Well known South African opera singer Johan Botha passed away early Thursday morning in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 51. Botha, one of the world’s most respected and celebrated tenors, had been suffering from cancer. Charl van Heyningen, Director at the Centre for Music at Stellenbosch University, posted a message on Facebook offering his sincerest condolences […]

Here’s the first look at South African comedian Trevor Noah‘s new book “Born a Crime”, out November 15th. Noah announced back in January that he had signed a deal with publisher Spiegel & Grau because “I couldn’t find a good book about myself, so I decided to write one”. The book is a collection of 18 […]

A Capetonian choreographer’s mission to show American singer songwriter Meghan Trainor just how talented South Africans are, is taking off RAPIDLY… with his video going viral so fast, it’s clocking up views quicker than you can say “it’s all about the bass”. Although this isn’t about the bass. It’s about awesome South African talent. And it’s a […]

An exhibition by South African artist Portchie has opened to great enthusiasm at La Galleria Pall Mall in London, UK. The opening night, on 1 September 2016, was a huge success with a crowd of over 300 art fans and several fantastic sales. Portchie, who grew up in the Free State, reported on Facebook that “people loved the layout […]

STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT – Well-loved Hollywood actor Gene Wilder passed away on Sunday night at his home in Stamford at the age of 83, his family has announced. He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Wilder starred in comedy masterpieces ‘The Producers’, ‘Blazing Saddles’ and ‘Young Frankenstein’, teamed up with comic legend Richard Pryor in four films, and […]

South Africans overseas in the United Arab Emirates will soon be able to enjoy Afrikaans singing sensation – Refentse Morake – performing live in Dubai! Rochelle Becker-Lubbe, who’s based in Dubai, says “if you are in Dubai, or fancy a night out in Dubai, we are bringing the awesome Refentse to Hilton JBR on September 22nd.” Refentse rose […]

The town of Barberton in Mpumalanga was marching to the beat of magnificent military bands this weekend. (Watch videos below.) “Our ‘Freedom of the Town’ military parade was held here yesterday,” says Sheryn Nader, owner of Facebook page Barberton Bliss. “There were four different military groups marching, and it was amazing! Beautiful sounds…” The bands were […]

Prankster Darren “Whackhead” Simpson is at it again. The Breakfast Xpress radio presenter called up a Mr Pretorius to let him know what the Tshwane name change would mean for him… Take a listen for some very typical South African humour (and swearing!). Listen to Darren “Whackhead” Simpson prank call to Mr Pretorius:

South Africa’s controversial def rap group, Die Antwoord, have accused hit movie – “Suicide Squad” – of copying them, basing the movie’s lead characters on the band’s ¥o-Landi Vi$$er and Ninja.  In an outraged message on Instagram, Yolandi accused the director, David Ayer, of ripping off Die Antwoord’s style for the smash hit movie (which has […]

Take a listen to this South African version of The Sound of Silence that’s taken social media by storm since it was uploaded to Facebook three days ago. The cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s big hit – performed by Touch of Class with Ruhan du Toit and Deon van der Merwe – was actually first uploaded […]

Hailing from Empangeni in the heart of Zululand, David “Qadasi” Jenkins and Maqhinga Radebe are an acoustic duo on a quest to revive the powerful sounds of traditional Maskandi music… and their awesome Bakkie Jam, already viewed by thousands on social media, is helping them achieve that goal. (Watch below.) Both SAMA and SATMA Award nominees […]

If you’re confused about the latest rift between rapper Kanye West and “stunning singer” Taylor Swift, take a listen to this run-down on the events from South Africa’s Suzelle DIY. In Kanye’s latest song ‘Famous’ he says he made that “b****” famous… referring to the night at the VMA Awards in 2009 when he interrupted Taylor’s acceptance […]

In the last week, Pokemon Go, an augmented reality game for mobile phones, has taken off. Daily traffic for the game exceeded Twitter and Facebook use. What is driving this intense interest and involvement? One way to understand is to take a closer look at the game’s design. First, for those who haven’t played or […]

South African DIY guru Suzelle takes her best friend Marianne on safari in her new YouTube episode… and introduces fans to someone new – ‘Ryno in the Bush’, who happens to be Marianne’s boyfriend! Ryno, who has launched his own YouTube channel, describes himself as “a freelance game ranger specialising in tracking, wild flowers and bush […]

The first major showcase of Henri Matisse’s work in Africa opens this week in Johannesburg. The show, “Henri Matisse: Rhythm and Meaning”, will be at the Standard Bank Gallery until September. In a statement announcing the show, which opens on Wednesday, the gallery said, “At the end of the nineteenth century, Matisse was a young […]

A video remake of the Spice Girls’ hit “Wannabe” has been launched to encourage girls and women across the world to share their messages and dreams for women and includes singers, actors and dancers from South Africa, Indian, the UK and US. The video was made by Global Goals, which works to promote the United Nations’ […]

Well-known South African casting director Moonyeenn Lee is the first South African to be included on the panel of movie people around the world who will chose the next Oscar winners. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which presides over the annual Oscars, named its 683 new panel members last week. It has been a […]

South African Lidudumalingani from Cape Town has won the coveted Caine Prize for African Writing for his story set in the Eastern Cape, “Memories We Lost”, it was announced in England on Monday night. Described as Africa’s leading literary award, the story published by Burnet Media in its 2015 collection “An Incredible Journey: Stories that Move You”, was announced […]

Canadian Hip Hop Star, Drake, has encouraged young South Africans to do everything they can to realise a brighter future and make their country proud. Speaking at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, he said South Africa “is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world”. The rapper was in South Africa for […]

At last night’s sold-out Sentebale Concert at Kensington Palace, Prince Harry joined the musicians on stage to thank the star-studded crowd for standing in the rain, the Basotho Youth Choir for coming all the way from Lesotho, and Coldplay for headlining the charity gig. “You rocked the palace,” he said. The youth choir was invited to […]

At the invite of Prince Harry, a Lesotho choir will perform tonight alongside British supergroup Coldplay at the prince’s Sentebale charity concert, at Kensington Palace, in London. It’s been an incredible week in the UK for the talented Basotho Youth Choir of six boys and six girls – aged between seven and 19 – who come from a country of […]

Italian actor Bud Spencer passed away peacefully on Monday in Rome, at the age of 86, with his family around him. His family tweeted a message saying: “With our deepest regrets, we have to tell you that Bud is flying to his next journey.” According to his son his last words were “thank you”. The actor […]

A group of dancers in Soweto are defying stereotypes to bring ballet to the township… in an ambitious project which aims to train 1,000 teachers over the following three years and see its students dance at the Paris Opera within the next decade. The project – which is the brainchild of Dirk Badenhorst, head of the […]

President Jacob Zuma and Public Protector Thuli Madonsela have congratulated Durban DJ and music producer DJ Black Coffee for his fantastic achievement, becoming the first South African music artist to win a Black Entertainment Television (BET) award. As reported last night, Black Coffee was announced as the winner in the ‘Best International Act – Africa’ category […]

South African DJ Black Coffee has been named the Best International Act from Africa by the international BET (Black Entertainment Television) Awards, making history as the first SA artist to win an award in this category. It was his first nomination. Black Coffee immediately tweeted: “Thank you Africa ?????????? #thisoneisformypeople #southafrica #bestinternationalartist #BETAwards16.” Congratulatory messages have […]