If you fancy, you can follow him twitter too

#CapeTownWins! #Skillzthatpaythebillz

24hr Project: The design grind

Everyone has a role to play to make this groundbreaking initiative come to life; from the artists, the producers, the online gurus, the photographers, the engineers and even the spectators who are keeping the energy alive are also on the grind.

Today is all about doing what you love and loving what you do...

One of the players is graphic designer extraordinaire Mzoxolo Gcwabe. Head Honcho creative director has offered his services to create the CD design and album cover for Ill Skillz - Skillz That Pay The Billz 24 hr Project

Check out a preview of one of the options:

Max and Urban Mosadi are doing a photo shoot right now for the CD artwork so we all have to hold on just a bit longer to see final product

Loving the creativity!

#24hrProject: The Video Shoot

Skillz that pay the billz 24 hour Project is pulling into the final phase

A break was taken from the Studio recording at the Red Bull Studios for the duo to head out to one of the locations for the video shoot, at Newlands Forest in Cape Town to make it happen. Styled up fresh by Head Honcho street style brand and Nike sneaks thanks to Gallery On 4th, nothing could stop Ill Skillz on this blazing trail

The setting was perfect, the light right and artists on point.

This is truly what is means to be a slave to your vision. Passion takes a hold and only the sky is the limit.

Look out for the video on Vuzu.TV and KIMradio soon

#PhotoBooth: 24 Hour Album

The day that will forever be a part of history - a first for South Africa, creatives rocking the flow and racing against the clock. - The 24hr album!

It's not all hard work though, sometimes we gotta let the hair down.

Max Le Guerrilla Grapher hooked up The #Photobooth of some of the people involved...

My new fav earrings - R50 note

Darren - drummer for the band. Earlier they laced some sounds

which Jimmy Flexx and Uno July will be using as one of the 10 tracks

No intro needed, just check out her blog - Urban Mosadi

Akio - One of Cape Town's foremost Hip Hop DJ's on the scene

Mr KIMRADIO = Sizwe Mogale. He's been working hard on uploading

podcasts to Vuzu.TV all through the day

Ayanda aka firstandfourth host of HitTV

Ms Kitsi has been interviewing artists and producers all day

Her posts will up on HitTV soon

Check out more pictures from today - Ill Skillz Pay The Billz

So much fun. So much energy.

#SkillzThatPayTheBillz - The 24hr album

Can they do it? Has it ever been done before ?

“The Skillz that pay the billz” has been the line Illiterate Skillz has coined for the momentum of this mission impossible type endeavor. Recording a ten-track album, conceptualizing and shooting a video and doing a photo shoot and more all in the space on 24 hours. To top it all off there’ll be a launch party at Mersey bar within those twenty-four hours for this album. I call it crazy, but that’s why we love the Ill Skillz boys.

Collaborations include greats such Proverb, Zaki Ibrahim, Stan1 and a few others. This is a momentous event.

Downloadable album will be up on vuzu.tv later tonight! for now check out the live reporting on the activities

Keep an eye out on the following links for more info, pics and videos:

Hardy McQueen - Let’s call him the one making it happen

Max The Photographer - On the go pictures

Ayanda - creating content for Vuzu TV

Sizwe – podcasts of the days happenings for KIM Radio

Jimmy and Uno – Ill Skillz

It all began at 5am, it’s now 10am, two tracks down and the creative juices still flowing

I’ll be at the Red Bull Studios a little later to check it out… and pester the boys

Thanks to The Guerrilla Grapher Max for images

Say Whaat?

They say, T-Shirts aren't just T-Shirts, they are statements!

Here are a few I really like:

Mome always fresh.

Oldie but goodie - finest natural bankie

Apt now that Die Antwoord are making big in the interweb

I love this - want it in a vest

Funny around election time last year.. now not so much

Check the Heineken tag...

It's David Guetta's party label, but f*ck it's hot "f*** me I'm famous"

#CreativeActivist: The Suede Man

There’s something about Suede – You either love him or you hate him and that is your own choice. He is a mystery, yet he is an open book if you know how to read inspiration.

I could tell you so much; but wouldn’t know where to start. He’s just an amazing person, a friend and a mentor – choosing to be in his life means being ready to taste your own bullshit because he will pass you a mirror and tell you your truths

What Suede does? I don’t know. What Suede doesn’t do? I don’t know. What I do know is that he is just one of those people you will not forget when your paths cross. He is creatively minded, all about execution and making things happen. Having been a photographer for some of music's greats (and still is), he is also a producer, event director, writer, marketer, and just about anything else that has the words passion and inspired...

Follow him on twitter: IamSuede and you can decide why he’s called Suede…

So there it is – my first post on ‘Creative Activists’ this life has blessed me with

#CreativeActivists

A few weeks ago I went to a workshop during Design Indaba 2010 that the Cape Town Fashion Council hosted. The theme was looking in our own backyard for fashion inspiration. Anyway, they had a nice panel of speakers and at the end the question and answer bit got a little heated with fashion designers in the audience getting a little riled up.

Nkhensani (I love this woman) was a panel speaker, as a representative of her design label Stoned Cherrie, and during her talk said something about being a Creative Activist. This 'title' stuck with me - to the point that I wanted run out and get myself business cards with this title. The next best thing though - I'm starting a section on the blog called Creative Activists dedicated to people striving for creative excellence in any field. Some will be in depth interviews, some just nods to people who deserve the credit..

#LiveFearlessly

#Picture This: A night to remember

We were partying it up at The Waiting Room on Long Street last week...

There's a lot about this picture that has sooo many memories for me. I giggle every time I look at it.


I'll try break it down as best as I can.


Earrings:
These were my favourite earrings in the whole world. Note that past tense of 'were' - you see, I lost them that night. How, I really don't know and I think it best that I don't dwell too much on the fact that they are gone forever! I had bought them about 3 years ago from a guy on the 'promenade' in camps bay, Cape Town. Back when they allowed street vendors to sell their wares on the street. They looked like little bamboo birds nests, and sometimes looked like light balls on elastic bands all rolled up together hanging off my ear. The birds nests were my most effortless complicated statements. The search for a new pair statements begins!

HHP aka Jabba:
Motswako artists, one of South Africa's best hip hop artists, the Jabba man who makes Xhosa girls like me recite Tshwana raps as if it was our mother tongue. Oh the many times I have mimicked word for word in a language I don't quite have my tongue wrapped around. We met in Salvador, Brazil, connected on the tour bus back from a historical tour of Bahia, became friends and every time we see each other have so much to catch up on in short bursts of time. Our meeting reminds me of that Roots track with Erykah Badu- You Got Me 'somebody told me that this planet was small....and never met before til I'm overseas on tour' ( yes, I have paraphrased). We are both always commenting on how we had to be in a different country to really meet and talk and find that we could be friends. I imagine that is difficult when you have more fans than friends.

He performed that night, it was fantastic, even though the sound got a bit messed up...


Don't mind the cigarettes, I'm a smoker, I like it. I'm so thankful for the three or four balcony areas at The Waiting Room (that's where the picture was taken).



I had so much fun that night, it was just blissful. It was ecstasy. It was silly. It was loud. It was quiet. It was simple and complicated. It was memorable for how easily it happened. That, pure bliss without exaggerated drama or false agendas is why I love Cape Town