Tuesday, 10 January 2023

LANGA @ 100

Cape Town Rapper Boolz Takes Over Langa For 'Aphe Kapa' [Behind-The-Scenes]

Cape Town Rude World Records rapper Boolz takes over Langa for the "Aphe Kapa" music video shot by The Visual Content Gang.

All photos by The Visual Content Gang (The VCG)

On a colourful day pumped up with BMX, hot pink catsuits, “smileys” (cooked sheep heads) and car washes, Cape Town-based rapper/producer Boolz took over the Langa township to shoot the video for "Aphe Kapa." The single comes from his latest EP, Bring Tha Hate, the follow-up to his 2013 debut, SOS/Straight Outta Skom. The EP, which was produced alongside Terrasoul, resulted in Boolz being signed earlier this year by Cape Town label Rude World Records. With a new single, "Ekasi," set to drop on the 15th of this month, Boolz is rising fast in the city and beyond.

The "Aphe Kapa" video, shot by audio-visual heavyweights The VCG, features cameos by some of the city’s most notable and talented creatives, such as the outspoken Dope Saint Jude, director Chris Kets, art sexpert Laura Windvogel (aka Lady $kollie), Swiss beatsmith import Maloon TheBoom and graffiti champion Skubalisto. Like the video, Boolz's new album is fresh, clean-and-concisely put together with hints of trap, kwaito, electronic downbeat and rap true to the artist’s no-fear personality. Read our short Q&A with the video's director, Takezito below, and see above for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look on the set of "Aphe Kape" with Boolz and the VCG.

Shiba for Okayafrica: What's your take on Cape Town as a creative space for musicians like Boolz and the people who make things happen for the scene such as you guys at the VCG [The Visual Content Gang]?

Takezito: Cape Town is a great place to come up with ideas, but not that great for executing them. There's lots of meetings and networking sessions, but not any financial or productive assistance– just a lot of talk. We're tackling this by taking a guerrilla/street approach to producing material that speaks to the masses in Cape Town. There is a lot of circle jerking in this city but there are underground platforms like Cold Turkey and YOH! that give a platform to up-and-coming talent and keeps the music scene innovative.

OKA: What was putting together the overall production like? Who was involved and how do you feel about the finished product?

Takezito: It was a really smooth, but tough process – lots of hard work but all the stars aligned to make it happen. I did a lot of the work myself, as is common with any passion project I undertake (I like to get my hands dirty) but I had a great core team working with me who helped the hustle and everyone played their part. My Assistant Director, Chris Kets, helped me push the concept and did a lot of hustling. Lady$Kollie made sure that we got the right aesthetic feel in the video by sourcing and producing the props and casting key people such Jana 'Babez' Terblance who plays the unusual video vixen. Tracy-Lee Rosslind did an amazing job of getting and making the freshest styling. My business and creative partner Zunaid The Editor annihilated the edit and second camerawork. Skubalisto did a dope job on the graf. Zahier Isaacs, founder and maker at Fly Wheel Chariots supplied his hand-made bikes, which made the video pop. Also, when you're in the kasi, there's always someone who has what you need and is willing to help out - this video would not be possible without the help of Boolz' clique who were basically the crew and cast of the video. Last but not least, Zunaid's wife, Angelique, did the catering because at The Visual Content Gang it's always a family affair - we like to keep it #GangRelated. We are all extremely proud of the outcome of our combined efforts.

OKA: Lastly, what would you like viewers to take from the track and video once they've seen it?

Takezito: That Cape Town is more than just pretty scenery – there's a lot of real life going on too that sometimes gets lost in the touristy vibe. There's a bit of underlying meaning or thought-starters in the video for people to consider if they want to analyse it, which I hope some do. There's a bit of race and gender concepts in there. A bit of cultural dichotomies, maybe. But at the end of the day, this is a music video so I want people to be left thinking: Boolz is the shit and Cape Town is the shit and we're having fun doing what we want and love. "Aphe Kapa Sizpholele, Aphe Kapa Sizmamele!"

OkayAfrica

KWAITO STARS from Langa

Producer's POV: DJ Fosta & DJ OD

Watch DJ Fosta & DJ OD lay down an uptempo kwaito track at their home studio in Langa, Cape Town.

Written by Themba Kriger

1 min readPublished on 15.11.2017 · 10:49 UTC+2

4 minProducer's POV: DJ Fosta & DJ OD

Heading up 021 Records out of Langa, Cape Town, DJ Fosta and DJ OD are helping shape Cape Town's house, kwaito and sjoko joko scene. Rooted in musicianship and live performance, the two create tracks for the dance floor using a combination of live samples and synthesis. Watch as they show their thought process as they put together the track "It's a Party" and listen to the full track below.

SOURCE: https://www.redbull.com/za-en/Producers%20POV%20DJ%20Fosta%20%20DJ%20OD

Monday, 9 January 2023

More than100 WiFi towers launched by Google South Africa across Langa & surrounds

Tech

07 Nov 2019

Langa, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu residents can now get unlimited free WiFi through Google

Business Insider SA

James de Villiers ,

Residents on the Cape Flats are now able to access unlimited free WiFi through Google.
Google launched the service at 100 locations on Thursday, hoping to uplift some of the most vulnerable communities in Cape Town.
It also announced a R14.7 million investment to support the economic empowerment of girls and women.
Go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za for more.

Cape Flats residents across Cape Town now have access to unlimited free WiFi through Google.

Over 100 WiFi towers, called Google Stations, were launched by Google South Africa across Langa, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Delft, Elsies River, and Philippi on Thursday.

Google Africa director Nitin Gajria said the areas represent some of the most under-served communities in the country, with high unemployment and crime rates.

“By gaining access to information via the internet, we hope that people in these communities will get a more equal opportunity to learn and develop and live more empowered lives,” Gajria said.

@Google 4 South Africa Event "Google Station" free public wifi access 24hrs in SA in 100 locations including townships & remote areas @thinkfreewifi partners to this incredible project pic.twitter.com/zrje27vBYs
— Diana Schwarz / Diana Schwarz Attorneys (@DianaSchwarz81) November 7, 2019

Google said the WiFi will be accessible in residences, public areas, universities, transportation hubs and shopping malls.

Alongside its WiFi rollout, Google also announced a $1 million (roughly R14.7 million) investment in South Africa to support the economic empowerment of girls and women.

Business Insider South Africa previously reported that Cell C is hoping to use lamp posts, bus stops, transport hubs and council-owned buildings in Cape Town as WiFi hotspots.

The telecommunications company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the City of Cape Town last October, but no timelines for the project were given.

LANGA HOCKEY

Langa township's hockey talent gives them stick

Wednesday 14 May 2014 - 7:25am

CAPE TOWN - In 1960, the eyes of the world were on South Africa during the political turmoil, which saw many lives lost in townships such as Sharpville and Langa.

Sport has played a pivotal role in helping Langa overcome its challenges since those dark days of apartheid.

Today the battlefields of the past have been turned into playing grounds by teams like Langa Hockey Club.

The club is also proud of being the only one in a township in South Africa that has an astro turf.

Hockey was first introduced to Langa by the late South African cricket coach Bob Woolmer in 1987.

Woolmer, who used to run cricket coaching clinics in the township, wanted his cricketers to stay active during the cricket off-season.

He achieved a real coup by introducing a sport which is rarely played in most of South Africa’s disadvantaged communities.

The Langa hockey club&39;s story is one that brings hope to a community that continues to strive for a positive future despite many of its past and present challenges.

Its aim now is to continue striving for excellence in a sport that is still unknown in many of the country’s poor communities.

As eNCA reporter Ronald Masinda shows, there’s a plethora of hockey talent in Langa - watch his video report in the gallery above.

Friday, 6 January 2023

allevents.in LANGA

Concerts in Langa 2023

Line Ups, Schedules, Tickets And Concert Events In Langa

Music to ears is like a soul to life. Escape the monotonous life and find pieces of you by attending live music events, festivals and concerts in Langa. From classical music to jazz to pop to heavy metal to EDM to rock concerts in Langa, it is a much complex classification lineup, yet a religion that unites all. Love to groove on the thrilling number of your favorite artists?

Embark on a musical journey with your dear ones. Explore music events in Langa.

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We couldn't find Concerts in Langa at the moment. .

Concerts in Nearby Cities

Jan 07

Volmaanpiekniek | Full Moon Picnic
Afrikaanse Taalmonument Sat Jan 07 2023 at 05:00 pm
Jan 08

Goldfish at Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concerts
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Sun Jan 08 2023 at 05:15 pm
Jan 14

Sterrekykpiekniek | Stargazing Picnic
Afrikaanse Taalmonument Sat Jan 14 2023 at 06:00 pm

Jan 19

Doc Maclean with Basson Laubscher

Die Boer Thu Jan 19 2023 at 08:00 pm

Jan 15

Mango Groove at Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concerts

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Sun Jan 15 2023 at 05:15 pm

Jan 28

Piekniekkonsert | Picnic Concert: The Rockets

Afrikaanse Taalmonument Sat Jan 28 2023 at 08:00 pm

Jan 06

Silo Concerts in partnership with Hendricks Gin - This Thing Called Swing

Silo District V & A Waterfront Fri Jan 06 2023 at 07:00 pm

Jan 22

The Cape Town Opera at Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concerts

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Sun Jan 22 2023 at 05:15 pm

Feb 25

Jazz Piekniek | Picnic

Afrikaanse Taalmonument Sat Feb 25 2023 at 06:00 pm

Top Music Concert Places in Langa

Music lovers who always seek for some amazing concerts and music festivals, we have listed concert venues to make it easy for you to find music events.
Explore Concert Venues in Langa that host music festivals & concerts:

The Novalis Ubuntu Institute
Guga Sthebe
WPCCAvenue DeMist Rondebosch, 7700 Cape Town, Western Cape
Guga S´thebe Cultural Centre
Groote Schuur High School
Gaia Spring Fayre 2019
School of Rock Claremont
Pinelands High School
Oude Molen Technical High School
Irma Stern Museum
Hoghouse
Athlone, Western Cape, South Africa
House of Yoga
SOURCE: https://allevents.in/langa/concerts#

LANGA RUGBY

Rugby’s Field of Dreams in Langa

Vusa Rugby Academy in Langa is helping youngsters stay away from social ills with the game. Photo: Supplied

Published Mar 30, 2019

There is an awakening happening every day in Langa – and it is as stimulating for the mind as it is heart-warming for the soul.

It happens at the Vusa Rugby Academy, where the Langa Stadium has been turned into the field of dreams.

Langa is a township whose people know hardship, know struggle and know gang violence. In 2017 the township was hard-hit by ‘Gurans’, which is a name given to a fight between two feuding gangs.

Youngsters were targeted and remain a target. The streets, at certain times of the day, scream danger. The destructive gang influence is an ongoing presence.

Vusa gives boys an escape from those streets where gang fame so often turns to shame. Vusa every year upskills 120 youngsters, aged nine to 13, from five primary schools in Langa.

These boys, instead of being vulnerable to the elements on the streets, are strengthened by a structured post-school rugby and education programme.

Vusa means to awaken - and that was exactly the intention of Bishops Prep’s Brendan Fogarty when he launched an Academy, whose mission statement was to change a life more than to exclusively improve a rugby skill.

Fogarty is the inspiration for the Vusa Academy but he attributes the success to Langa community leaders and the passion from within these leaders to invest time and energy in each boy.

The rewards are obvious because so many of the young boys who arrived as nine and 10 year-olds are still involved with rugby in Langa. As many as 12 former Vusa Academy players are playing for the local Busy Bee RFC under 18s.

It’s a statistic which delights Fogarty.

“To see the likes of Mahle Mgqoboka, Lingelihle Ndabaninzi, Mbongo Sophasa, Siyamanga Sam, Sanele Mdumata, Thabo Tyantsi, Yanga Wambi, Thembile Justice, Aphumelele Sithole, Anga Nobetbe, Likhona Jezile and Nzwana Manentsa revelling in the U-18s just makes it all so worthwhile,” says Fogarty. “And then there’s a player like Siviwe Kewana who is on a scholarship at SACS and plays for the U-16As.”

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Fogarty insists the rugby component is a snapshot of the true value of the Academy because education and the opportunity to change lives is fundamental to the motivation of the Vusa leadership.

Vusa is about creating opportunities for the boys. It’s about rugby and learning. For the group who train on the Monday, there’s a group in the Leap School classroom being tutored in Maths and English. On the Tuesday the respective groups trade places, and so it goes for Wednesday and Thursday.

The Fridays are traditionally about an activity outside of Langa and an emphasis is on social growth. Saturday is match day and Sunday is the only day the Academy isn’t operational.

Fogarty’s Bishops Prep is aligned closely with Vusa and learning opportunities take place in Langa and also at Bishops Prep. The essence of Vusa is to develop structures and people within the community. It’s about making a community proud of their community.

It’s about showing there is more to an environment than hardship, struggle and violence. Vusa is about excellence and reward. It is about change and reward.

Youngsters in action for for Vusa Rugby Academy. Photo: Supplied

Fogarty’s dream is to create hubs of excellence in communities where talent can be nurtured in a safe stimulating environment.

“From creche to tertiary and beyond Rise by lifting needs to be our mantra in South Africa,” says Fogarty, who believes no programme can succeed unless education is coupled to the sporting component.

He has experienced the transformation of those nine-year-old boys, who have prospered into fine young teenagers; youngsters who give back to the next generation of nine-year-olds through mentoring, example and presence at training sessions. “Vusa could not work if the community didn’t believe in it,” says Fogarty. ‘It’s an Academy that had to speak to the community and operationally be driven from within the community.”

The vision may have been his, but the execution of that vision is a collective. Corporate inclusion is non-negotiable because of the financial considerations. Investec Asset Management, KEPU Trading, and Shoprite are among the financial and product partners.

Bishops, UCT and African Impact share facilities and human skills. Capitec covers part of the academic programme. Regular attendance is essential to the Academy and no boy is ever turned away. Rugby isn’t the only consideration: the boy who may not have the best pass, may have the best academic mind.

It’s about promoting safety and comfort. It’s about giving a home to boys after school. It’s about them knowing that there is a life beyond the streets.

“The more the youngsters see the older boys succeed and create something magical, the greater the desire from each new youngster to be that older boy. Critically, it’s about them having an environment in which everything is done to make each boy a better human being.”

Several boys have been offered bursaries to traditional rugby-playing schools. It’s an inevitable consequence of any Academy, but the primary motivation for Vusa is to make rugby in Langa stronger and to keep the players in Langa. It is about building strength from within and not necessarily being a nursery for wealthier and more privileged schools.

It’s about giving those boys hope, as much as it is about opportunity.

Vusa recently thrilled at the Paarl Boys Primary’s rugby festival. The Langa Academy won 14 of their 16 matches in the U-11 and U-13 divisions. They were awarded the trophy for the most enterprising team and also the most attractive rugby played.

For all the boys, it was their first ever visit to a rugby festival in Paarl.

For Fogarty, it is only the start.

He wants to take them to Port Elizabeth later this year, along with Springbok captain and Vusa ambassador Siya Kolisi. He wants them to experience the cultural side of touring and playing rugby against schools from another province.

Mostly, he wants to show each boy what is possible when you dream big and work hard to make those dreams come true.

@mark_keohane

Independent on Saturday

LANGA RUGBY

A Cape Town township gets a great boost for its future rugby stars

Credit: Visa Rugby and Learning Academy

The Vusa Rugby Academy in Langa is supported by Bishops and managed by the Bishops Prep Head of Rugby who aims to nurture and support all future rugby stars.

The Vusa Rugby Academy was established in 2002 to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds realise their rugby dreams and work on their talents. The Academy has worked in partnership with Bishops for years and the pairing has meant great success.

The programme is run from the Langa sports complex on a daily basis and children are able to come through and join in on the practices and life skills exercises. The boys focus on their academics before kitting up for rugby practice.

“The programme is run on a daily basis. Boys walk down from their respective schools to Langa stadium and from there will split up into our sporting group and our academic group. It’s a dual programme.” – Brendan Fogerty, Master in Charge of Rugby at Bishops and Vusa Coordinator

The programme not only uplifts the youth but also the adults from Langa.

“We employ about 15 young adults from the Langa community who are ex-rugby players or current rugby players who do the coaching.” – Brendan Fogerty

Since its founding, the programme has had the pleasure of seeing one of its own make the Springbok Rugby Squad. Children with an outstanding talent for rugby have the chance at a bursary to Bishops and each child is given the opportunity to see a brighter future.

Recently, 4 of the young boys from the programme were given the opportunity to be the Ball Boys for Ikey Tigers University of Cape Town opening Varsity Cup match against Wits.

Their 2017 achievements speak for themselves. Take a look below:

One of our top athletes took up a bursary for Grade 9 at SACS High School.
We have reached our target of fielding two teams per age group.
We have joined the Western Province League.
We have won 70% of our games.
Our programme has become a safe, caring home away from home for many children.

You can find out more about the Vusa Rugby Academy here.