HIFA 2013 Street Style

One of my favorite parts of shooting ‘The Fest Guru’s‘ is the ‘Fest Style’ segment where we scour festivals for fashionably dressed people. Here are some pictures of people I thought stood out from the crowd. Don’t forget to like the page + follow us on twitter.

GRAPHICS

Gore

Gore

Rapper @Gor_e avoided the chilly weather with a graphic jersey. Love!

NAUTICAL MEETS KHACKI

Miss Earth Zim 2012 Thadi looked fest ready in her trendy Nautical blazer with gold buttons, khacki pants and gold accessories which she complemented with a brown bag and matching shoes. Perfect idea of comfort and style!

Thandi

Thandi

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GQ INSPIRED

I forgot this guys name but he was so nice to give me a hug after the interview. Loved his bright orange pants which he paired with a blazer, graphic tee and a scarf to beat the cold.

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HI LOWS + ACCESSORIES

I love high-low dresses and prints, so when I spotted this gorgeous girl wearing both, I had to get a pic of her! She’s the queen of accessories with her ring, shades and bag. Loved her whole outfit,complete with the braiids. IMG-20130501-00323

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A BOWTIE + PRINT

I had a long conversation with this girl who is an upcoming designer about African fashion and Zimbabwean fashion.

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PLAID IS NOT A FAD

Love how she added a touch of feminity to the waist coat and plaid shirt with the necklace.

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PURPLE RAIN

I loved how this lady went with purple and harem pants with the statement bag. The first thing I noticed of course is the earrings.

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IMG-20130501-00336There we have it folks! What do you think of their HIFA style?

A Zed Girl in Zim Part 2: My Hifa Experience Pt 2

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Hello,

Thanks so much for all the positive reactions to my Part 1 of my HIFA experience and to everyone whose been a follower of the blog, as well as the new followers! Here’s part 2 which is the last chapter of the story :)

At Zi Fm HQ

At Zi Fm HQ

MEETING SHINGAI SHONIWA: The next day was day 2 of HIFA. We woke up bright and early to make it to the radio station where Lo works called Zi Fm which is a privately owned station. Lo hosts a show called ‘Off The Wall’ on the weekends with her co-host Danny who I got to meet later on that night and is now super famous for giving Shingai Shoniwa a shoulder ride during her Hifa performance.

Lo + The Noisettes

Lo + The Noisettes

Speaking of Shingai, Lo interviewed her and Dan and their new Noisettes band member for her radio show. I’ve loved Shingai’s style since forever, so I tried to act nonchalant when she came in. She was super nice and said hello to everyone. I got to be in the studio with Lo while she interviewed her, and the Noisettes did a private recording, which was great, because I wasn’t going to be able to see their show because I was leaving the next day.

Hanging with Shingai

Hanging with Shingai

I got to take a picture with Shingai and she said she loved my shirt while I complimented her on her turban.

MORE SHOOTING:

H-Town

H-Town

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We got to the HIFA grounds and went down to the HIVOS poetry café where ‘Trash Queens’ fashion show was happening. Designers recyclable materials to create outfits. We spent the rest of the day shooting street style, and our intro’s for ‘The Fest Guru’s’, then we checked out my clients Barefeet Theatre’s performance of ‘Tujuka Must Die’, I was a guest on Lo’s radio show. We headed home to  eat and freshen up and get ready for Tehn Diamond and Jnr Brown’s show.

Me and Miss Earth Zimbabwe

Me and Miss Earth Zimbabwe

TEHN DIAMOND’S SHOW

interviewing tehn

Tehn Diamond

Tehn Diamond

While Lo had to go and do more hifa stuff for her radio show, she left me in the company of some of her Zim friends as we waited for Tehn’s show to begin at the Coca Cola stage. I met lots of creative people; mostly artists and I felt like I was at one of  C1rca 1964 x   Zed Creatives brunches cuz it was all super creative people on one table and I asked them about the creative industry in Zim and spoke about the one we have in Zambia.

Lo came to get me so I could interview Tehn and Take Fizzo the dj for ‘The Fest Guru’s Show’. I was a bit nervous about doing the interview alone, but Tehn and Fizzo were really hyped, so I fed off their energy and we got the interview done a few minutes before they had to go on stage.

The show itself was amazing. I keep reliving the show in my head. It was amazing to see that everyone in the audience (well except me) knew the words to every song that Tehn did. I’ve never seen anything like that at a concert in Zambia.

VIP TINGS

After the show ended, we chilled at the Green Room which was a VIP only tent for artists. Don’t ask how we got in J I chatted to Larry of threemenonaboat about the creative industry, with Adam from Barefeet, and with Farai. We ended the night at an outdoor dj party which was fun and cold!

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END…

The next day, bright and early, Lo and her mum dropped me off at the bus station and I headed home to Lusaka. All in all, it was a quick but fun trip and I’m already talking to Lo about when next I’m going to Zim which is August for the Shako Festival. I’ll also make a stop in Bulawayo and Lo plus the ‘Fest Guru’s team’ should be in Zambia for the Livingstone Cultural and Arts festival. *Fingers crossed!

Thanks to Lo, her family, and everyone who made my Harare trip amazing!

A Zed Girl in Zim| My HIFA experience Pt 1

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Our clients Barefeet Theatre were invited to perform at the Harare International Festival of Arts last week, and I decided to take the ten hour bus ride with them to support them. I have also never been to Harare (stopping through the airport in 1996 when my family moved to Lusaka doesn’t count), and I really wanted to meet Lorriane aka Loch Nation on twitter who I’d been following since she wrote a great piece about Intellectual Property in Zimbabwe on Hip Hop artist Tehn Dimond’s site. One day, I tweeted about how I’d love to get paid to travel around Africa attending cultural festivals and Lo tweeted me saying the same thing and that we should collaborate on a project. The rest is history! Essentially I was killing three birds with one stone.

View from the Jameson Hotel

View from the Jameson Hotel

GETTING THERE : The bus ride was looong and not very comfortable. We were at the Chirundu border for two hours, but we finally arrived in Harare at 8:30pm. We started off at 10:30am from Lusaka. I spent the first night at the Jameson Hotel which is quite nice, but overpriced in my opinion.

STREET ADVENTURES: So while on the bus, I tried to change my Zambian kwachas to dollars, but they were ‘finished’ and I was told to change in Harare. Me and Lo walked to three banks which all don’t change kwachas, so we were directed to a street corner near the bus station and met three men under a tree who looked super shady. They don’t ‘follow bank rates’, so I was ripped off and received $157 us dollars for 2,100 Kwacha Rebased. I wish me and Lo had recorded the whole operation, but we were afraid. Lol. The good thing is I got to see more of Harare on foot J

They Loving The Crew

They Loving The Crew: (L T R): Gwi, Me, Lorraine, Zasch

THE FUN BEGINS:  We arrived at the HIFA gardens where we met Tehn Diamond briefly, then met our Camera crew/ Executive Producers/ Directors Gwi and Zasch. I barely had time to get to know them before we had to start shooting. Lo and I took part in a Djembe drumming workshop at the Simba youth zone. Apart from the teacher and us, the rest of the workshop comprised of kids who definitely showed us out. Lol. Djembe drumming is not for the faint of heart. We left with slightly bruised hands, but ready to take on the rest of the day. After shooting for a few more hours, we  left to drop off our bags at Lo’s house, freshen up, then headed to the opening ceremony of HIFA 2013.

Lo and I

Lo and I

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Art Gallery

Art Gallery

This HIFA app box was super cool. We even saw some of our tweets show up!

This HIFA app box was super cool. We even saw some of our tweets show up!

Fireworks to end HIFA Day 1.

Fireworks to end HIFA Day 1.

The opening ceremony was full of people, so we could only find space near the back of the arena. About 87 songs were sang by the performers which featured hits from Micheal Jackson, Abba, Rihanna, Beyonce and more. In my opinion, it was kinda like Glee 2.0. It ended with a fireworks show, which was the perfect way to end the day! Here’s a video below which wraps up HIFA Day 1 highlights.

MORE PICS

#FestFashion: Me and Lo's kicks

#FestFashion: Me and Lo’s kicks

Coke branding

Coke branding

We Stay Working! Lo and I going over next day's schedule

We Stay Working! Lo and I going over next day’s schedule

Ending the night with a cup of tea...

Ending the night with a cup of tea…

Gwi in between shoots

Gwi in between shoots

Lo in between shoots

Lo in between shoots

HIFA Programme

HIFA Programme

#TheySleepWeGrind

#TheySleepWeGrind

That’s it for Part 1 of ‘ A Zed Girl in Zim’. Stay tuned for part 2 which features some cameos from celebrity guests, as well as a separate post on street style.

Where you at HIFA, would you  like attend next year?

#ZedEvents| Mangishi Love + The Carrier

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MANGISHI LOVE

Mangishi Love studio

Mangishi Love studio

Mangishi Love

Mangishi Love

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My friend Kapasa Musonda who I’ve known since I lived in New York while she lived in LA, had a launch for her new collection for her brand ‘Mangishi Love’ at her studio  and I had to go and support, because as you know I love to support talented African designers. As the models came down the runway, I oohed and aahed at almost every outfit which I NEED IN MY LIFE NOW! I will definitely be purchasing some outfits from her accessory line ‘Gishi Love’ and the clothing.

WHAT I WORE: You know how at NYFW, attendees usually wear outfits from the designers showing? I did the same and wore a bowtite that Kapasa made me as a bday present, which I also wore as a hair accessory at the Tweetup/Swap Shop. I paired it with black leggings, a green open back top, yellow belt, nude shoes and a gold necklace. I had the outfit approved by my stylists at Sarchu’s Vintage house ofcourse! :)

maz mangishi love

Check out Ma Fashio for more pics!

THE CARRIER

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My friend Heather invited me to a screening of a documentary called ‘The Carrier’ at Top Floor in Lusaka. Heather and I had been meaning to meet up for the first time forever, but something always happened, so it was great to meet her finally.

The Carrier is about a woman named Mutinta who is the first wife of her husband, who has two other wives. One of the wives Brenda is infected with HIV via their husband, who insists on having more children despite his status. Mutinta is pregnant at the start of the movie and is HIV negative. The film is set in the Southern province of Zambia. Unfortunately, I could not stay for long, as I had to go to the Mangishi Love fashion show, but the few minutes I did watch were interesting and I would love to know what happened at the end of the film.

Vote for Marie Ojiambo!

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Hey guys,

marie

If you’re a long time follower of my blog, you’d know that one of my best friends is Marie Ojiambo, a fab Kenyan who I admire immensely and love. We first met in 2011 during the summer and since then, we’ve been literally unseperable (well, till I moved to Lusaka). I attended lots of events with her, and we even did a photo shoot together shot by Shako Oteka.

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Marie is running for Miss Africa USA 2013 and would love your vote for ‘People’s Princess’. Why Should you vote for her? Cuz her bio is sick! Read below

Marie Ojiambo is a Doctor of Pharmacy who graduated with a bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Nairobi, School of Pharmacy, Kenya and subsequently relocated to the United States of America for further studies. She is currently pursuing a MSc in Industrial Pharmacy, thesis program, at St. Johns University, Queens, NY. Her career focus lies in the area of Drug Research and Development (R & D). This encompasses research on aspects such as drug discovery, development and production, as well as the evaluation of drugs and pharmaceutical products.

Growing up in a family of 5, a single mother and 4 siblings, Marie’s strongest influence in terms of her academic and career course has been her mother who is a medical doctor by training with a master?s in public health. Her mother has always emphasized the importance of education in a young lady?s life. She encouraged Marie to stand and be heard, saying , “it is not always important to win, what is more important is that you stood up to be counted and you were a part of the process or the competition”.Marie was born and has been raised with Sickle cell disease which is what her platform focuses on. On moving to the United States of America, the young Doctor fell sick and realized how little people knew about the disease, medical personnel included. This marked a turning point in her life. She decided to dedicate all her free time to raising awareness around the disease and finding ways by which she could assist other patients suffering the condition. Her primary target is individuals afflicted with the condition who stem from needy backgrounds and who are in need of a strong support system of which she has been fortunate to have.

Read More via her page and VOTE VOTE VOTE please. I really think she deserves to win. And not just cuz she’s my bff.

On Marriage, Maids, Conjugal Rights and Chimamanda

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Sometimes I get my inspiration for a post from a television show or twitter conversations, and this time it was for both, plus a bit of it was from my experiences being back in Zambia, where the attitudes towards marriage are drastically different than the ones in New York. Maybe it’s me, but I feel like in African countries (Zambia included), so many young people are obsessed with the idea of being married and being a wife.

Since being back in Zambia, I’ve been hooked on three shows; Love Games Zambia, Intersexions which is a South African production and ‘Ready for Marriage’ which is a Zambian production. These three shows have more in common, than they have apart in my opinion.

LOVE GAMES ZAMBIA

If you follow me on twitter, you’d know that every Wednesday night, I tune in and livetweet the action on Love Games Zambia, which if you haven’t checked out, you should. In a bite-sized version, it revolves around the love lives of a group of middle aged and upper middle class friends. It has the message of ‘Safe Love’ and prevention of HIV embedded in a non preachy way. Think the Zambian version of Shuga with an older cast. The episode I’d like to focus on is ‘Traditional Teachings’. One of the ladies is having her kitchen party, so she’s being taught how to be a ‘good wife’ by advisers. At one point, they bring up the ‘c’ word: Conjugal Rights. One of them says a woman should never deny her husband ‘conjugal rights’ even if she’s annoyed with him or else he may get it somewhere else. ‘It’ being sex ofcourse. WHAT?! Are they crazy? I sure as hell would not be giving it up to my lover/husband/bf if I was mad at him or if there was a problem that needed to be addressed in the marriage first. As for him going to get it somewhere else? Please. He can be getting it in from me every day five times a day and still get it somewhere else. If someone in the marriage/relationship isn’t in the mood that night/day/moment, why should they be forced to give it up just because he may get it somewhere else?

CHIMAMANDA

Again, if you follow me on twitter, you’d know I’m advocating for Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche to build a church so I can worship at he altar. I’d eat her words for breakfast, lunch and dinner because she is that awesome. She recently gave a talk at Tex X Euston called ‘Everyone Should be A Feminist’ where she mentioned that we need to change how we raise our daughters, sisters, nieces and our sons, brothers and nephews. We teach our women to aspire to marriage to gain respect from others, we teach our men to be macho and take care of a woman to the point that without him, she can’t support ourselves. “We teach our women to cater to men’s fragile egos’. This ties into the episode on Traditional Teachings as if we taught our almost wedded sisters a little differently, they wouldn’t live in fear of being cheated on because a ‘ a man is a man’. They would be more empowered and feel like the equals they are.

READY FOR MARRIAGE

Speaking about aspiring towards marriage, there’s a popular show which airs in Zambia on Muvi tv channel called ‘Ready For Marriage’. It’s a reality show now in it’s fourth season and brings engaged couples on the show who are interviewed by a host about their relationship. The public votes for their favorite couples to stay on, till eventually one couple wins and has I believe their wedding or honeymoon paid for by the show. This is my first time watching the show and there have been some ‘interesting couples’. I’ve watched two different episodes featuring two different couples. When asked the secret to why her relationship was working, one of the women said “I pray for me to be a good wife who takes care of my husband”. What about her praying for him to be a good man and also take care of her? She mentioned how she feels like she’s also married to his family, so she should be humble. Throughout the entire interview, he made no mention of her family.

The other couple I watched had a couple with a seven year age difference. The guy kept emphasizing that he’s the man of the house, so he’s the only one allowed to work night shifts, because apparently the bible says something about how women can’t work at night. She spoke about obeying and SUBMITTING to her husband. Lawd Jesus. *Hit replay on Chimanda’s talk please.

INTERSEXIONS

There’s an episode in this South African show which like Love Games and Shuga has messages of ‘safe sex’ which revolves around an upper middle class family and their maid. The maid is engaged to be married to a guy she loves and who loves her, but is so focused on making extra money that she feels lonely. Her bosses are a couple who live in the suburbs white picket fence style with the two kids. The wife is a gorgeous woman who runs her own company, while the husband is a successful business man. The wife has to leave for a business trip for a few days and while she’s away, the maid and the husband begin an affair.

MAID FACTOR: Which brings me to the ‘MAID’ factor. One of my friends, Entertainment reporter, radio correspondent and blogger Makho Ndhlovu (Global Grind) recently tweeted a question asking how many women would be cool if they had an attractive female maid in their households if they were married. Lots of us chimed in saying “HELL NO!!”. I went as far as saying I’d rather have an older woman or man cleaning my house. But why? Because we’ve all seen/heard the ‘man of the house sleeps with the maid stories’ as shown in Intersexions and even Love Games Zambia.

GENERATIONS

Generations is a South African soap. There’s a couple who live together but aren’t married called Akhona and Nick. They have a maid called Zodwa who is in love with Nick, and seems to have underlying mental issues. Zodwa puts the moves on Nick, but he resists, but Akhona goes on a business trip, and Zodwa plants condoms in her cosmetics bag, which falls and reveals the contents. Nick gets angry, thinks Akhona is cheating and falls into the arms of their maid.

In all both shows, the wives and girlfriend were beautiful successful women who loved their families and boyfriend and even though they had maids, they tried to take care of the house as well. It’s  not even about the attractiveness of the maid, because lets go back and remember Arnold Schwazznegger and his scandal. Is this about men and power and how they think they can get away with this behavior? Is this about how we raise our women? Were the men cheating because their wives were too busy to attend to their men’s ‘conjugal rights?’ In the shows, the men were clearly getting that good good from their wives, so that’s a non-issue.

So there’s a lot to think about here, and I welcome you to share their thoughts about any of the topics mentioned above.

Further Reading: My Biological Clock is Not Ticking, But Is Working Just Fine by Cathy Phiri. 

Standards: Get Some, With A Healthy Dose of Self-Respect by Cathy Phiri.

Of Traditions and Rites Of Passage by Susan Mwape.

Radio + Brunch Tings

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pan african radio

Hello,

Lot’s has happened since I last blogged, including the fact that I’ve been here in Lusaka for six months now!

Anyway, I will start with last Saturday. I hosted the C1rca 1964 x Zedcreatives Brunch II at P’zzaz. I had a great time meeting new creatives who I’d only met on twitter before, and hanging out with people I’ve met during the time I’ve been here.

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WHAT I WORE: I wore a black romper from H and M with a connected gold tassle/belt and the necklace and bracelet were provided by my stylist Sarah of Sarchu’s Vintage. What to you think? I loved her chitenge peplum top and matching headband. GORGE! You can also check out their outfit options for various events in this article they did for C1rca 1964.

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sarah

Unfortunately, I had to leave early. I know, bad host! lol. But I had to rush home to change into something that wouldn’t get me harassed in town where I was a guest on Pan African Radio (105.1fm) for their ICT segment. I was invited by Nshinka Lupupa of Ama Local to speak about the Social Media industry in Zambia. The station is in the same building as Radio Phoenix, where I was interviewed last October, but thankfully it was on the ground floor this time.

I asked my amazing assistant/nephew/intern Anselm to come with me for moral support, and he took pics and video, so thank u! :)

In order to see the pics from the radio interview, you have to visit Anselm’s Instagram page as I can’t save the pics in a JPEG format, then post unfortunately :(



I was particularly drawn to the vintage pictures on the walls of the Pan African Radio station which featured our first President Kenneth Kaunda and freedom fighters.

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Thanks to Nshinka Lupupa and Malama  Malama for having me on their show! I am honored and humbled.

Photo Credit for Brunch Pics: Nambeye

Photo Credit for Radio Pics: Anselm

Finding Balance: Sleepless in Siavonga

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finding balance

On March 1, the company I co- manage called C1rca 1964 partnered up with Sir Nige of 263 Chat (A twitter chat where Zimbabwean’s discuss issues affecting them ) for a ‘Tweet@able on Tourism in Zimbabwe and Zambia’ which went really well!  One of the points raised was that Zed and Zim peeps need to be internal tourists and visit places within their countries. I agree! Plus, things were getting crazy and I needed a break!

So a day later and on my mum’s bday (March 2), my friends and I headed to the tourist -marketed region of Zambia (Southern province) Siavonga and it took way longer than the supposed 2 h:30 min it’s supposed to take. The 14 km road to the lodge was bad, but when we got there, it was so worth it!

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We stayed at Sandy’s Beach and we were right by the Lake (Kariba). We went on a boat cruise as the sun was setting and I bonded with the boat owners two cute doggies. Later, we chilled by the pool and had a braii (BBQ). The next day, we went in the Lake, had bfast and headed back to Lusaka. We had wanted to stop by Ingombe Ilede which is a National heritage site and means ‘Sleeping Cow’, but the road heading there was bad and there was a chance of running out of gas. Spending the night by that tree didn’t tikcle our fancy! lol

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We stopped in Kafue to braii the rest of the meat we had and to procrastinate. We weren’t looking forward to going back to the stresses of work and all. When we finally got to Lsk, there was no power for a while. What a welcome!

Have you taken a break lately? Where did you go and why? What do you think of being a tourist in your own country? How do you find balance?

WHY I DID NOT AUDITION FOR BIG BROTHER AFRICA

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*Picture is of Vimbai an ex contestant from Zimbabwe.

When the first Big Brother Africa aired in 2003, I was obsessed with the show and vowed that one day, I’d be in that house competing for the money. You have to be 21 to enter, and when I was of age, I was ineligible because I was in the States. So BBA is casting for the 10th season which starts in May, and it would be a perfect time to go on right? Especially because I’m always talking about how I want to be a VJ or host on MTV. BBA has proven to be a huge platform for people who plan to pursue entertainment reporting ie Vimbai who just hosted the Africa Magic Awards in Nigeria, Weza who was already a tv host but is now much more popular, Abby from season 1 who is now a successful radio presenter in Tanzania and more.

I checked out the application form online and could walk into the auditions being held in Lusaka this weekend, but I have not. Why?

1. I DON’T WANT TO BE DISOWNED

  There are some things that get you disowned by African parents, and this would be one of them. The whole of Africa seeing me in my bday suit on tv? Negative!

2. I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT SOCIAL MEDIA

With internet not being top notch in Zambia, I already have days when I don’t have proper internet or its too slow and it GETS ON MY NERVES. A few days without twitter or fb makes me go into sm withdrawal, so 3 months (If I made it that far) would not work.

3. DOUBLE STANDARDS

BBA has double standards. Like the guy who usually ends up winning is loud, has a big personality, ruffles a few feathers along the show and more often than not has sex with someone or more than one person in the house. If a girl does that, she’s labelled a whore or ‘Un African’ , ‘has no morals’ ie. I don’t mean I’d have sex with anyone in the house, but I just feel like it takes a certain type of person to win and I’ m not sure I could.

4. BACK TO COLLEGE

BBA is like being in a college. Being put in an environment with different people from different cultures and  backgrounds. And worse than college, in BBA you’re stuck in a house with them for 3 months. So you have a roomate(s) again and u know how that went down in Uni right? Arguing over who ate your food, chores etc. On the flipside, you make friends and learn about yourself I guess. But I just graduated less than a year ago and I’m not ready to go back.

5. THE WHOLE THERAPIST ISH

Big Brother is basically a therapist that you pour your heart out to while you’re in the house and he’s supposed to keep you sane and all. And you’re talking to him in the Diary room while the rest of Africa is listening? No thank you. Sorry Biggie!

6. POLITICS

When you get down to it, BBA is a ‘reality show’ and we all know most reality shows are scripted somehow and I don’t think BBA is any exception. Plus, with the whole ‘Head of the House’ thing and nominations, you basically have to play a political game of making ‘the right friends’ and  be strategic in order to win votes for Africa. And what happens if you don’t really click with anyone? What if that season everyone is annoying?

7. GOING CRAZY

Being in a confined space for 3 months (assuming you make it that far) is bound to make you loose your marbles and make you do dumb ish. I’m pretty sure most housemates drink the way they do out of boredom and then they provide the viewers with entertainment, but what happens when you leave the house and have to deal with the consequences of your actions? Better hope you have money for a PR team.

8. NOT WINNING

Going into BBA is about the experience and meeting new people, living rent free for 3 months and possibly leveraging it once you enter the real world again. But let’s be honest: The money is great too. I’d buy a house and do a whole bunch of shopping with that cash. Imagine going all the way to the end not to win? Well, at least its better than survivor right?

9. REPRESENTING YOUR COUNTRY 

BBA plays off the whole ‘country’ thing a lot.You apply as an individual, but since they only pick one or two contestants from a specific country, you become an Ambassador of your country whether you like it or not. And that’s where the ‘She’s not acting Zambian’ starts to happen. You cant win imo. If you go in with a non-Zambian accent, they say ‘you’re faking’, if you say something that the majority of Zambians have issues with (ie talk about supporting gay rights), you get crucified. I dont put it past a country to vote out their own contestant.  Then you have to face your countrymen at a press conference in your country once you’re voted out. So how do u remain yourself while still representing your country?

So those are my reasons for not entering the competition, despite some people advising me to enter. At the end of the day, I believe there are other ways for me to get where I need to be without BBA. Hardwork, Shamelessly Plugging myself, timing and fate will get me noticed.

With that said, I don’t mean to take away from anyone who wants to take part in the competition. Not everything is for everyone is my point. Good luck to whoever has the task of representing Zambia this year!

SHAMELESS PLUGS!

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I mentioned on twitter the other day that I am a firm believer in the ‘Shameless Plug’ or the ‘Act of Bigging Up Oneself’, which basically means being your own PR. After all, if you don’t put yourself out there, who will? Without further ado, below are a few features i’m in.

PS: I’m working on developing a platform (well my intern is.. feels good to say i have an intern now. lol) which will serve as an archive of my past articles, radio podcasts ive appeared on and more. It’s about time I have a record of my work.

MA FASHIO

Picture Credit: Ma Fashio

ma fashio

kapambwe

dj kapso

Ma Fashio is a street style blog documenting fashionable peeps in Lusaka. It’s run by sisters Key and Khayi, who were also co-hosts of the C1rca 1964 ‘Meet Mutsa SwapShop’. They did a post on fashionable guests that attended and featured me, my two nephews Dj Kaspo who I’m now managing PR for so stay tuned for more goodness :) and Kapambwe. For more fashionable zedians, visit their blog.

YOUNG AFRICAN VISIOINAIRIES

yav 1

I was a contributor for YAV last year and conducted interviews with Alec Lomami, Ger Duany, Sophy Aiida, Vanessa Mdee and more. For this issue, the contributors were featured. At the time the interview was conducted, I was just about to move to Zambia. I can proudly say between then and now, I have achieved one of my goals which was ‘setting up a PR or Social Media’ firm which is now C1rca 1964 as started by my business partner Mukuka Mayuka. The other goals/dreams will be achieved in due time. Check out the interview on Page 16.

THE BEST OF ZAMBIA

I helped put together a list of ‘Zambian Youth Doing Great Things’ (aged 16-24)  for ‘The Best of Zambia’ and I included myself in the list (*hides). Others on the list include Zone Fam, Mukuka Mayuka, Change, Catherine Phiri, Kapasa Musonda and more. Check it out here.

What do you think of shamelessly plugging oneself?

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