PRESS RELEASE#3: DJ MOORISH B HEADLINING 1818 HIP HOP JAM SESSIONS THIS SUNDAY

MOORISH B HEADLINING 1818 HIP HOP JAM SESSIONS THIS SUNDAY

Moorish B will be one of the two headline DJs to play at this year’s annual 1818 Hip Hop Jam Sessions going down at township themed restaurant and live performance venue Ko’spotong this Sunday, 27 November 2016, located in Ghandi Square, Braamfontein, one of downtown Johannesburg’s hip, artsy precincts.

The other headline DJ is the multi-award winning DJ Switch, a local legend in his own rights who has also been a popular TV-presenter, break-dancer and scratch DJ in the local entertainment scene for more than a decade. DJ Switch and Moorish B will also be the official judges, judging rap performers who will be competing against each other during the event’s competition.

[Missed the last Moorish B press release? Don't worry, read it here PRESS RELEASE #2: INTRODUCING DJ MOORISH B]

ONLINE MAGAZINE APPEARENCES

Cape Town based online publication IDM (Inside Dance Music) South Africa’s biggest, definitive electronic music authority, currently celebrating 40 000 Facebook likes, introduced Moorish B to its tens of thousands of email subscribers and Facebook fans last week. The brainchild of Dave Mac, ex-editor/owner of the now defunct BPM Magazine and a well-respected DJ himself, IDM is a media channel for DJs, producers, sound engineers, promoters, electronic music lovers & electronic music makers. CLICK here to read the article.

“Honestly, I never heard of IDM until they featured me this week, but after researching their history, how long they’ve been around, how Dave Mac has personally interviewed the biggest DJs in SA and the world, some of which I look up to, and seeing how many thousands of people are talking about IDM online, I was immediately humbled. I mean how many women have appeared on IDM over the years? So I just want to give a special thank you to the IDM team for recognising me.” ~ DJ Moorish B

Zkhipani Magazine, a popular Black youth publication discussing pop culture and important social issues, boasting an impressive print circulation and online presence, featured Moorish B as one of its Top 3 Unsigned Artists of The Week under their websites Hot Talent category on November 3, 2016. Zkhipani is a Zulu slang word for what’s up? If the hype is anything to go by, Moorish B is what’s up! CLICK here to read the article.

“Zhiphani has always been my FOMO handbook, keeping me updated on all entertainment and current affairs news. I used to be envious of people they featured but for me to get featured is just awesome. Ngiyabonga nga kulu” ~ DJ Moorish B

Other online magazines that have featured Moorish B since her last press release include:

·         The SA Mark: Website specialising in documenting South African hip hop culture 

·         Street Voyce: Local website focusing on underground hip hop culture

LATEST MOORISH B MIX

The rush of publicity and curiosity from magazines came after Moorish B released her 14 minute long club mix Trap ‘n’ Trill on her MixCloud account about a month ago. Moorish B’s latest mix The Innerstanding is a more therapeutic mix compared to the club orientated Trap ‘n’ Trill.

“The Innerstanding is a journey through my mindset, Trap ‘n’ Trill is what people want to hear. The Innerstanding is thought provoking and real, it defines me, my type of conscious hip hop,” explains the Moor.

·         Download & listen to The Innerstanding: https://soundcloud.com/moorishb/moorish-b-the-innerstanding

BOOK MOORISH B NOW!

If the media hype is anything to go by, then Moorish B is definitely becoming a force to be reckoned with in the DJing scene. But don’t just take my word for it, we invite you to view and listen to Moorish B live at Ko’Spotong this Sunday so you can witness yourself why people are starting to catch on to her enigmatic style.

Club owners and event promoters whose target market is millennials (youth market: 18 to 35 year olds), looking for a hip hop DJ who knows exactly which songs youngsters are ‘turnin’ up’ to this festive season should consider Moorish B as an excellent option, especially since we have a very reasonable booking fee. Please open the attached Moorish B Rate Card to view our competitive rate. We look forward to your calls and emails this festive season J

*END OF PRESS RELEASE*

·         Moorish B bookings/sponsorships/media interviews or fee quotations  please contact Mooketsi:

              Cell: +27 81 774 8610- Email: mooketsinthite@gmail.com

·         Listen to the freshest Moorish B mixes on her SoundCloud Cloud account: Moorish B

·      Subscribe to Spyda Writa & receive these press releases direct to your email inbox

PRESS RELEASE#2: INTRODUCING DJ MOORISH B

26-year-old Bongeka Maphukatha from Johannesburg, South Africa is possessed by the ghosts of the moors.  These ancient spirits transform her from a friendly call centre agent by day, into a fierce vinyl wielding hip hop DJ named Moorish B at night, whose reputation as a turn-up DJ created a buzz on social networks recently after suddenly appearing in the DJ scene early this year.

This happened within a space of six months after her graduation from the strictly female DJing school Fuse Academy in downtown Jozi in December 2015, Moorish B secured multiple one hour sets during 2016’s winter season at upmarket cocktail bars like Capellos FourWays branch, Liquidchef Chef in Rosebank and the annual hip hop culture festival Back to the City 2016 attended by 20 000+ people in Joburg to name a few.

Unfortunately, Bongeka’s demanding 9 to 5 job in the customer care industry, which requires her to work 7 days a week, or more than 8 hours a day sometimes, combined with the back to back bookings that were rushing in, forced her to time out from DJing and turn down gigs for a couple of months.

"I apologise to event organisers whose gigs I turned down, and to any fans who are disappointed at Moorish B’s absence from DJ line-ups around Jozi.  But my demanding job and the music venues requesting my booking contract happened all at the same time and it eventually became too overwhelming. But I’ve found balance now and all I want to do is to jam dancefloors again.” Bongeka Maphukata/ Moorish B

[Have you seen the  Moorish B press release after this one? Read it here PRESS RELEASE#3: DJ MOORISH B HEADLINING 1818 HIP HOP JAM SESSIONS THIS SUNDAY]

She’s back with a fury, her latest mix; Trap and Trill which dropped a fortnight ago is testament to this, created using basic DJing equipment; a four-channel virtual DJ on a 2 channel Numark pro2 controller, Trap & Trill is still getting positive reviews on the Moorish B Facebook page. 

Moorish B is itching to continue the buzz she created in the first half of 2016, any event organisers and nightclub owners whose target market is millennials (youth market: 18 to 35-year-olds), looking for a hip hop DJ who knows how to spin relevant tunes that pack dancefloors, but at a reasonable booking fee, look no further than Moorish B. Please open the attachment to view her rate card.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

·         Moorish B bookings/sponsorships/media interviews please contact Mooketsi

·         Listen to the freshest Moorish B mixes on her Mix Cloud account: Moorish B

·         For Rate card/artist bio/contact Mooketsi

POEM ABOUT THE MOORS

Oh remember the moors, forget ye not the moors!

  Those revered dark skinned conquerors from North Africa,

Noblemen who charged across the Mediterranean millennia ago in spectacular fleets,

Overlords of Africa’s last colonies in Europe,

Docking on the beaches of the Iberian Peninsula,

Fanning out across Western Europe,

On missions to civilise the indigenous Europeans,

Resulting in Europe’s golden era, the Renaissance Period,

An era that glistened until wars drove them back to Africa

Forgotten are their contributions to Western civilisation

Slowly eroding like their breath taking mosques & universities,

That took Europe out of the Dark Ages,

Temples they were forced to abandon,

When they were chased back across the Mediterranean,

Oh remember the moors, forget ye not the moors!

Those dark skinned warriors, who brought light to Europe.

The Grind Radio: What They Dont Want You to Hear

The Grind Radio’s new Arcade Empire studio is hot. Not only because at 10k unique listeners per month, they’re the biggest 100% online radio station in Pretoria, but because there’s a sweltering heatwave outside and the absence of air-conditioning in the confined studio bumps up the thermometer. 

I’m sweating like a marathon runner now. In a few minutes I’ll be interviewing station manager Jarryd Wood, but with beads of sweat slowly trickling down my forehead and dripping onto my notebook, that’s easier said than done.

Fortunately, Jarryd guides me out of the studio before I collapse from heat stroke to a better ventilated spot inside Arcade. We settle on leather couches near the pool tables where it’s considerably cooler than the studio. Once we get talking, I immediately feel his passion for online radio.

 “I started TGR with my friend Juan Venter as an alternative rock ‘n’ roll playlist blog in 2013”, he says. 

“That automatically led people to compare TGR to TUKS FM because they’re seen as the original station that played alternative, raw rock music in Pretoria.” Jarryd makes an expression, I can’t tell if he’s complimented or insulted at the comparison. 

“But I feel TUKS FM lost it and became too poppy.  It works for them but I also feel people like me who prefer indie, folk and metal are being ignored by commercial stations. TGR fills this gap.” 

With the growing popularity of the blog, Juan and Jarryd wanted to go bigger so they approached the owner of Aandklas in 2014 asking to convert his vacant back bar into a studio and he agreed. They practically had zilch radio management experience, learning as they go and Googling everything else they didn’t know. They also teamed up with angel investors Mike Bower and Divan Paxton who came aboard as TGR’s financial backers.

In June 2015 TGR moved studio to Arcade, “we wanted to become more professional and Arcade offered us better opportunities.” Whereas the Aandklas ‘studio’ was a 5mx2m bar used for storing ice, their new HQ (originally meant to be a men’s toilet) is a total of 10mx3.5m. 

“We now have a separate studio & chill area where DJs can prepare for their shows.

“We also now have a dedicated internet line plus a broadcasting mic for the main host, but getting a carpet and a sleeper couch into the studio was the best upgrade…The somewhat soundproof double pane window was the most expensive renovation.”

With TGR’s new location came new listeners. “After moving to Arcade which plays EDM & metal, we created dedicated hard-core electro shows like We Are Animals which jams underground EDM.”

Jarryd remains adamant that TGR will never sell its soul to advertisers in the future. “We started TGR with our own money, to push our passion for indie music. We want people to tune in and feel we’re genuinely doing this for the love, not for the money.”

TGRs upcoming upgrade will come as a major relief for studio guests and presenters alike though; “next up, we’re getting an air-conditioner” assures Jarryd.

Do you think independent online music and radio stations will ever overshadow the commercial giants?

Notice:I originally wrote this article for JHBLIVE

Listen to TGR here: http://www.thegrindradio.co.za/