THE FEATHERS ARE BACK!!!

In light of the upcoming Jo’burg gay pride on the weekend of the 1^st October; there wouldn’t be a better time to announce the nominees of the most pink-friendly awards in South Africa.

The second annual Feather Awards 2010 were announced last night (28^th September) at a marvellous and intimate venue in Melville called: Melon. Who knew that our own 7^th Street in Melville had such a treasure of a venue with such fabulous food? If you weren’t there, do yourself a favour and visit the place.

Somizi was the MC for the night, and we’d say that he did a very nice job with his unconventional and wit, blinging away, and dressed to impress. As he said: “I’m dressed better that all’a y’all in here tonight. FIFA has paid me.”

In case you didn’t know, the Feather Awards are the brainchild of Quad Republic’s Thami Kotlolo. He started them as “a way of celebrating ‘fabulous’ individuals who inspire the gay community.” This year, the awards will be hosting a new set of celebrities that will make up the nominee list. Speaking of which, here’s a list of the nominees:

NOMINEES – THE FEATHER AWARDS 2010

Best Styled Female – This category is for ladies that consistently kept to their style throughout the year.

• Nkhensani Nkosi
• Pabi Moloi
• Jo-Anne Strauss

Best Styled Male – The men that have remained stylish throughout the year.

• Kaizer Motaung Jr
• Kwela Brothers
• Ole Ledimo

Hunk of the Year – These men just ooze the X-factor, you look at them and you just want a strong hug.

• JC Ngandu
• Janez Vermeiren
• Kaos Matu

Diva Extraordinaire of the Year - These women always carry themselves well and they have a strong presence.

• David Tlale
• Gerri Elsdon
• Precious Motsepe

Sports Personality of the Year – People that have inspired in the world of sports

• Simphiwe Tshabalala (need to have a chat with this one about the rumazz in joziburg)
• King Louis Oosthuizen
• Katlego Mphela

Role model of the Year – They never put their foot wrong in the public eye, they continue to contribute positively to society.

• Kabelo Mabalane
• Lira
• HHP

Cutest Couple - these are couples people adore and look up to.

• Sonia & Mathew Booth
• Nicky Van der Walt & Lee-Anne Liebenburg
• Speedy & Stoan (Bromance)

Hot Chick of the Year - these are women who ooze a lot of sex appeal.(tough one)

• Shashi Naidoo
• Bonang Matheba
• Joelle Kayembe

Fag hag of the Year - Need we say more, they never leave their home without their favourite accessories, a gay friend.

• Sophie Ndaba
• Dineo Ranaka
• Lucia Mthiyane

Musician – musician we love to listen to on and off stage.

• BlackCoffee
• JR
• Locnville

Socialite - Seen at every opening of an envelope or an erection of a stop sign.

• Sophie Ndaba
• Lucia Mthiyane
• Kwela Tebza

Drama Queen – These are personalities we read about every Sunday over breakfast, their lives revolve around a lot of dramatic behaviour or situation.

• Chris Maruleng (Don’t touch me on my studio)
• Theunis Crous
• Lebo M

The second annual 2010 Feather awards promise to be a “firecracker that’ll keep everyone talking until the 3^rd edition.  Check out who scoops the awards after the actual ceremony on the 10^th November. Try guessing who’s gonna win... Dleng!!!

Saturday, the 25th – LuloCafe’s Album Launch

LuloCafe doing his thing on the decks

We often say: “it is a good idea to befriend your competitor today, as he/she could be your ally tomorrow.” With our hectic schedules this past week: having to remember our university responsibilities, attending press conferences, part-time jobs, and having to attend other numerous social events, we all forgot to RSVP to LuloCafe’s album launch invitation. Don’t get it twisted though; we were still able to get in without any hassles. A fellow blogger friend of ours invited us to tag along with her, which gave us a taste of how it feels to be “plus ones”. Obviously there is more to that Saturday than LuloCafe’s shindig, so here is what we got up to on the 25^th:



The Cover of LuloCafe's album



We frequently spend quality time as friends on Thursdays, overindulging on disgustingly potent Melville cocktails. Since this past weekend was a long one, we made the faux dleng decision to go the extra mile and dedicate Thursday and Friday to our friendship and bonding. So you can just imagine how awful we felt on Saturday morning, or should I say: Saturday afternoon. Ob and I (Tumi) woke up still feeling intoxicated. The first thing we said to each other was: “never again.” Well, we honestly couldn’t live up to those words because we had responsibilities. Thanks to Mpho, the rest of the BEEDZ eventually woke up, and were convinced to attend a friend’s 21^st birthday party in Rodepoort. It was astonishingly fun, emotional, and an overall pleasure to attend (considering the states we were in). It was a pity we had to leave early though, as we had to drive home to freshen up, fetch our friend, and then drive all the way to Sandton for the album launch.

LuloCafe used a dleng venue called Metro, in Sandton, for his launch. We had never been there before, so I suppose that was why we were all excited that we were going to experience the comforts, or discomforts, of a venue we had never experienced before. Upon our arrival, we were immediately impressed with the glass walls, chic chandeliers, and the upstairs bar area. Luckily, we were directed to head upstairs, and this made us even more excited because it meant that we would be able to dance and not be forced to sit the entire night. This was, after all, a launch for a House Music album.

In an attempt to appear as civilised as possible, we had to embark on the tedious task of greeting people we normally wouldn’t want to touch, let alone hug. On the other hand, we were lucky enough to start new friendships with people who demonstrated some hilarious and genuinely unpretentious qualities. In case you didn’t know, most celebrities tend to play the “I’m humble” game when journalists are around, even though many of them are arrogant, conceited, egotistical irritants. It was lovely to find that Lulo’s launch was not as celebrity-filled as we had anticipated. The launch was more about the music, and less about celebrities’ attempts to play that high school game we call “who’s the most popular?”

Nothende singing one of our favourite songs from the album: "I wanna love you"

LuloCafe presented his music in a pleasant fashion, especially for those who are not big House Music fans. The vocalists featured on his album performed for us live, and this helped us to put faces to the voices that have been making us dance for so long. It was engaging, and this was evident in how people cut short the conversations they were having in order move towards the dance floor. We were impressed with the music. Ob must have been even more impressed because he has been playing the album every day since the launch.

One of the people we had fun hanging with was blogger, Ms. Lelo from Just Curious . She is sweet, and really funny.



RJ Benjamin was also doing his thing with Lulo. If you are wondering why we dcided to use a picture of him with his eyes closed, well, that's because his eyes were closed throughout his time on stage. Strange man...







Ok, this guy was also featured by Lulo. He is quite a good singer, but... doesn't he look like a Vampire cyborg? I was just traumatized by the fangs... I mean 'teeth'. Whyyyyyyyyyyy?

Live presenter, Mini, looked quite stunning in that dress, and she was generally chilled and even prettier face to face. Thank goodness she was not working that night, because she could have poked our eyes out with her 'handy' presenting technique.



MXO, who's featured in Lulo's album, was also representing with his buddy Psyfo. Who knew that Psyfo is such a little diva. He refused to allow some people to photograph him. I guess that is how you roll when you become a bitter, irrelevant C-list celebrity.

After such a long day, we had to call it a night. Fortunately, most of the people we are not too close with had already left. So we gave out hugs and kisses like it was Christmas in September. It was a very dleng Saturday, with even more dlengalicious shindigs. Saturday, the 25^th... Dleng!!!



SIXTIES Party

Let’s party hard in Nelspruit

Don’t say we didn’t tell you. Nelspruit is hosting its second Annual Sixties Weekend from the 1st to the 3rd of October 2010, and the organisers have managed find ways to make this gig affordable for those of us with limited budgets.

This is what you should expect...

Featuring international DJ’s such as Quentin Harris and Frank Roger, plus South Africa’s own BlackCofee, Oskido, and Vinny-Da-Vinci; the 2010 Nelspruit Sixties Weekend seems to have the basic makings of a ‘dleng’ affair. Teargas and the likes of Lira will also be gracing us with their S.A Music Awards winning presence. On top of it all, LIVE presenter, Bonang Matheba, will be MC-ing the main event on Saturday.

NB: It seems as though the entire Jo’burg entertainment scene will be there, so we have decided to name just the noteworthy artists.

This event is expected to give people three days of a ‘dleng’ time, attracting visitors from countries such as Swaziland and Mozambique. So, as the BEEDZ, we’d like to ask all the xenophobes to PLEASE BEHAVE.

The 2009 Nelspruit Sixties Weekend managed to attract 1500 patrons, and “this year we’re expecting about 20 000 people from various parts of Southern Africa,” said the CEO of Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks, Charles Ndabeni.

Organiser’s Collaborations

Due to the large magnitude of this event, Sho't Left, South African Tourism’s domestic marketing campaign, has partnered with Molite Productions, the producers of the Sixties party, and Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks to promote tourism through an all inclusive and affordable party travel package for this event.

Per Adult in a twin room        : R1 690.00

Per Single room                    : R1 990.00

Package includes                    

·         Return transport from Jo’burg to Mpumalanga in a luxury coach

·         Two nights’ accommodation at Greenway Woods hotel

·         2 x full English Breakfast at the hotel

·         Entrance to the Sixties Party for two days (1 & 2 Oct)

·         Thompsons Tour Leader to Escort the group

We have encountered false advertising in the past before. So, just in case this event does not deliver on its promises, the BEEDZ will definitely be there to give you some feedback, in its truest form. DLENG!!!

For more information, contact: lydia.masuku@thompson.co.za

Some of the artists peforming there





Teargas





Vinny-Da-Vinci

 

Oskido

Pale's Listening Session

Full Body Leopard Print
Experts, please tell me if this is allowed or not.
Her skin looks great in it though. We give it:
"Almost DLENG-alicious" vote

999's latest Female Talent

It was a rather intimate soiree, with a refreshingly unpretentious crowd. However, this unpretentious crowd introduced us to some ‘new age’ fashion faux pas, as they showcased everything ranging from nasty weaves to mismatched bras and dresses. You’d think it was a “Soweto brings the Repugnant Style Convention to JHB’s Northern Suburbs” kind of shindig.
Zoo Lake’s Moyo was the venue for this Repugnant Style Convention last week Wednesday (15 Sept 2010). But that was not all the event had to offer.

"Soweto Brings the Repugnant Style Convention to JHB's Nothern Saburbs."

In case you didn’t know who this ‘Pale” is, we would like to let you know that you should not feel guilty because YOU ARE ALLOWED. Pale is 999’s latest female talent. She is the only other female artist in the 999 camp, and Chomee was there, in all her awful-blond-weave glory, to give her support.

"It is really nice having another female artist on the label"

 “It is really nice having another female artist on the label,” Chomee said. Chomee was very reluctant to say much about Pale, especially when we attempted to make her talk about the obvious similarity between Pale and Lira’s musical styles. Should we expect a sequel to Lira’s great choice to jump off 999’s ship?

999’s Music Manager, Brian Mokoena, bored us with his bragging about the label’s latest talent. “Today we just wanted to show off the fact that we’re not out of talent,” he said. Eventually, after a long 15 minutes of gloating from Mokoena, Pale was eventually given the opportunity to introduce her audience to five of her songs, and she received a rather positive response. “I love her music. I have loved it since the first time I heard it,” said Simphiwe Golding of Soweto TV. Pale is play listed on radio stations such as Umhlobo Wenene, Khaya

FM, and Legwalagwala FM. So, make note of that so you can make your own conclusion about her music. 

Major Fashion Faux pa. How's about you try wearing a black bra?

“I love her music.”

We honestly think that if you like Lira’s music, you will definitely like Pale. We just hope that Pale’s career will not endure as much turbulence as that of Lira’s when she was still signed on to 999. We’ll keep our eyes peeled. DLENG!!!





"It's not INSIDE, It's on TOP"
It was our first time meeting Chomee ne, and she is a lovely wonan.
However, o this night, it was not about what's inside, but about "What's on Top"