Over the weekend, US rapper and J Cole’s Dreamville protégé Bas hosted a photo exhibition alongside the supremely talented local photographer Maverick Seizure titled “Nix Mapha – A Thing by Maverick Seizure and The Fiends”.
Maverick Seizure has been documenting Bas and his team, The Fiends, since they first visited South Africa in December 2018 for the Sudanese-American rapper’s surprise appearance at Castle Lite’s Ultimate Summer Vibe private house party.
At the time, during his visit here, Bas spoke to IOL Entertainment about how much he’d enjoyed his stay in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
“Beautiful, beautiful cities. We went on quad bikes at a farm, we went to one of the national parks and saw rhinos and all types of things we would never see at home. Just the natural beauty of this country.”
He’s since visited on several occasions and on each occasion he’s hired Maverick Seizure as his personal photographer as the two struck up a relationship beyond just business.
At the end of their latest visit, in which they also played the Rocking The Daisies festival, Bas and The Fiends honoured Maverick Seizure with a collaborative exhibition at Johannesburg Hallmark House on Saturday to exhibit his best photos.
Ahead of the exhibition, The Fiends shared a heartfelt tribute detailing how they first met him and how their relationship evolved.
“The first time @bas brought @thefiends out to South Africa we hit up @umgsa and asked them if they knew any shooters that would be interested in capturing our travels,” they shared on Instagram.
“This young kid named @maverick.seizure pulls up on us. Every day he in the lobby early waiting to go out and shoot. Teaching us about his city.
“Showing us South Africa from the lens of the youth. Doesn't matter what we doing or where we be at, he would find a frame of @bas or @thefiends that was just amazing.”
“After about two weeks we had to head back stateside. @oakshades gifted him a #35mm point and shoot. @kquickofficial gifted him a Canon EOS 6D.”
They then told him to “keep going, keep learning, stay focused and keep perfecting” his craft.
They added: “Since the day we met him, @maverick.seizure has been cooking nonstop and today with @rooftop_at_hallmark @hallmark_house_hotel and @steynent we are hosting an exhibition of his best photos in Johannesburg.”
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