The Caine Chronicles -(4) Big brands and the big city

Sitting in downtown Jozi, in Newtown waiting for one DJ Kenzhero and Lee Kasumba. One of the many thoughts going through my head is just how beautiful the inner City is....

This city has so much to offer and so much potential, one has to wonder why the rate of development is so painstakingly slow when we have such beautiful architecture in front of us.

Joburg city reminds me, to some degree, of big brands. Always ominously there yet under utilised and the potential of their use limited to the few with the foot in the door (either that or their daddy has a big position there).

If one were to take this big brand and work on it bit by bit , building a strong working relationship with, day by day year on year. (think of buying a small space in town and building on it slowly and eventually owning a dope building that people wanna rent from you). Eventually you would be so entrenched and recognised as a true contributor to this brand.... The rewards of this would be so immense for both you and the brand...

This may seem like senseless ramble, but hey, I'm sitting in downtown jozi and admiring all the dope architecture.

Did I mention I'm a marketer for a BIG brand...?

Just my thoughts...

C.Caine

The Caine Chronicles (3) - The Kwaito we love

Over the last couple of weeks SABC 1 has been flighting an interesting documentary. "Vuma - A Kwaito revolution" highlights the impact that kwaito has had on the South African music scene, it focuses specifically on the Kalawa Jazzmee Record label and its artists as well as their influence on urban youth over the years.

The show has over the last 6 weeks taken me down memory lane like you won't believe. From reminiscing about the 1st time I saw Bongo Muffin live to having Aba-shante performing at my school socials (what do they call them these days). I've been on a nostalgia trip like you don't know. The Kalawa Jazmee label has brought us musical icons such as Boom Shaka, Alaska, Trompies, Thebe, BOP, Bongo Muffin....etc ( the list goes on and on).

One question that I continually ask myself after every show though, are our artists from this generation capable of raising the bar to next level. The pioneers such as Oskido, Bruce Sebitlo, Thebe and Trompies have laid a foundation that put the sound of Urban Black South Africa on the world map. These artists were touring (and still continue to) the world in their hey day, which new artists are pushing the envelope and taking the scene to the next level....?

Across the various genres (hip hop, kwaito and house) there seems to be a stagnation in creativity and lack new "new" songs.

Let's take a fresh look at where our past and take that as a guide to achieving greatness for South Africa and Africa as a whole. We have the dope beats, fat rhymes and swag dripping artists.... Let the music flow.

And as the ever eternal Thebe said "Haai kumnandi uNku-jiva, haai kumnandi uku-groova"!!!

Just my thoughts....C.Caine

Th Cain Chronicles (2) - The Road to 2010

2009 has come and gone in what seems like a flash, yet I'm certain the great majority of us have felt and endured the tough obstacles of the year that was.

The past year has presented me personally with a number of trials and many have tested me to (almost) break point. I had many goals that I hoped to achieve this year, many I have and a lot I have just missed out on due to whatever reason (mostly finances, timing and blind luck, as is always the case).

As is always the case with this time of the year, one always asks themselves "what have I done this that's made me progress to where I ultimately want to end up"?

Whatever you have planned or not planned for, whatever you have or have not done, remember this...Its a new year,this is the opportunity for reset buttons to be hit and a brand new opportunity to start afresh...and hey, if you believe the hype, its 2010, the year South Africans stand up and get their voices heard and their country seen for what it really represents.

So as we kick of a new year, I wish you and all those you care for an amazing,prosperous and rich 2010. Love yourself, each other and buy local music.

May the dope beats of 2009 turn into a sweet song in 2010.

C.Caine

The Caine Chronicles (1) - Mzansi Hip Hop and wannabe Kanye's

Over the last few years and, more specifically, the last few months, I've kinda whittled down my contribution to the club scene. To be more specific I try to avoid going to clubs unless I really, really have to.

Those of you who may know me personally know that my 9-5 career actually spills over quiet frequently into various mid-week 7pm to late efforts over the course of the allotted 7 days of the week. I'm often out at some random event repping my corporation and generally being in the presence of people who "think" they "sometimes" make a credible contribution to the growth of the South African Entertainment Business. Bare with me here, I'm hopefully getting to a relevant point....

Not too long ago, I opted to go check out the Showlove/Head Honcho driven TNT mix tape launch at the Premier club in Rivonia (the old Shoukara). I came through with the rest of the Mind Flow crew as this was the post carwash wrap party. It was also to give support to my dude Tibz as he's always co-signed most projects the crew has done in their individual capacities (also the Blackberry history that we share,but that's a story for another blog).

I digress, so there we were whiling out catching 2 young dudes from TNT doing their thing on stage. As chance would have it these were 2 young fellaz from CPT who were doing their thing and in my eyes rocking the crowd.

Now the nature of my job is to align "my corporate brand" with all the dope and credible genres/acts out there. Based on this, I frequently come under fire for my lack of support and backing for the SA Hip Hop scene (just setting you up so you can understand my next observation and context of my comment).

So anyway, young TNT dudes finish their set and get a seemingly dope reaction from the crowd. For a brief minute there, I thought: "Wow, Hip Hop is finally standing up and being business like-no drama and these young dudes are actually easy on the ear." My brief state of euphoria was then rudely shattered by a brief skirmish and sudden on stage presence of someone who is a seemingly well-known and, I guess, was a respected producer in the Hip Hop scene (till said incident) Not only did this gentleman proceed to grab the microphone from the performers, but he then went on to say the following (and I quote loosely here and challenge said producer to correct me if I am misrepresenting him) "Yo, that was good but ya'll know that that was not real Hip Hop...JHB got the real Hip Hop".

Aside from the cringe-worthy moment forced onto the artists and crowd at the event, this badly orchestrated Kanye West moment proved the following:

- Hip Hop as a business will never be taken seriously as long as comical incidents such as these continue to happen

- corporate South Africa will continue to look at Hip Hop as "the genre that houses idiots who wear oversized pants, big T-shirts,profanity laced lyrics and general off -handed hooligan behaviour that they cannot associate their brands with"

-this incident also proved, to a certain degree, why most corporates would rather throw their money to the indie rock, electro and house genre.

Anyone ever heard Black Coffee call out Oskido or the Parlotones pull a Kanye moment when the Dirty Skirts are on stage?

Ultimately my point, in closing, is that the potential for hip hop to grow and be recognised as a viable partner and tool for big corporates is there. The problems lie in the constant need for individuals to think of themselves only as opposed to the growth and development of the scene.

I represent a major international corporate with a strong presence in the music scene and I am personally a strong follower of Hip Hop (and an even stronger believer in the potential that SA Hip Hop has). However, I was disappointed and questioned my loyalty to the scene on that night. Now, imagine if I was a random corporate in a suite with no inkling of what Hip Hop was and you needed my money: on that night, I would have definitely backed the house scene.

Just my thoughts...

C.Caine