The City of Johannesburg hosted the annual Clash of the Regions show, dedicated to the quest to find the City’s talent. This initiative forms part of one of the regional activation programmes tied to Arts Alive.

Clash of the Regions is a programme that promotes musical art forms such as kwaito and hip-hop music, as well as poetry. It is aimed at showcasing the abilities of young people from the city in the form of a competition.

The search was hosted at the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein. Due to the new Covid-19 variant, the crowd was substantially smaller, and no mask, no entry was the rigid order of the day, with all safety procedures in place. The programme has been recorded and will be available on numerous platforms for viewing on 12 December 2021.

The City of Johannesburg strives to reach out to places that are normally on the outskirts and to foster talent so that brilliant artists from these areas may be brought from the peripheral to the mainstream of the creative economy. The judging panel featured three highly esteemed judges with exceptional experience and expertise, including the legendary Spikiri, Donald, and DJ Zan-D, as well as DJ Fae Fae as the spectacular programme director and host for the day.

“As we near the end of our 29th edition of the Arts Alive Festival, I’d like to thank our Arts, Culture, and Heritage directorate and our Director Vuyisilie Mshudulu for the opportunity to host this event today as part of the many other arts alive activities we’ve had throughout the year.

“Thank you for allowing creatives to come to a space that makes them feel free and a space to display their talent with everyone present as well as those who will be able to stream the show online,” said Ntshuxeko Manganye, the Deputy Director of Arts, Culture and Heritage in the City of Johannesburg’s Community Development Department.

Vincent Shuga won the Kwaito genre, Jonathan won the Poetry category, and Infectus won the Hip-hop genre. The three winners each received a monetary reward of R10 000, while all other competitors received R5 000 for their remarkable efforts.

“I feel honoured to be a part of this show because it proves that Kwaito is being passed down from generation to generation. I advise all the talented youngsters in all genres to always respect and focus on their craft, because a dream doesn’t become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work,” said Spikiri, the legendary and icon kwaito star.

Written by Ntombifuthi Junerose Nkosi
Photographer: Katiso Mabuza
09/12/2021