The Basha Uhuru Freedom Festival kicked of on a high with Live Magazine and the British Council Connect ZA hosting a Creative Hustles in collaboration with Constitution Hill and Kalashnikov Gallery, the session were on the creative and artistic process. The festival held over three days was nothing short of excitement and the last day, as is tradition with finales of any festival, was certainly a highlight and one for the history books. The line up featured some of South Africa’s most talented artists.
The finale was spectacular indeed, all the artists who performed gave it their all, this showed in the crowds applause, act after act.
Main Stage performances
8 Bars Short gave us a beautiful acoustic set, which even in an open air stage sounded amazing and clean, something we’ve seen big acoustic bands fail to deliver. The crowd stood (well jumped) up in applause asking for more, as they gave us another 8 bars of good music.
Okmalumkoolkat was another performer that had the crowd turning up with his catchy raps and bumpy beats. He did his well known Taxi Driver dance move, with him playing the pied piper and the crowd mimicking his every move. His stage presence is captivating and he manages to raise the bar of his live performances every time I see him perform.
The ‘Under Dog’ Riky Rick also came on stage with absolute heat. His new single Fok Julle Naaiers had people just going insane when the beat dropped. It’s like an anthem that anybody can relate to, and the chorus? Anybody would love shouting those words out, they are empowering, in a turn-up kind of way.
The Brother Moves On? Oh sh*t!! They possibly had the best set of the night! They had everyone in a trance, funny thing is the lead singer was MIA but the quality of their sound wasn’t affected at all, though I worry about that leggings game they’re on, I’m still not sure about men in leggings.
Big brother Tumi never disappoints, this man was born with a mic and endless raps in his heart. We always ask ourselves why some artists are respected so much but are hardly in our faces like the new kids, his set was the answer to that question. His performance separated the mediocre rappers from the true artists, personally that’s a set that any relevant rapper should take tips from. He came on stage in a cloak looking like a big black red ridding hood, but damn the music he performed made him turn from red ridding hood to superman in an instant.
Overall the cold weather didn’t deter people from celebrating the festival and enjoying the performances, the energy was on high from the first performance to the last. Lazola Gola wasn’t too bad a host either, till next year, I will have the memory of this year’s successful edition.
S/O to Desmond and the Tutus, Skelemton, Noka Kikulu and Christian Tiger School, these folks held it down proper too!
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Photography by @Ric3hard
