9 replies to this topic

[icey]

if the radio aint giving local hiphop the respect it deserves then we got know choice but a mag

[Juma4]

or a website...

[batsirai]

so wat do we do abt it people? we need somen better than SL, Hype of YMag, lets do this....

[prolyfik]

co-sign to that but weredo we start from??????????????

[shaurei]

i am vincent maposa aka shaurei vinny deep and i am thoroughly interested in yo idea but you need a significant amount of money to start such a mag, its a business and prospective unvestors need sound plans. whats yo plan of action lets merge ideas and make it happen.

[Taf1]

I think it's easier to start a website as a point of origin and definitely cheaper *supporting shaurei's point of cost* plus seeing how we are in one spot coz of the internet it might be our way of taking the idea off the ground. Whether it's a site or a mag we need the manpower, resources, a lot of research, word on the actual hip hop that can be constantly updated etc quite a fair bit of work. If we can hold a website then a mag can be done me thinks

[Juma4]

meanwhile. africanhiphop.com is supposed to be an online platform / mag representing for all nations.

so we could do well with more zim content. as you can see with the nigeria updates we did a while ago, that kind of content attracts a lot of people to the point that a lot of the forum users are from nigeria.

so, if you can write or you know someone who can write, do get in touch.

we do not have anything to pay (as we are an independent site with no sponsors) but it also won't cost you anything to publish, while printing a magazine does come with a lot of cost...

[Taf1]

J ue come correct on this

[Mootz]

Co-signed, in theory this is brilliant but in practice it won't work. The hip hop culture isnt big enough here to warrant any corporate publishing house investing in a magazine for it. I know some of you cats may not like this suggestion but i'll put it out there anyway.
If you've picked up a "Hype" magazine from South Africa you'll know that its quality and most likely you got it at a nice price. Hype is available all the way up to Tanzania and comes out 5 times a year. Although it may not seem like it, they are very supportive of hip hop in Southern Africa, its just that they don't have any material because no one gives it to them. I've been fortunate enough to be in touch with the editor recenty I'm currently doing a series of features on Zim hip hop for Hype due to come out in this years publication. It as already begun, pick up Feb/March issue and check out DS and Soosh (ex MoVIP) on the CD, track 9. Its the same song on their facebook page.
If there are any Zim MCs interested in getting their material in hype, getting a short write up and possibly a feature article then give me a shout . Please note that this is for the love, I'm not getting paid for this, your music will not be used without your permission. Remember, Hype is an African magazine based in SA - check out the cats from Bots and Zambia in the last 2 issues. We're currently working on a distribution strategy to infiltrate Zim a bit more.
If you want to get in touch, holla at mutsai@gmail.com or call me on +263912624819 or +27824991294

[theblackbird]

I think the need for a hip hop magazine is secondary to the need for a hip-hop radio station Our music is the primary thing we tryin to promote right?? All good that we can use other mediums but i still think many radio stations, including those in SA and Zim (I've lived in both countries and know this) arent' giving enough airplay to real hip hop. Only Emcees who flow in vernacular languages seem to get a decent amount of airplay.. and this is another topic altogether so i won't get into it.

Anyways next step after an easily accesbile radio station, I'd say we need more access to television airplay for our music videos, documentaries, live performances etc. So its like we need to organize access to all electronic media first coz thats our primary tool for marketing ourselves. Print is step number 3 cause it provides additional martketing, not the primary one needed for artists to blow up..