The inaugural Afropunk Festival in Joburg was a colourful display of expression.
What started off with the disappointment of the news that Solange Knowles would no longer be performing at the two-day weekend event ended up being a space that saw people from all walks of life come together to celebrate Africa in all its glory.
The first day of the festival was met with heavy rains and a lot of people who were still upset that Knowles would not be performing. The news that Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals would also be moved to the Sunday performance dismayed many people who had only bought tickets to watch him on Saturday. But that glitch was also fixed when the ticket holders were bumped up to full weekend passes. Twitter was buzzing with people wondering whether they would even enjoy the event, but after paying so much money for it, there was no way of getting out of it.
AFRO FUNK: The Afropunk festival was a space for creatives to show off their gear. Pictures: Bhekikaya Mabaso/African News Agency
If you have ever experienced an Oppikoppi Festival, Afropunk is the toned down version of it sans the three-day camping.
What Afropunk is was a burst of energy, colour, prints and black magic on every person in attendance.
Saturday’s wet and stormy weather didn’t deter festival goers, who chose to see past all the mud and get right in the thick of things, dancing the night away. The sun played fair, and the weather stayed cool into the 2018 countdown.
Key performances came from The Brother Moves On, Urban Village, King Tha vs BLK JKS and of course Anderson .Paak, who gave the audience all his favourites including The Bird, Milk ’* Honey and Come Down, which had the audience in a frenzy.
The festival was a mixture of a market, food stalls, installations and creatives coming together in a space that allowed for them to exchange ideas and network and, most importantly, show off their gear.
GLAM CHIC: The Afropunk festival was a space for creatives to show off their gear. Pictures: Bhekikaya Mabaso/African News Agency
The cool kids came out to play with some of the best looks of the year. From fairy glam to African chic, there was individuality and expression on display.
Constitution Hill’s People’s Park is set to host several events this year in a bid to open the space up to more people.
“We are here to stay. Throughout the course of the year, Afropunk will produce multiple events at Constitution Hill. As confirmed by Solange in her statement, one of these events will be a solo Solange show. Once we have details, we will create a special discount code for 2017 Afropunk Joburg festival ticket holders to attend this show,” said organiser Matthew Morgan.
The event also saw performances from Laura Mvula, Theo Parrish, Black Motion, OkZharp & Manthe Ribane, Blitz The Ambassador, TCIYF, DOOKOOM, Gods Sons & Daughters, Thebe, Sho Madjozi, Stiff Pap, DJ LAG & Friends, Rudeboyz, Kid Fonque, DJ Doowap, The Alvhinator, Tha Cutt, Nakhane, Spoek Mathambo, Petite Noir, Urban Village, Nonku Phiri, Radio 123, Automatic Live, DJ Kenzhero, Anais B, Just Themba and the Pussy Party DJs.