During this month of love, it is all about the music as the Gauteng-renowned duo The Rhythm Sessions, in collaboration with NuTown Soul, bring you a brand new offering from their new extended play record (EP), which launches on Friday, 28 February 2020.

Slaghuis II is a search for what it means to be marked by violence. Slaghuis is an Afrikaans word for a literal place of slaughter and a vernacular expression for a place of violence that had come to identify the tavern where Hlatshwayo grew up. He transforms the familiar spaces of home and tavern into places of making that takes up violence as a visual language.

Set in the poor, rural town of Mdantsane, known as the boxing mecca of Mzansi, Qubeka’s film follows the anarchical descent of the two brothers into a hellish life as they are driven to the brink by an all-too-familiar toxic masculinity that breaks them down. Over and above a tale of men and boxing, ‘Knuckle City’ is in fact the story of a family’s ability to maintain some sort of unity in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

Following his standout performance at NYC Winter Jazzfest earlier this month, the visionary South African pianist and composer Nduduzo Makhathini has announced an April 3 release date for his Blue Note Records debut Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds, an expansive album anchored by Makhathini’s expressive piano in which lyrical, plaintive horns mingle with percussion, pained yelps and urgent lyrics. The album is available for pre-order on CD and digital formats.

Generations of African history is undocumented or destroyed, the preservation of our culture and beliefs is an important asset, as we define and redefine our own identity. Through the technology of music and art, we find ways to capture what is left of our folklore and re-imagine the Africa we want to be.