Kelly involved in South African investment scam

American R&B singer Robert Kelly, popularly known as R Kelly, has been formally asked to explain his involvement in an alleged investment scam, the Durban regional court heard on Wednesday.
A Durban woman, Busisiwe Priscilla Zakwe has implicated R Kelly in an alleged investment scam that apparently swindled more than 50 people, many of them pensioners.
Zakwe was arrested in 2005 for allegedly taking thousands of rands from investors by promising them they would benefit from ticket sales if they brought an R. Kelly tour to the country in 2005.
Kelly never appeared in the country, but Zakwe claims she deposited R10.5 million into his account.
State prosecutor, Blackie Swart, said on Wednesday he had written a letter to Kelly’s agent Jason Miller requesting the singer to explain his involvement in the scam.
"I sent an email and also faxed a letter to Kelly’s agent last week. We have not received any response from them yet. We will contact them if they do not respond because we want to deal with this matter urgently,"
Zakwe briefly appeared at Durban Regional Court on Wednesday and the matter was postponed to May 6 because the state wants to add more charges against the accused.
On that date, the state and the defence will meet and exchange documents and set up a new trial date.
From 2005, Zakwe had been facing 41 charges of fraud and last week 10 more victims reported their cases.
"We cannot start the trial due to new developments in this case. The state and the defence need to see documents which were taken from the residence of the accused during a raid," said magistrate Sibusiso Mayeza.
He said another suspect was also going to be charged in connection with the case.
The court was packed when Zakwe appeared in court on Wednesday. Most of the victims are pensioners and according to the charge sheet, some victims were swindled of more than R100 000 each.
Attempts to get hold of Kelly's agent were not immediately successful.
SOURCE: IOL

A wise mind is what’s needed in today’s world of music. It’s no longer a matter of how many hits one can possibly put together or how potentially you can become the next big thing. No, how the industry operates has changed all together, which can supposedly be blamed on how easy it has become for anyone to make music and release it independently. But wait… How many of you out there have that wise mind that can command you to implement good strategies for introducing your brand? One guy who has over the years managed to find means of introducing new names under his label is DJ Mbuso. Two years ago, the brother brought a concept album of two musical doctors; ‘House Prescription’ with Mbuso himself and the then unknown front man by the name of Dr. Duda. It was obvious to me that for Dr. Duda to penetrate the market heavily, he’d needed more than to just release a project with DJ Mbuso. With so many hits on the project, it emerged that Duda was actually not only talented behind the decks; he also had a sharp ear for music production.Once the first leg of ‘House Prescription’ was out and doing the rounds throughout the country - receiving massive airplay, Duda’s name started getting associated with other hits that were coming out from other house compilations. By then, his name was already familiar in the house music cycle. Even though I do not claim that he is the hottest DJ or producer at the moment, the strategies that Mbuso and his team have used to introduce Duda to the masses were really impressive.It’s been almost three years now since people got introduced to Duda’s name… After successfully jotting down a couple of songs on ‘House Prescription’ Vol. 1, the brother has now realised the ‘House Prescription’ concept fully and is pursuing it all by himself. And what one is hearing on this release sounds like another musical medical dose that might make house lovers OD.Even though the local house market is at the moment at its peak and there are just so many hits coming out every day, Dr. Duda’s offering is one that will hopefully accelerate more energy to the masses until the world crosses over to 2009. There are some well prepared doses on the project such as, ‘Duda’s World’, ‘Mpumalanga Swing’, ‘Pretoria Funk’, ‘Winter Nites’ and ‘Night Waves’. Marking the success of the Durban Sound, if you are going to release an album and don’t spice it up with a Durban feel, let it be said that you will not be entirely offering the sound that may push your success. Take it from guys like DJ Clock - new born in the house music that is already making noise. Also not to be counted out is Dr. Duda’s Durban Sound on the song, ‘U Yoshada Bani?’ It is clear to me that when it comes to Durbs sound, you can never go wrong bosswww!Though Duda was assisted by Mbuso to fully have his own piece of pie in the music game, it is impressing that the brother has also compiled songs made by up and coming producers. That’s a very good spirit to license songs from unknown artists because if we really want to make the local industry better, those already making it big should be willing to assist should they recognize talent.

Channel O Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards Winners

Channel O cemented its standing as Africa's premier music channel at a glittering awards ceremony that crowned many new stars. The Channel O Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards, brought to you by Amarula Cream, took place at the Johannesburg City Hall on Thursday 11 October 2007 ' and the who's who of the continent's entertainment scene turned out in full force to support this highlight of the music industry calendar.Hosted by Nigerian singer and songwriter, D'Banj and South African dance artist DJ S'bu and featuring a slew of storming live performances, the Channel O Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards were dominated by winners from Namibia, Nigeria, Mozambique and Kenya. “From the start, Channel O has aimed to be the music channel of choice for fans across the continent and the results of this year's event well and truly proved that that is what we now are. We are overwhelmed by the number of fans who took the time to vote by sms or on the website and I think that their devotion to African artists of real quality has really shown itself in the results of this year's awards,” said Channel O General Manager, Yolisa Phahle. (Also performed with the London-based Reggae Strings was a highlight of the show)The diversity of winners on the night proved Channel O's claim of being the only truly “Original African” channel on the continent. The event was recorded “live” and will be broadcast on Channel O on 27 October at 20:00 CAT. (* Channel O is now broadcast on channel 320 on DSTV.)

Durban musicians

Durban musicians have been breathing life into the kwaito style called, unsurprisingly, Durban Kwaito Music or DKM. Durban based producer, Zakhele Madida combined forces with an ambitious young man, Thokozani Ndlovu, better known as L’vovo Derrango to give new life to kwaito. Not only did Madida and L’vovo break new ground, artists such as T’zozo and Professor have pushed the same envelope and introduced another artist from Durbs by the name of Character following in the trend setters’ foot steps.
Kwaito music has been around for many years and has been for a long time associated with South Africa’s youth culture. Artists such as Boom Shaka, Bongo Maffin, TKZee, M’du Masilela, Joe Nina and Arthur Mafokate have contributed so much to the genre, and now a new breed has taken kwaito a step further. Judging from the hype surrounding his name, L’vovo Derrango is making a name for the new sound of kwaito and has been enjoying radio airplay and countless live performances.
Taking a look at the artist’s music, L’vovo and his production team have done quite a lot to grab people’s attention. Only with his first release, the artist managed to secure a space for his name in the music industry and since then the brother has been rocking left, right and center with his stylish kwaito hits such as ‘Mayang’sukela’ and ‘Resista’ which have both dominated the airwaves heavily.
L’vovo’s producer, Zakhele Madida, said DKM is a mixture of house beats blended with kwaito lyrics – which is something that has never been offered to the kwaito fanatics in the past. “I put together a house song with pertaining lyrics, positioned them satisfactorily and also harmonized the chorus but still gave the song the kwaito feel,” he said.
For Madida, the reason for introducing this new trend was to expand kwaito as a genre and open new opportunities for up and coming artists. Madida said the DKM sound is an opportunity that will eventually unlock doors for many artists. “Our sound is simply house instrumentals mixed with pertinent lyrics that have sing-along hooks.”
According to Madida, the other reason for bringing DKM into the limelight was to come up with a sound that even an ordinary DJ would be able to mix into their set. “The problem with kwaito is that the tempo is a bit slow from that of house and it becomes difficult for DJs to mix such songs with what they are playing. DKM fills the gap, offering DJs a kwaito sound that they can easily mix with a house song,” concluded Madida.
For Black Coffee, DKM can be identified by the house music influences and strong kwaito style lyrics. According to the gifted producer, DKM uses a tempo that is normally used for house music. “DKM tempos go even above 125 beat per minute, which is too fast for kwaito,” he said. According to Black Coffee, although DKM lyrics are kwaito based they are also different in that artist don’t say the same verses or statements over and over. “DKM has revolutionised the kwaito scene, it has forced other artists to start writing lyrics that make sense and that are not repetitive.” Lastly, when it comes to the demand of this style, he said people in clubs and radios always ask for DKM songs, being “the in sound at the moment,” he concluded.
From the words of the man himself, L’vovo Derrango said whenever he does a song; he blends real life into his compositions. “In my music, I make sure that there are certain issues that I talk about so that it can be a lot easier for people to relate to what I am singing about,” he said.
When asked what differentiates his music from the rest, he replied; “My songs have a sing-along feel. If you hear me singing for the first time, the second time you see me on stage, you will sing along with me because my lyrics are catchy and easy to relate to”. It is true that DKM has hit the industry hard and is making most producers and artists’ panel-beat their sound accordingly.
With the response that L’vovo received for his 2006 release ‘Derrango’, it is clear that people want a change and have been longing for a different sound. But wait… Not only did L’vovo introduce a new sound, he has also come up with a dance to go along with his compositions called the “Derrango”. It has become clear that whenever the artist is on stage, people anticipate seeing the “Derrango” movement, dancing along and waiting for the man himself to do his magic.