Composed, arranged and performed by Neo Muyanga, this audio cd supplement was part of the Chimurenga Chronicle (October 2011) , a speculative newspaper which is issue 16 of Chimurenga.
Tracklist:
a) 1+1= (a re-composition of a 5000-year-old offering to Lord Ganesha, the Hindu deity, an opener of sorts)
b) 4:7 (heaven’s on the ocean is a proportional refrain on reaching nirvana, the 7th grade, via the mundane material world)
c) 3sin= rθ (sino projection technology theme)
d) 3(x)n (illegal border crossing and migration theme. composed for dancers)
e) e=mcx \rightarrow \infty (a true story about an explosive riot day with SADF soldiers who attacked Soweto on June 16th, 1985. Composed for those who got hurt)
f) ƒ:X→Y (horizon heart aflame. Composed for a lover)
g) (a summing of random themes theme)
h) 4x+2 (the 2 or 4 step theme)
i) y~ 6/8 (a travelling theme in 6 parts over eight. Composed for puppets)
j) y\ge \!\, 6/8 (a running theme in 6 parts over 8 )
k) 1/4° (a kota bread theme. Composed for skolies and thieves)
l) (a perpetual circle. Composed for an apartheid-era multi-racial soccer club)
Bury Me Naked by Teamhw SbonguJesu (Deep South, 2022)
In his debut book of poems Bury Me Naked, Teamhw SbonguJesu introduces us to a rural Pietermaritzburg township in sharp and provocative language.
As a whole the collection, Bury Me Naked can be considered a work of performance art. Individually, the poems are often nihilistic, provocative, and shocking. As a whole, it presents us with deep sociological questions. In sociological discourse, there is at times a need for a radical perspective, able to initiate robust discussion from leftists, liberals, and even conservatives. SbonguJesu definitely has something here.
While parts of the book may be painful for those who have experienced trauma, and uncomfortable for the squeamish or conservative, it is also important to note that the unpleasant details contained here are the lived experience of many black South Africans. There comes a time when the wounds of a country need to be confronted rather than be turned away from. Bury Me Naked is an open wound, a horror of South Africa’s past manifested. While the contents of the poems may be shocking, the real work begins with those willing to be brave.