Tour de Force: Part 2

A continuation of “Tour De Force” : Who To Watch in 2011

Part 2:

The Actress

The Port Elizabeth born and bred Masasa Lindiwe Mbangani obtained her Performance diploma from Stage World Theatre School. A recent University of Witwatersrand graduate majoring in performance and directing, she was the college play directors’ favourite and was featured in plays like Closer, Romeo&Juliet, The Hill. She had her professional debut at the Market Theatre in James Ngcobo play Amen Corner. She will be part of the Market Theatre play next year Sundjata. Even though theatre is her first love, Masasa plays Journalist Thembeka Shezi on ETV Scandal. The multi-skilled Masasa is also a radio presenter she co hosts a weekend midday show The Take-over on 90.5 Voice of Wits. I see Masasa name on the Times Square bright lights head lining a Broadway show on my crystal ball.

The Publicist

In the city where everyone is a publicist, Vista kalipa is a cut above the rest. He is a journalism and mass communication graduate with a Masters degree from Louisiana State University in the United States of America. After college he worked for a non-profit gay rights organisation The Triangle Project in Cape-town and in 2007, Jozi bright lights beaconed so he joined one of the hottest PR agencies in the country, Total Exposure. He made his mark as a PR practitioner and publicist. He handled mammoth accounts like Africa fashion International, Cape-town and Joburg Fashion week to name a few.

It was a natural progression for Vista to go solo. He opened his agency, aptly named On-Point PR and Lifestyle Management. Within four months of its existence (an infant in business) he scooped up Simphiwe Dana, 10th Metro FM Awards, MTV My Super 16 and the MTN Durban Jazz Festival. If you’re a brand or you a have a brand that needs to be out there, get the diverse Mr Kalipa to get it out there for you because whatever he is selling, we are buying.

The Artist Manager

Pic: Destinymag

Dynamite comes in small pakages. It’s very true when it comes to super power artist manager Sheree O’Brien. She kick started her career as a music promoter and event organiser in East London. Having conquered her home town, she was headhunted by Soul Candi records as a marketing manager and eight months later her natural talent for creating super stars was rewarded by being appointed Head of Soul Candi’s artist development label. Sheree has managed DJ Mbuso, DJ China, Relo and she is currently RJ Benjamin, Giggs Superstar and Pebbles’ manager. She proved her skills in the production studio as well by executive producing and compiling Giggs Superstar solo project Ssounds of Superstar”. It seems the only way to become a superstar is to get Sheree to manage you, if you’re lucky enough.

The Vinyl Queen

She came and turned the DJ game upside down. Ntombezinhle Jiyane popularly known as DJ Zinhle came into the DJ’ing scene when it was still a man’s world. She managed to attract the attention of Mzansi’s respected DJ Oskido who signed her to his label Kalawa Jazmee. To think that all this happened by chance is just amazing. Zinhle didn’t really pursue a career as a DJ, it found her. The Natal born DJ’s brother owned a music equipment hiring business. “He instilled the love of music in me and taught me to mix” , she says.

Her first gig also happened by chance when the DJ that was booked for a gig where his brother was setting up equipment didn’t pitch, she took over and the rest as they say, is history. She does her thing on Oskido’s YFM show: Oskido Church.

2009 was a mile stone for Zinhle, she released he debut album Feminine Touch and opened a female DJ academy Fuze to train more females to be club DJ’s. Soon the DJ boxes will be full of pretty ladies mixing and that would be a wonderful world to live in.

The Journalist

Meeting journalist Janine Jellars for the first time, seeing her style and the way she looks made me think she was a model. I was taken aback when she told me she was a journalist. A Capetonian by birth, Janine graduated cum laude in International studies and honours in journalism at Stellenbosch University. She started her career as a reporter at The Witness, a KZN newspaper then the it girl morphed into a glam girl and glamourous girls work at glossies. She moved back home to work at Fairlady. Cape-town’s laid back lifestyle was just to slow for her so she moved to Joburg and worked at Fairlady’s Joburg offices as a Features Writer for two years.

In December 2010 she joined an international title: Elle magazine as their Features Writer. She tells me that she is still paying her dues and one day would like to become the boss. “I’m not aiming to become an editor, I want to be a magazine publisher” .

I don’t see that not happening Janine is the lady on a mission albeit not an impossible one.

Look out for these movers in 2011!

By Dumi Gwebu ©

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