Young visual mind Sleeze on a mission to immortalise artists from Eastern Cape through murals installations in the province

The project called Osaziwayo Bomculo Basekoloni, which is sponsored by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture’s Mzansi Golden Economy programme creates employment for youth in the areas where the mural installations are situated both as casual workers and visual artists.

By CityLife Arts Writer

Eastern Cape is not only known as ‘Home Of Legends’, but also known for producing some of the very talented and well-known, and respected award winning musicians in the country.

Osaziwayo Bomculo Basekoloni (well known musicians from the Eastern Cape) is one of the Visual Arts Murals Projects that was sponsored by the National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture through their Mzansi Golden Economy Project, and implemented by to Africhili Entertainment.

Africhili Entertainment is headed by Simamkele Mahambehlala Aka Sleeze, a young, talented, and aspiring artist originally from the dusty streets of Yeoville, Johannesburg. Of late, Sleeze’s work is in Gqeberha, and he is collaborating with several artists from the Eastern Cape. The Mural has profiled some of the Eastern Cape talented artists who have made it in the industry locally and abroad.

Images of these selected artists are now drawn on murals in Gqeberha, Makhanda, and Port Alfred. These musicians date back from the times of World renowned Mama Margaret Mcingana, famously known for her Xhosa song Hamba Bhekile  her other song We Are Growingwas used as soundtrack to the South African TV series Shaka Zulu.

Today the province boasts the likes of Zonke Dikana. These musicians, from a long time ago up until today, leave home in search of greener pastures and move to bigger cities like Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. In these cities, they find that there are better opportunities, including performing on bigger local and international stages and getting their music recorded at well-equipped recording studios, and even getting opportunities to collaborate with other professional musicians locally and internationally.

Eastern Cape musicians are also known for collecting awards after awards of high esteem, including getting recognition by the government as the country’s pride and icons. The young generation back home ends up not knowing that these musicians are actually from the Eastern Cape.

Some of the musicians have since passed on but left a mark in the arts sector. Some of their music is on mixtapes with beat tunes of Amapiano and Gqom musicians, which fortunately boost the old musicians’ royalties.

Sleeze came up with this initiative to create a fewmurals with the aim to celebrate the rich musical heritage of the Eastern Cape by creating a series of educational murals showcasing well known musicians from the Eastern Cape. This initiative seeks to empower local youth and visual artists while promoting cultural preservation and community engagement.

The Murals – Cecil Kapi (old Hoza hall) Gqeberha: the following were all born in PE. The late -Feya Faku, was a trumpeter and flugelhorn player recognized for his contributions to jazz.   Faku built a significant international presence collaborating with prominent musicians in prestigious festivals worldwide. The late-Zim Ngqawana was a flautist and saxophonist. He was later known as Zimology. He was offered scholarships to the Max Roach/Wynton Marsalis jazz Workshop.  Back home he worked with big SA jazz maestros like the late Bra Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim. He toured the US with his band ‘Ingoma’.

Sizwe Zako, pianist and music producer, is known for producing artists like Rebecca Malope, Israel Mosehla and has worked with a whole lot of other gospel musicians. He travelled around the continent of Africa, hosting workshops on gospel music. He is back home conducting different projects on music with the aim of ploughing back into the Eastern Cape youth.

Zonke Dikana, simply known as Zonke is a singer-songwriter and record producer. She has filled auditoriums doing solo concerts around the country. She has shared the stage with well-known South African and international musicians, including Lionel Richie.

The late-Lawrence Matshiza was a guitarist, composer and producer, a versatile musician who had a significant impact on the South African music scene playing with numerous artists. His work can be heard on recordings by many top artists and he jammed with numerous international musicians, including Keiko Matsui, Harry Belafonte and Paul Simon.

 Makhanda – Grahamstown, Art and Culture Hub in the Eastern Cape

The late Madosini was celebrated for her mastery of traditional Xhosa musical instruments such as uhadi (gourd bow), umrubhe (mouth bow), and isitolotolo (Jew’s harp). Madosini was regarded as a ‘national treasure’ and a leading figure in the preservation of Xhosa indigenous music.

The late Stompie Mavi, born in Komani (Queenstown), made a seismic contribution to the popularity of Xhosa music in modern times.

Port Alfred – one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Eastern Cape

The late Margaret Mcingana, born in Komani, is best known for her Xhosa song HambaBhekile  and We Are Growingwhich was used for a soundtrack to the South African TV Series Shaka Zulu.

The late Zahara, Afro-Soul singer born in East London, was a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who sang in her native language, Xhosa, as well as a bit of English.

Talented young visual artists were hired to paint the murals. “This project managed to create temporary jobs for young people who were hired as casual workers to prepare the walls and in areas where the murals are situated before the visual artists started drawing the profiles of the musicians,” said Sleeze, the project manager.

For more information, please contact Sleeze at 076 849 0253. Africhili Entertainment on all social media platforms.