Officially Offside Album in the Media!

Having only been launched last Friday at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, and yesterday online, the Officially Offside album has already been noticed by the media here in the Eastern Cape.

On Friday, the Herald and Daily Dispatch both covered stories about Creamy Ewok Baggends, whose first track on the album ‘Shame on the Game’ has captured people’s imaginations worldwide. Check out the story on Ewok here.

And getting some well-deserved credit for all his hardwork to make the dream of this album a reality, today’s Daily Dispatch is carrying a story on Xolile ‘X’ Madinda (the brains behind the operation) and how the whole thing came together so beautifully.

Big ups to X and to all the artists on the album.

Listen to the Music. Join the Movement. Demand Corporate Accountability.

Officially Offside album goes LIVE!

Today we can officially announce  the launch of the amazing album in support of the Khulumani Red Card Campaign: Officially Offside! Produced in South Africa, but including artists from 14 countries, this album is a global collaboration of social justice minded hip hop artists who are all calling for corporate accountability.

Grahamstown-based group Defboyz coordinated the project and write the following:

“This compilation was compiled to show solidarity with the Khulumani Support Group legal action against several multi-national corporations who supplied the apartheid regime with the military equipment it used to suppress the majority of South Africa’s people. The core message of this CD is that social justice should never be subordinated in the pursuit of profits. Global society is confronted with a serious dilemma – our personal and national economic goals very often contradict basic human rights in other parts of the world. Should we throw our hands up in despair, or stick our heads in the sand? No, we must constantly strive to transform human society and human systems such that they sustain life and freedom. The artists represented on this CD come from all over the world (South Africa, Ghana, Congo, Togo, Uganda, Mozambique, Iran, the UK, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Chile, the US and Canada) and in a variety of languages – put one message across – that the powers that be must be held accountable for their actions! Peace.”

Check the album below, or on our Music 4 Justice page:

The album was launched at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival on Friday, 26 June, with a line-up of artists including Wordsuntame (track 21) and half of Blk Sonshine, Masauko Chipembere.

Follow-up spoken word gigs to promote the album will be held at Equilibrium on Friday and Saturday 2 & 3 July.

Music 4 Justice

As part of the movement to demand justice musicians and hip hop artists from around the world have joined forces to support the Khulumani Support Group and its campaign for corporate accountability. We’ll be adding their songs and giving updates about their activities on the Music 4 Justice page – so check that out for your dose of Hip Hop activism!

A BIG thank you to the guys on the ground who have been driving this part of the campaign! Watch this space for details of the CD Launch this Friday…

One of the key organisations helping out with the music is NomadicWax an African-focussed hip hop and social activism record label. Check out this BBC article about the label and some of its other work.

Here’s a sneak-peek of some of the international artists that have contributed to the album:

- Italian Hip Hop artists Zero Plastica and El V and the Gardenhouse

- US Hip Hop artist Zee Santiago

- Ugandan Hip Hop activist Babaluku

All this alongside fantastic SA musicians from across the country…

Join the movement. Listen to the music. Take action to demand corporate accountability.