The Soapbox | Where South Africans Speak Out

BY LARA MOSES

In a time where words take a backseat to visual poetry – stories that are told in a snapshot and painted emotion – the Cape Town Spoken Word Festival is definitely a risky but welcomed new addition to the Cape Town calendar. The festival ran over five days from 17 to 21 November 2009, inspiring those in attendance and elevating the known power of words.

The evening consisted of 6 performers with intermittent performances by MC of the night, Quanita Adams, who definitely kept the Baxter Concert Hall filled with echoed laughter. Starting the evening off was Teba. Let me not bullshit around with the “I’m not sure if this is” inspiring words of Teba, a self proclaimed proud South African with a West Indies/Jamaican accent and almost no mic technique that made his contradictory tone very difficult to understand. “If I could understand you, I would feel your inspiration,” I thought as I sat bobbing my head, feeling the beats of his pre-recorded backtrack rather than what I’d come to hear, his words.

Next up was Jy!7 who blew me away with their knowledge of their Khoi and San heritage and their ownership of where and who they’d came from. Speaking the language and teaching the audience about it through song and poetry had its moments that unfortunately drifted in and out but never stayed even though they stood on that stage and poured every bit of their past through their hearts and into the world proudly.

And then there was EWOK.  Having seen this talented actor, graffiti artist, writer, poet and activist perform on numerous occasions this year, I was expecting rehashed material in a mashup to suit this audience but to my surprise (and I’m always surprised by EWOK) he brought new material and a performance that left me wanting more. He travelled through my mind provoking thoughts and inspiring old ideas to be renewed with his slip off the tongue lyrical style of slam poetry. His indulgent content – from hip hop today to politics to bombing (both suicidal and graffiti) – and his unique style made it easy for the audience to remain captivated. His performance was definitely the highlight of my evening.

After a short interval the festival continued with Keeno-Lee Hector. As a singer, actor, songwriter and stand-up comedian, Keeno-Lee has found that perfect blend of entertainment value to keep the audience in awe. His unique sound (with the help of a very talented guitarist), effortless comedic genius and ease on stage definitely added a degree of honesty to his performance. Although the subject matter was stereotypical, he was able to add his own to each word that he spoke and therefore leave you inspired.

The evening ended off with JP (formerly of the band Super Dan) and The All Elements Band. I was more than slightly disappointed for two reasons. Firstly, I was looking forward to a performance by one of my favourite bands, Collective Imagination, as stated in the program and secondly, I was a huge fan of Super Dan when they were around and I know the talent that JP has and he did no justice to it. The young talent of The All Elements Band, with their slightly off-putting choice of wardrobe that consisted of all shades of white, surprised me. A mention must be made of the guitarist who added some life into what seemed like a never-ending cycle of commercial nonsense with his amazing solos towards the end of the performance.

Even though there was a lack of female talent that I know Cape Town has, never have I been more proud to be a slave to the beauty of words and the sounds they make than sitting in that audience, on that night, listening to my love being spread through fellow likeminded individuals. What they said may not have always been appealing to my ear but the fact that they were on that stage showing the world their chosen expression that connected with mine left me with a tummy full of excitement for the years to come of the Cape Town Spoken Word Festival.

Lara Moses is The Soapbox’s contributing editor.