Newtown, Johannesburg has long been a favourite area of mine. But this is before all the bustle died down and the place was left dry and quiet. I recently took my sister Alu there on her first visit to Jhb, and I was disappointed. There was nothing I could show her except where things used to be and where they used to happen and trying to paint the atmosphere of the place before to her. I will say though that Newtown might not be dead to all of us, but to me, it has less to offer than it did when I first laid my eyes on it in 2008.
As per all things that wilt away, there are times when the corpse that is Newtown is injected with Life and everything in it springs back into action. One of those is the annual Back to the City hip hop festival. I first attended this in 2010 and I was riding solo. I have always been of the sentiment that I want to share the pleasures of my life and things that interest me with those close to me. I was honoured with the pleasure of attending this years festival with my best friend in the whole wide world. My best friend is the complete opposite of me, and this scene is not something usual, but my best friend was blown away. Particularly enjoyed the break dancing section of it, considering the lack of dancing skills possessed. I on the other hand enjoyed the people, more than the performances. I somehow expected to be blown away by street style, but there was nothing that unusual or extraordinary. Yes the people were dressed best as they could, the problem was my standards.
Newtown was alive! It was bustling! Skater boys rolling up and down the short streets, young kids watching attentively as they tried to identify with the passion, red eyed blunt smokers zoning in and out with lost smiles. So much was happening all at once! Stalls selling the most popular apparel and wanna be designers showcasing their rare pieces. I was intoxicated in a joy that you can only experience when you are amongst creatives. Fun was had, lots and lots of it. I could not stop smiling as I saw faces I had not seen in years. Right now, my heart is content. Unfortunately, I am hungry for more.
Back to the City 2012 in pictures:
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| mbuso (cloudnine urbanwear) and entourage. |
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| i don't know who these performers were, and honestly they were not that great. |
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| one of the only female break dancers I saw on stage, she had her game face on! |
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| the likes of us, spectators. |
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| the graf work, which happens while the festival is taking place. every year they paint over the previous years artwork. dope is what it is! |
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| one of the fashion (most of them were t-shirts) stalls. |
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| like mother like sun. the kid who stole our hearts while trying to imitate his mums dance moves. we know your destiny boy (: |
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| neo and i |
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| the little bit of street style that i could find, something like it fell out of a story book. |
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| ariel |
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| quaz |
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| hard at work |
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| mbuso |
xoxo
StreetSindz
Nice post. Quaz has beautiful teeth. The guy with the red blazer looks super fresh and stylish
ReplyDeleteQuaz is darling! Thanks (:
ReplyDelete