MEGAN CHORITZ posed a few questions to Last Poet, Luxolo Ngqunge, about his upcoming original and exciting gig Rhythm N’ Poetry, which will happen in Gqeberha on 29 May 2021:
Megan: what inspired you to put Rhythm N’ Poetry together?
Last Poet: When I started Rhythm N’ Poetry there wasn’t much happening in Gqeberha as far as poetry was concerned. I moved Rhythm N’ Poetry to Cape Town after watching a show by Lingua Franca called Naked Word. After that show I decided I wanted to continue with these types of events, where poetry can stand on its own. I took the concept to Johannesburg, and it was a matter of “being the change I wanted to see”, because the only dominant poetry event there was, and still is, is Word N Sound. From that I learnt a lot about competitive poetry. I first hosted Rhythm N’ Poetry in Jo’burg.
I moved to Gqeberha simply because I want to take all the lessons I’ve learnt over the years and have something to offer. Rhythm N’ Poetry is my contribution to the arts of Gqeberha.
Megan: When did you first come into contact with poetry and what about it did you connect with?
Last Poet: So in high school I was part of the public speaking committee and I was very active. Then one of my friends lent me a CD, an album by Tumi & The Volume and I started imitating the style Tumi was using in delivering these speeches. Little did I know it had a name – it was called spoken word (performance poetry). I befriended a girl in school, Siyambonga Williams, and we formed duo called CONSCIOUS VOLUME. From there I’ve done local performances, book clubs, poetry sessions, music events and hip hop gatherings.
Megan: Tell me a bit about the amazing line-up.
Last Poet: The line-up consists of a DJ, a poet, an Afro-soul music singer and two hip hop acts.
DJ Mzugo is one of the prominent DJs in Motherwell, and there’s DJ Beatology, a producer and DJ, born and raised in Walmer township.
Then there is Siyabomga Ngcai, known by many as Gqobhoz’imbawula, who is a multidimensional creative, language and culture activist, born in the rural area of iCumngce (Buntingville) in Ngqeleni. He will grace the stage with his poetry. His creative abilities include architecture, poetry, writing, photography, and visual arts.
As a writer and performance poet, Gqobhoz’imbawula mostly writes and performs in his home language isiXhosa, telling untold African folklores. He has two rhythmic and poetic albums, Ukholo Lwemveli released in 2011, and uNqulo neCamagu released in 2017.
Samkelisiwe Mboro, known as Sammy Bee, is an upcoming artist with a fresh genre called Urban Lali, an urban beat with a village twist. She is a talented singer and songwriter who has performed all over the country.
Other performances include hip hop by Nyikima, originally from Motherwell in Gqeberha and part of a rap crew called TeamBuckTwo, as well as Kweriez from East London/Mdantsane township.
Megan: What does The Last Poet mean?
Last Poet: The name Last Poet means The Last born among my siblings as we’re all artists, from my eldest sister who’s a spiritual dancer, two of my other sisters who are singers (one of whom is a former soloist for the Grammy award winning Soweto Gospel Choir), to my brother who is a painter and sculptor.
Megan: Who is your target market/audience?
Last Poet: My target audience are people between the ages of 21 to 60, people who are curious and open minded.
Megan: Why is there no entrance fee to the event?
Last Poet: The reason there is no entrance fee is the 29 May 2021 will be a pilot event, and so we decided not to charge at the door as are still introducing Rhythm N’ Poetry in Gqeberha. Going forward and when we build momentum, there will be ticket sales.
Megan: What do you hope to achieve with this event?
Last Poet: What I hope to achieve is to inspire young writers to come out of their rooms with their material and perform. Rhythm N’ Poetry will give everyone a platform as there will be an open mic available at the beginning.
Megan: Anything else you would like to mention.
Last Poet: I’ll be working with Lali who’s a Xhosa wordsmith popular for his unique writing skills of blending rural Xhosa with local current Xhosa vocabulary mixed with English. He forms part of a rap duo called Imibono.
Megan: I wish I could be there. Sounds brilliant.
What: Rhythm N’ Poetry
When: 29 May 2021
Where: Heritage Café, Gqeberha
WS
