ONE of my fascinations with South Africa is the attendant contradictions, not least the gap between the poor and rich. between the haves and have-nots of Sandton and Alexandra, two suburbs whose similarities begin and end with their shared proximity.
driving a BMW X5.
Do the same from the Sandton side and you are likely to hit a shack dweller who has never been in formal employment.
trying to examine rampant crime levels in the new South Africa, this simple reality should be the starting point.
to Alexandra with Japhet.
I was last there last year for a gig featuring afro-house music pioneers, Oskido and DJ Fresh.
so happy amid the squalor.
today is Joe s Place.
As we work our way through the dusty and crowded Alexandra streets, I can t help noticing that traffic commuter bus drivers.
a traffic light does not necessarily mean you can go through. You still have to give way, lest you are bumped by a speeding driver who possibly has no insurance.
of decay abounds. For many residents of this suburb, a body of heavily-patched plastic bags is the proverbial roof over their heads.
visible signs of commercial activity.
have nothing to lose because they have nothing. I remark to Japhet that many here would probably find jail a better place to live. Why not, when it provides running water, electricity and free food?
for the foreign visitor, and a braai spot for Johannesburg s middle as they call it.
our cooler box along, stocked once more with Peroni. We also brought remember Joe s Place is still strictly a butchery, which, like all such businesses in Africa, diversifies with demand.
legend Hugh Masekela, DJ Sbu, Trompies and former footballer Jerry Skhosana adorn the walls.
South African drinks, local grills and foods.
sells a range of drinks but they don t have Peroni.
We devise a strategy with Japhet to smuggle our cooler box. If confronted, we would say it's for one of our friends to sit on! An embarrassing episode, but totally unavoidable!
We all do it, don t we?
cooked pap served with boerewors sausages would have delighted my intestines, and left just after 10PM headed for Soweto.
Monde, a 5 FM radio presenter is launching his new afro-house compilation CD at The Rock.
as we get there, with a threat of a heavy downpour. Come thunder come rain, I am determined to brave the weather.
in the UK has no right to complain about the weather anywhere.
That with street lighting in Sandton!
another mission around Soweto. He will rejoin me later.
my Peroni as I get to the door. Bouncers are searching people and as I approach, a man politely tells me I cannot take in my drink. I dig and with a nonchalant ease, I am in!
(I hope Paul Mangwana is not reading this!)!
packed tonight, and you can only move sideways.
has been erected on the roof of the club, and that s where the party is happening while on the ground floor, it s a normal weekend to get to the rooftop. The steps leading there are packed with other revellers keen to get to the party. It s already full, and some the rooftop are compounding the situation.
not worth it working my way up there, and having to come back down for I staggered out of the club just before 2AM. As I stepped outside, I saw Japhet pointing in my direction, laughing.
one of South Africa s leading disc jockeys and music producers.
his third CD, Eskhaleni Extension 3 and is responsible for kwaito sensation, Brickz (Sweety My Baby) -- apart from his other work done for other artists like Mandoza (Sgelekeqe, Indoda) and a new group set to unleashed by his Will of Steel Productions stable, the source of Japhet s cachinnation. Cleo has been telling him met a good two years ago.
really ugly my man, I just couldn t tell you because you let me guffaw at my expense.
from a guy who dyes his hair ginger, has the feel of a baboon laughing at a monkey s forehead!
to his birthday party on Christmas Eve. Believe it or not, he is only turning 26!
work of a lifetime, if you ask me.
Johannesburg, another day gone.
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