Vision issue 12

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editors note 4 South african tech start ups to watch in 2017 YouTube: TV’s dagger to the chest Cover Story: Kid Tini: The Bully With The Pen

I A M A F R I C A N.

BY BLANK COLLECTION

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Editor’s note 3

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udup Internet natives, we back with another one for you to chew on. On this month’s issue we focus on the normal fasion, mu­ sic, and technology BUT we focus on everything internet. First of we look at 4 of the most succssful internet companies, then we check out the various Youtube success stories. We check out Kid Tini and his internet fame and check out the Blank Collec­ tion for our fashion segment. So stay locked and peep the Vsion.

Till Next Issue Totem

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4 south african tech companies to watch

T

echnology is a global phenomenon and it has opened

Since then the company has been growing

doors for profitale ventures. countries like China, Amer­

at a rapid pace, apparently raising US$4­

ica, Russia etc have made their mark in the global economy and have boasted the success of their tech companies. South Africa is starting to participate in this global phenomenon by

million from Naspers in 2014 and an undis­ closed amount from Venturra Capital in 2015.

Luno first started as a trading platform but it has since expanded into purchasing airtime

taking part in innovation, the tech companies will be discuss­

using bitcoins It is reported this year, the com­

ing are the top 10 ones you need to watch out for.

pany has already taken a lead forward by shed­

1. Luno

ding off the technical name of BitX

I personally use there app for trading and money transac­ tions. Luno or BitX is one of the most popular Bitcoin wal­ lets worldwide, Luno launched out of Stellenbosch in 2013.

and adopting the more consumer­ friendly name of Luno. The company is also ex­ panding into the UK.

2.Delvv.io This is a crowdsourcing company that aims at providing feed­ back to products of brands/agencies through its innova­ tive crowdsourcing systems. It was reported by ventureburn that in May 2016, Delvv.io received an R2­million cash injec­ tion from veteran investor Kevin Gaskell, and another R6.5­ million raised by SA VC HAVAIC and Gaskell later in the year. This means they will be a force to be reckoned with in the tech industry.

3.iKhokha iKhokha deviated from other fintech startups by cracking the con­ sumer market when it rolled out PoS terminals for purchas­ es in Game stores across the country.

Months after this announcement, iKhokha doubled up on its offering by al­

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SIDE NOTE: Luno is the easiest app to use for bitcoin trading out there .

lowing merchants to receive cash advancements to help grow its busi­ nesses. Three months after this announcement iKhokha part­ nered with Mastercard to try and roll out 700 PoS terminals to business­ es within informal settlements

4.OfferZen Started by brothers Malan and Philip Joubert, Offer­ Zen burst onto the SA startup scene last year. Tak­ ing what they had learned in Silicon Valley, the pair started this curat­ ed job platform just for programmers and technical specialists.

Just months after launching, OfferZen saw phenome­ nal growth and helped 250 companies find employees through the plat­ form. This included the likes of Superbalist, Takealot, and Snapscan

the scripter

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TV’s dagger to the chest by deluxe

one are the days where we’d wait for the 20:00 slot for the likes of Generations to play on SABC, the truth is that the internet has gradually taken over any form of network in the world. Television and radio alike. It’s no surprise that YouTube runs at the forefront of all of this, the Google owned platform has done two things that traditional media; 1) total freedom for content creation and 2) access to any content at any time. In this digital age no one wants to wait for anything, instant gratification, instant connection. Gone are the days where all we want is Wi-Fi, it has to be fibre, LTE or nix!

Anyway the point I’m trying to make is that these days more kids in1st world countries watch more YouTube than they do TV, with that slowly becoming the process in South Africa too, well at least to those that have access to Internet.

This has left no choice for popular Television network shows to shift towards providing their shows online too, the countless amount of students I’ve seen on the UJ campus library watching their favourite SABC shows on YouTube is insane.

This rather long and almost redundant intro mainly serves the purpose to discuss the top watched YouTube channels from South African in my opinion, yes mine, because my opinion counts and because I’m writing this, so frankly I can do as I please. Ok, not really, just joking I tend to forget how us South Africans don’t take to kindly to narcissism even if it’s just plain sarcasm.

Disclamer nyana: this list is comprised by various lists found onloine as as well as channels we feel have had the greatest impact amongst Magazine 8 South African based on our very general and pathetic research 5. Ambitiouz entertainment Subscribers: 56 670 Total views: 29 498 686 Yes, I know, their channel mainly serves the purpose of providing music videos for all their artist, however you cannot deny the numbers this channel is pushing strictly from pushing nothng else but their artists music. When you’re pushing numbers such as this in South Africa just for pushing music videos that are mainly directed at the youth, you have to think about the insane amount influence these guys have on youth urban culture.

4. Trevor Noah Subscribers: 409 059 Total Views: 49 139 099 I won’t lie, this one seems a bit unfair, especially to all those growing South African YouTube channels because Trevor is well… Trevor!(cue vernac accent) this channel boasts content from Trevor’s various one man shows, its broken up mainly in popular and iconic jokes from his shows that have left all our families laughing in their living rooms and have allowed us to fall in love with 3. Cobus Potgiter Subscribers: 702 918 Total Views: 211 040 236 This channel features an impressive record of a talented drummer, doing numerous drum covers and solos from many popular bands and artists such as NSYNC, Michael Jackson and so forth. You can also find yourself watching the process of him trying to put a band all together in a more vlog/documentary style of filming and its quite incredible to watch. This has all resulted in him being the 2nd most subscribed drummer on YouTube, yes the entire thing! All this success sees him now residing in LA to continue living his music dream.

2. Die Antword Subscribers: 1 429 082 Total Views: 404 949 474 These guys are as controversial as they come, especially when think about how relatively conservative South Arica is, especially within the Afrikaans culture. You still cant deny the numbers that these guys are pushing though, with content that ranges from their albums to thought provoking explicit videos, these guys offer quite a unique take on social commentary. They’ve become recognised all across the world, which has even resulted in them starring in Neil Blomkamp’s film Chappie which starred Hollywood big time names such as Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) and Sigourney Weaver.

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1 Caspar (Lee) Subscribers: 7 231 748 Total Views: 783 963 959 (and counting)

He is undoubtedly the undisputed SouthMAfrican king of agazine 10 YouTube. Well to be honest it would unfair to say South African like he’s outchea vlogging in the streets of Maboneng. Because my mans here is living it up in LA featuring the likes of Kevin Hart, Zach Efron and Dwayne Johnson in his latest videos. His content has ranged from vlogs to challenges and pranks. Classic international stuff, you know? All his previous success and eccentric personality resulted in him starring in a movie alongside KSI the most subscribed black YouTuber with more than 16 million subscribers as well as starring Spud: Learning to fly, alongside another South African born YouTuber and musician Troye Sivan. He is currently pursuing in an acting career in Hollywood, whilst still creating videos for his channel. He has without a doubt certified himself amongst the YouTube elite of the world, so dear South African child, IT IS possible.

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cover story kid tini the bully with the pen by omphemetse manana

Picture this, it’s 2010 and you’re an 13 a g a z head ine enthusiastic hipM hop in the 8th grade from a very small town and you’re overcome with excitement because hip hop music from your own country that you can relate with is finally on the rise and in order to get the latest news and songs you sit late at night in your room on a Monday night to waiting for a 22:00 slot on 5FM to listen to a show hosted by non other than C-Live. Insane right? Well that’s what it would’ve taken back in the day in order to get a dose of the latest tracks in South Africa, that’s the very show where AKA’s iconic victory lap got its exclusive premier. Well, obviously this kid is me and that’s my story of how I truly started getting into South African hip hop and culture, this was only 7 years ago but man how things have moved on since then. Power night of hip hop was the name of the and man oh man what memories it brought for me, I remember hearing songs from the the likes of Maraza for the first time back then so obviously it brings time the greatest joy to see him shine the way he is now. I remember how insanely difficult it was for me to download the Four brothers remix of Sean Pages’ banger “Get It Right” on my Nokia X6, I couldn’t even find songs from the likes of Deep Level who used to be an insane rap duo that I actually saw once performing in Soweto at a street bash, which got me thinking, WTF happened to them?

Anyway the point I’m trying make over here is that it was virtually impossible to download songs from SA artists as little as 7 years ago which is ridiculous because trying to get a Lil Wayne song at the time was as simple as logging onto Mxit.

I recently found myself interviewing another new Ambitiouz Entertainment signee, Kid Tini, who funny enough started making music around two years or so later than that phase and immediately gained prominence in the Eastern Cape after getting his songs playlisted on various radio stations but it wasn’t until he moved towards the digital route that we could hear his name being echoed amongst the walls of the industry. So him and I sat down as two kids of the new South African digital era, one from within the industry and one who observes and commentates on the industry, to discuss a few things and this is how it went down.

We start by engaging off the record about how things are happening in this industry and how the internet is a wonderful and hostile space to put music out in South Africa and across the world as it can either expose your flaws or brilliance, I ain’t gon’ name drop so relax.

Tini and I start going off, like really off!

You’d swear he’s been a homie of mine for a minute and we were just kicking it.

We go from talking about music that’s thought provoking or the lack thereof, which leads us to talk about his latest mixtape, Coming of Age, which was a fitting title for his gritty mixtape which is a reflection of Tini finishing up High School at the time and preparing for manhood responsibility of the post high school life, speaking on the journey that led up to him producing what is undoubtedly a thought provoking project he states “the structure was available at home, my brother used to rap so I hit him up when I was about 10 years old, so he made all that shit available for me to play with and rap and id come down to Pretoria to make music and stay with my brother and me wanting so bad made it easy for me to try and balance it all, because if I didn’t get my grades up I wouldn’t be allowed (by his parents) to do all of this.

Balancing responsibilities without a g ais z isomething ne 1 4 that bitching about itM all comes as a part of growing up which is something Tini can relate with stating “I had to try and make both of those two things (school and music) work simultaneously, man I would be writing final (matric) exams and id have a gig that night, so I’d get back to the crib at 04:00 and at 08:00 I’d have to go write a paper it was that serious man.

So having to balancing the school, the bitches, the parties, the gigs and all”. We go on to speak about artists such as Lil Yachty, Migos etc and the latest XXL Freshman’s list in which, just like me, he’s not a fan of at all. With him signing to Ambitouz I became very wary about how he’s gritty bar for bar style of music will change to a more afro trap influenced style that has become synonymous with the Ambitiouz name, however his first release New School Bully rubbished all those thoughts. Tini is unapologetically himself on the boom bap beat of which the baseline reminds me of Joey Bada$$’ Christ Conscious. So its all thumbs up from me, plus literally the day after our interview he dropped Bekezela, which left me, quite impressed too despite it’s Afro trap influence. We casually start speaking about his then new song New School Bully and Tini references the song to the likes of Kendrick’s Control verse saying, “niggas, were hating on him, not because the verse wasn’t dope but because he’s saying stuff that nobody had the balls to say.

So that’s why with this joint (New School Bully) the hate has been in15 Magazine credible. It’s been crazy bro, I’m not gonna try lie to you and make it look like something its not but the thing is, they can hate, not because the joint isn’t fire but because… well you know”.

As I suggest that he should probably rub it more in people’s faces with a video and heavy promo Tini looks at me with nothing but surety in his eyes and says “ its already sorted my nigga”.

This is a man that’s clearly sticking to his guns and using every advantage he has to make him soar on even more.

As our interview drew to a close with his publicist working into the boardroom calling Tini for yet another interview, our conversation becomes even more intense and it feels like the hour long conversation has just gone by way too quickly, when then draw attention to his potential. . Its easy for any listener to think that Tini might not have the flair or finesse to create songs that will light up the dance floor but then again what’s the point of having an entire industry of artist trying to achieve the same thing.

There’s definitely an immense amount of finesse and skill that Kid Tini possess in his lyricism and word play, one that is uniquely his own in terms of delivery and for me that’s the most important part because as he grows within the industry he’ll pivk up few things here and there in terms of hooks and bridges or just general song writing, in the same way Kwesta has over the years, I mean homeboy definitely has time on his side!

Much of our conversation resulted in various personal conversation but here’s a few speaking points that I managed to fit in.

How did your parents react to your balancing act?

I think it helped that they weren’t around, so I could get away with quite a few things but my brother is very strict too, I mean he’s old enough to be my pops so he made sure that nothing is slacking from both sides because if I was slacking academically, he was gonna take the hit, because it was gonna look like he’s the one who’s co-signing it to happen, so I knew how to get my priorities right Take us though the stories you tell us on your mixtape, because your tape sounded fragmented and scattered in its storyline but it all comes together, kinda like the whole adolescence stage.

For the longest time all my stuff has just been organic, its really about where the pen takes you, sometimes I don’t even write averse or a hook, I just try to conceptualise the whole sing first. Sometimes I don’t even think of concepts, I hear melodies in me and take it from there, the thing is, with this tape, I didn’t speak about something that I didn’t know about. It was simply my story, Coming of Age was never meant to be a commercial project, it was my intro to the game I guess.

In South Africa its very rare that people find artistry simply in world play and punchlines, these days its about how you’re singing a hook and so forth, so how does it make you feel when people overlook your artistry as a wordsmith so to speak?

Look firstly I’m not the type to hate on another man’s work, I respect people who are within the same sauce or circles or trying to achieve the same thing. I’m too focused on what I’m doing most of the time that I fail to pay attention to what the next man is doing. Take what Nasty C says on that song (Pressure) that “ you only mind your business if its booming” which I respect, because its true, you’re not going to find yourself saying this and that about other people when your own shit is popping. When I write music it comes from a deep place, so I could finish writing a verse I feel exhausted because of where I had to dig those bars from, the bars really matter to me. So of course it kinda sucks when someone hears it and doesn’t appreciate it for something that it is but I cant

blame it on me because I know what I’ve created. The market simply is not Magazine 16 ready for certain things and that’s cool.

Speaking on New School Bully Kid Tini recognises that it’s a song that has sparked more negative conversation than positive but he’s perfectly fine with that I like the artists you featured despite you not really doing many features, because they added little bits here and there which was in sync with your style.

I didn’t want many features because I didn’t want anybody to think im trying to ride off of someone else’s wave, I wanted it to give the people ME and watch them grow with me so that at some point someone can try to ride my fucking wave (casually laughs).

I love the sound of your tape because I feel like it’s a fresh listen, especially in SA. Its gully, its harsh kinda like the same way the actual coming of age is harsh too, is that something you looked towards?

Like you just said, the coming of age is a harsh thing and I tried to make it authentic! I needed it to feel real, I wasn’t gonna try put a fliter or siugarcoat what I was gonna say on a song, which is why I believe people catch feelings (laughs) Because so many rappers claim to be real saying that they live through the music but its one thing to say it and another to live it. If I have

a problem with someone, I’m not gonna try go on twitter and whatever. The 7 also Magazine sound1may have to do with the people I surround myself with and the people I listen too. I’d like to think that I’m a collection of everything I listen to at the moment.

Listening to you takes me back to when I was about 14, listening to power nights of hip hop with C-Live and there was this new dude by the name of Kwesta breaking out, with all his clever worldplay and punchlines and people within the industry were talking about how this new kid got next. How does that make you feel?

Damn man thank you, cause I really fucks with Kwesta the whole way, I don’t even know if he knows tis but I really listen to a whole lot of his music.

I remember when he dropped King Speech; I was amazed, cause I didn’t think people rapped like that. Kwesta is the one person, I really really fucks with and he always shows love (to his fans and industry).

It’s obvious that you singed a deal and there’s no way that you did that to stay in the same spot, because you could’ve carried on doing what you were doing. Its not like they’re breaking you out per say or putting you on

Nah not at all, I was doing something before Ambitiouz, no shade to anybody. Ambitiouz is the team, they’re ready to move and I’m ready to move with them, because they understand my goal and my plan. They kow it and their plan accommodates mine so well. Its not like I was washed up or whatever, I was doing the rounds. It messed up though because the game is set up in a way where the gatekeepers dictate what happens, so if you’re independent, it makes it really hard to crack certain spaces.

Speaking on that, we’re sitting a crazy digital era where you can move your stuff online and we even have our own platforms such as SlikourOnLife, which are reliable, you know? So what was the process of you putting out music when you started versus now before you signed?

Damn! Lemme actually take you back bro, I wasn’t here (Jo’burg) back when I started making music, I was back in the eastern cape and I had to make a plan. So Tinism.com, which is my label and my team that I worked with, had to stay afloat so they had to woek with different types of artists such as Ginger Trill, Flex Boogy and more and they were already seasoned at that time. So imagine me trying to get into studio in a room full of people who are already on that level, its mad pressure and I’m only fucking 14! So you can only imagine the shit I had to go through just to Prove to my people that I can actually

rap and I was told time and time again that I was whack! And as a result of me not being from around here being able to go back home with a song that was charting on radio and telling people to listen to YFM at a certain time or whatever, people be thinking this nigga is gone!

Its over, this nigga is a celebrity right now and it was some true shit, hood famous typa shit! So back then people had a certain perception of me back home and I really didn’t have problem with and perhaps I may have taken advantage of it but I was a kid, you know? I didn’t expect people to be treating me any differently but they did, I guess that kinda fucked with my head. blame it on me because I know what I’ve created. The market simply is not ready for certain things and that’s cool. Speaking on New School Bully Kid Tini recognises that it’s a song that has sparked more negative conversation than positive but he’s perfectly fine with that Big fish small pond typa shit?

YES! That exactly, so as soon as that happened a whole lot of other shit started going wrong, my relationships: with my family, my academics went down. Man I really thought I was the nigga when really I was fucking up. Aafter my brother found out he benched me; I couldn’t do music for like two years and that seriously humbled me. It was all-short lived at the time.

Yeah I think its important to take those L’s in life sometimes because look at agazine 8 what its resultedM into now. So 1what about the Internet? Because in the past couple of years it’s not like radio has been calling you asking for your songs and so on.

Yeah nah, not at all. Downloads were currency back then man, it still is though. But I think it really helped in terms of getting buzz and getting people to see what I was trynna do at the time. But because I also took such a long time on the bench, the truth is, people kinda moved on and that’s when all these other guys started emerging and whatever and then I came back. It was like I was starting on a back foot and play catch up. It’s the age of the Internet right now man, not as much people are watching TV or listening to radio. People literally go on twitter to find out what’s going on in the world and you probably hear it there before it gets to any other platform, so that helps to get shit out there. I saw this one dude on YouTube from the UK reacting to one of my songs, so that alone speaks volumes about what the Internet can do; it’s a global community Keep up with Kid Tini on his various moves on social media

Twitter: @kidtini Instagram: kidtini Facebook: Kid Tini

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BY BLANK COLLECTION Words by Oreabetswe Mohlala Encapsulating the rich styles that are embedded between the cracks of South African pop, street culture and couture leveled fashion is where Vsion magazine’s fashion section is looking to get more involved in, to provide Vsion magazine readers with never seen before local fashion content that is exclusively available to Vsion magazine. I’ve recently fallen in love with the work that local designers have contributed to the culture and through a lot of research I’ve come across the demeaning fact that I’ve been sleeping on local fashion.

I’ve always been that kid that hated seeing a fellow school mate or a random Magazine 20 person wearing an item I thought was ‘very rare’ or one that I planned on go­ ing to kill the game with (That’s kind of the reasons why I stopped purchasing from local retailers.), BUT NOW!, there’s so much wave that other international clothing stores are starting to catch on to the local street culture I thought hard on which brand would be the most ideal to kick start the new direction that which the magazine is embarking on, I was looking for some­ thing innovative and Intune with the local street wear market. When I think internet fame the first thing that comes to mind is social media personalities, brands that trend through social media ect. Everything looks pretty much the same; let’s be honest. If it’s not the vans it’s the Adidas tracksuit pants. Then I came across a brand that I’ve been keeping my eyes on for a while, founded and owned by an 18year old from Kempton park. The brand has been around for about 3-4 years now and the growth has been escalating, with the likes of “mskweno killer” Scoop Makhathini and Khanyi Mbau seen rocking their favorite BLANK COLLECTION pieces on Instagram.

I had a chat with the young talented designer about his latest winter collection which he titled “I A M A F R I C A N” – “you shouldn’t forget where you come from you know, people tend to forget that and take it for granted, AFRICA is home.” These were exceptional words to me especially coming from a young kid at his age and how his new clothing embodies everything that’s edgy and unique about South African Street Culture.

For a2 brand that started off as Panda collection, the brand has 1 grown over the years whether it be on the internet or in the streets of Kempton park. They always say that you have to conquer your neighborhood before you conquer the world and on his way to doing so Fulu is taking Kempton park which is his hometown by storm as he has already completed matric jackets for 3 schools in the city, work with a couple of major rappers that are originally from Kempton park and the list goes on.

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A lot of street wear brands have gathered different ways in mar­ keting their brands ways in making them accessible and reach­ able to the consumers and the best way in doing so is through the traditional way of word or mouth or through extensive social media presence. Fulu has a unique way of contemporizing what is seen to be a blank object and turn it into a piece that will work for you and your look.

His methods of looking to conquer the fashion world through in­ dustrial merchandising is one he feels are areas that designers aren’t looking at when it comes to generating funds and reaching a broader consumer base to create a stable brand. Fulus draws inspiration or rather looks to compete on the same level as NIKE and Adidas primarily based on the fact that these two powerhouse, street/sport wear brands have remained relevant throughout the years.

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