Lebogang Mashile
Lebogang Mashile
Lebogang Mashile will be giving a hip-hop poetry cross-over performance, which will cover new material, as well as material covered in her book, " In a Ribbon of Rhythm". She is also taking part in a seminar - "Is South African Writing Breaking New Ground?" along with Siphiwo Mahala, Maxine Case and Finuala Dowling.
About Lebogang Mashile
Lebo Mashile is a wordsmith extraordinaire, a visual verbalist, and an icon of modern South African poetry. In addition to these given titles Lebo Mashile has been forging her own creative identity since she emerged on the Johannesburg arts scene almost seven years past. Lebo Mashile’s tireless work ethic has earned her creative titles including published author, executive producer, actress, poet, independent record producer, corporate and independent event MC, life skills facilitator/speaker and television series presenter. In all her creative roles, it is Mashile’s sharp intellect, questioning mind and fierce sense of social exploration that drive her passion for creativity.
As quoted from Hype Magazine, “Her life revolves around words, expression, provoking debate and changing retrogressive mindsets that condone abuse, discrimination and misogyny, amongst other societal vices. Her position as a powerful visual verbalist has gained her national, as well as sizable international, acclaim.”
Lebo Mashile takes on social debate and it is reflected in her continually increasing body of work. In 2004, Mashile debuted as a film actress in the Academy Award Nominated Hotel Rwanda, directed by Terry George, which illuminated the tragic 1994 genocide of the Tutsi and Hutu moderates in Rwanda. Also in 2004, Mashile became executive producer and presenter of the SABC 1 documentary series L’Attitude, now in it’s third season. L’Atitude, puts Mashile on a nationwide road trip in exploration and discovery of the position occupied by South African’s, the spaces they inhabit and the roles they play in the landscape of a developing South Africa.
Also in 2004 Mashile toured nationally performing at such prestigious events as Thabo Mbeki’s Presidential Inauguration, Poetry Africa in Durban and as a nominee for the Daimler Chrysler South African Poetry Awards. Mashile performed internationally during the same year as a South African artistic delegate in Kingston, Jamaica and Havana, Cuba in honor and celebration of ten years of democracy, In Bern, Switzerland at the Schlacthaus Festival of South African Contemporary Art and attended Yarri Yarri Phambari Writers Conference in New York City with African American writers such as Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Maryse Conde, Nawal el Saadawi and Patricia McFadden. In 2006, her performances took her to Berlin, Germany for the World Cup, Kunstsalon in Vienna, Austria and a national tour as the official spokesperson for the (Ogilvy & Mather) Dawn Voice Out Poetry Competition
In 2005, Mashile published with Struik and Mutloatse Arts Trust, her first collection of poetry In A Ribbon of Rhythm, which won her the prestigious Noma Award for Publishing in Africa for 2006. To complement for collection of poetry, Mashile self produced and released a 19 track album, Lebo Mashile Live!, which combines the musical mix of poetry with hip-hop, house and R&B. The album was released on her independent label, Mashile Productions, and was recorded live with a nine piece band in addition to studio collaborations with artists such as MXO, Tumi Molekane of Tumi and the Volume and Zubz.
In March 2003, Mashile co-founded the Feela Sistah Spoken Word Collective alongside Napo Masheane, Ntsiki Mazwai and Myesha Jenkins. This ground breaking foursome was the first poetry collective of its kind in South Africa. In an interview with City Pulse Magazine Lebo reflects, “Walking into Feela Sistah, none of us knew that two years later we’d be one of the answers of The Weakest Link. We had no idea that we’d become an item of popular culture. We didn’t realize that there was such a void, that people were waiting for our voices.”
Lebo Mashile was named by COSMOPOLITIN Magazine, as one of South Africa’s Awesome Women of 2005 and her stunning smile and captivating insights and interviews have been featured in numerous publications such as, TRUE LOVE, Ymag, MARIE CLAIRE, ELLE, O magazine, Real Magazine, Afrorootz, CITY PULSE for City Press, SOWETAN, MAIL & GUARDIAN, ROOTZ, NEWSWEEK and SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE.
In a Ribbon of Rythm
Lebo Mashile - In a Ribbon of Rythm
Lebogang Mashile; author and poet has won the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 2006 for her poetry anthology In a Ribbon of Rhythm published in 2005 with Oshun Books, in co-operation with the Mutloatse Arts Heritage Trust.
The Noma Award, under the auspices of UNESCO, will be presented to Lebogang Mashile at a special ceremony details of which will be announced later.
It is the first time a book of poetry has won the Award since 1993 (Third World Express by Mongane Wally Serote).
105 titles, from 63 African publishers, in 15 countries, in 8 languages, were submitted for the 2006 competition.
The Jury’s citation about Mashile’s book reads: “This is a powerful voice which has great beauty, delight and meaning. The poet weaves her feelings, experiences and expectations around the story of her life, which merges with the story of the struggle for freedom among South Africans.”
Lebogang Mashile has been forging her own creative identity since she emerged on the Johannesburg arts scene. Her tireless work ethic over the years has earned her numerous creative titles in the entertainment industry, all marked by her sharp intellect, questioning mind and fierce sense of social exploration that drive her passion for creativity.
Lebogang Mashile is one of South Africa’s best-known spoken word poets. “In a Ribbon of Rhythm” is the first published work of her performance poetry. Edited by Don Mattera, the poetry is infused with the cultural rhythms of South Africa’s past.
