As a South African living in NYC, it’s often hard to keep track of what’s happening back home. The time difference and going about the daily business of staying afloat in this city is a lot to deal with. Not to mention that local news reports just often don’t include news from further beyond the US of A in their bulletins. Plus, you know, it’s a big world out there so by the time they get to South Africa, it’s when the president is resigning or being charged with a crime. I remember when I was in LA on an entertainment news assignment in 2008, and was asked by the…
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A Restaurant Named Madiba
There aren’t many places to go in New York when you’re homesick for a lekker South African meal. For ‘n bietjie bobotie, some pap & vleis, a bowl of mngqusho, or a slice of malva pudding. Up until Sunday night, there was only one place to go that fed your soul just as much as it did your stomach. To residents who live in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Madiba became a staple on the block of Dekalb and Carlton streets, opposite the Edmonds Playground, close to the park. To South Africans – and Africans – it became a home-away-from-home. A place to go when you wanted to support your team during…
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The Rundown: Missy Elliott, Aziz Ansari, Brooklyn
Shia LaBeouf spent most of this week in a darkened cinema, making it out just in time for the release of Missy Elliott’s hot new single. Coincidence…probably! But there’s nothing that could top the pop rocket that Missy launched this week in the shape of her new track, WTF (Where They From). It had me so excited I forgot to mention in this week’s edition of The Rundown that her forthcoming album is the first we’ve had from her in a decade; she has released singles in that time. But still – it’s big news! That she worked with longtime collaborator Dave Meyers on the video – complete with a disco-ball suit, puppets…
