Johannesburg - Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh wastes little time expressing his unhappiness towards President Jacob Zuma.
Within minutes of sitting down with the activist, author and rapper, he breaks out into a chorus and raps a verse from one of his songs from his new hip hop album, Democracy and Delusion. Which he says is a soundtrack to his book of the same title.
“Mr President, this is for the people who you’re tryna fool This is for the cronies who admire you. You wanna see a chicken run, I’ll drown you in your firepool.”
The lyrics come from a song entitled Mr President II, launched together with a book that is also entitled Democracy and Delusion.
The 10-track album mirrors his 10-chapter book.
Rapper and activist Mpofu-Walsh addresses students at Oxford.Picture: Cara Viereckl
Mpofu-Walsh, the son of Dali Mpofu, the Economic Freedom Fighter’s Gauteng premier candidate, acknowledges his album and book may anger some people, but this hasn’t stopped him from addressing issues he feels strongly about, especially those surrounding Zuma.
“I think there’s a strong feeling among many people that as long as Zuma goes, we can sweep all these cases under the carpet and everything will be fine,” says Mpofu-Walsh. “But that would undermine the constitution and the rule of law, so what I say in my book and my song is that we can’t forget about Zuma and all the cases and the ways he's undermined the constitution.”
Aside from addressing issues relating to South Africa’s president, Mpofu-Walsh also deals with topics ranging from race and free education, to Marikana and land reform in his album and book.
The Marikana massacre has “deeply scarred" him.
“Because my father was part of the legal representation of the injured and arrested miners, we got to see Marikana very close up. For my family, it really was a turning point.
“Obviously, for my father, it was the moment he decided to leave the ANC. He could no longer believe what was happening. For me, watching from afar, hearing stories that haven't even been made public of how Marikana was handled, not only by the ANC but also the government, really forced me to see reality for what it was and not for what I wished it to be.”
His work is “an attempt to re-shape the political conversation about South Africa, which has been stale, and which has been hogged by old and tired politicians.
“I just felt that we weren’t really seeing the problem for how deep it was and everyone was agreeing that we made all this progress since 1994, so we shouldn’t complain too much.
Nelson Mandela talks with Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh and Michael Sargher.
“I really felt that people were trampling on freedoms that we won; we weren’t having a critical enough discussion of how damaging this decade has been. And I felt compelled to address these issues in my book and an album.”
Mpofu-Walsh is keen to point out that his beliefs and the sentiments he’s shared in his album and book do not mirror that of his father's.
“My father has obviously had an important impact on my life. He is a very political person and his life story is based on politics. In fact, I wouldn’t have be born if it weren't for politics, actually the ANC. My parents met in the Struggle. But sometimes people assume that everything I say is a reflection of what my father says. That’s not the case.
“My mother is a political activist in her own right and she’s had a really important role to play in my views. I also have my own views and there are times when I disagree with both my parents on certain things.”
In Democracy and Delusion, Mpofu-Walsh, who took three years to complete the work, addresses how South Africa as a country has failed to fulfil its true potential
“We have failed spectacularly, especially in the last decade. If the people who fought and died before they got to enjoy freedom, saw what was happening now, they would be bitterly disappointed.
“The good news is that a lot of our problems can be solved in fairly short order. We just need to have the ambition and the bravery to do things differently. Land reform is possible. Changing opportunity patterns are possible and solving corruption is also possible.”
Mpofu-Walsh hopes Democracy and Delusion will spark some sort of debate.
“I don’t see myself as a spokesperson for all young South Africans. I also come from a position of privilege, to some extent, even though I have been affected by some of South Africa’s challenges.
“I just want to start a new debate, provide fresh viewpoints to it, look at things from new angles and get people to see that young people have ideas, not just for how bad things are, but rather how they can be solved. If I can do that, I’ll be happy.”