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Marikana: 1 year later | by Benjamin Fogel

Just over a year has passed since the Marikana massacre and the amount of critical reflection on the worst act of state violence since the end of apartheid is minimal at best. Other scandals have dominated the news cycle, from Nkandla to Guptagate, along with endless...

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Howl Marikana

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? (Revelation. 6:10) Colours were simpler then. Meant less. At least it seemed that way. Before the burning. Millions of...

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EFF and the left | by Benjamin Fogel

In Gill Hart's excellent new book Rethinking the South Africa crisis, she points to a rather curious phenomenon as part of her engagement with the figure of one Julius Malema and the 'populist' turn he represents. She notes that for a change the far left and liberal...

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Chris McGregor and the Brotherhood of Breath

The morning of our father's 82nd birthday dawned with the news of Chris's death. We had known for some time that he was desperately ill and so had already booked a flight to France to go and visit him – ironically the flight was due to leave that very evening. Chris...

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Can Hip Hop change the world?

Can hip hop change the world? Exploring the resistive potential of hip hop in the context of globalisation Reviewer: Eitan Prince Fernandes, S. Close To The Edge: In Search of the Global Hip Hop Generation. London: Verso Books. 2011. Basu, D. and Lemelle, S.J. The...

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Editorial – Nelson Mandela

We publish here a living tribute to Comrade Nelson Mandela. We, as all in South Africa, are aware that he is critically ill and that, by the time this magazine is published, his immensely productive life may have ended. Amandla! stands with his family, the ANC, his...

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Blaqpearl: The new voice of the Cape?

WHY THE NAME BLAQPEARL? Back in the day I was part of a hip hop group called Insidious Inc. The three males in the group, including my late brother, Mr Devious, all had stage names – of course I also wanted one! So being rarely aware of myself from a very young age...

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