When Tyla Laura Seethal stepped onto the international music stage, she brought with her not just the promise of a new pop star, but the unmistakable texture of Johannesburg’s youth, bold, rhythmically fluent, and globally unbothered by borders. With her breakout hit “Water,” a sultry, rhythmic track blending Amapiano and R&B, Tyla did more than crack the charts, she cracked open a space for South African sound and style on the world’s biggest stages. In February 2024, Tyla won the Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance, becoming the youngest South African to take home the honour. At just 22 years old, she had done what few artists from the…

South Africa’s economic landscape has long been shaped by a few extraordinary individuals whose personalities and business acumen extend far beyond balance sheets. Among them stand Patrice Motsepe and Nicky Oppenheimer, titans not only in mining and finance, but also in shaping philanthropic agendas that address inequality, environmental stewardship, and social innovation across the continent. Their story reveals how wealth, when harnessed deliberately, can spark systemic change and inspire broader networks of giving. Patrice Motsepe: Mining, Sports, and a Visible Giving Pledge Born in Soweto in 1962, Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe entered the legal profession before founding African Rainbow Minerals in 1997. Through sound use of Black Economic Empowerment policies, Motsepe transformed underperforming…

There’s a corner in every South African city where the buzz of clippers is as constant as passing taxis and the rustle of plastic bags in the wind. Pavements in Durban, Soweto, East London, they all have their stretch where chairs are lined up, mirrors nailed to corrugated iron, and a generator running like a mechanical heartbeat. These aren’t just barbers. They’re shape-shifters, sculptors, local philosophers. And in 2025, a growing number of them are turning the art of a township haircut into something more than a way to make rent. Scroll through TikTok or Instagram and it doesn’t take long before you stumble on @FadeGodZulu or @FreshlineEli, street barbers…

In a city like Johannesburg, the night belongs to cars. Taxi horns. Quiet deals. Headlights on wet tar. But if you look closer, really look, you’ll find smaller stories growing in between all that concrete. On the rooftop of a worn-down building in Hillbrow, under dim security lights, a man in a security guard’s jacket moves quietly among rows of spinach and coriander. It’s just after midnight. His radio crackles in the pocket of his jacket. One ear listens for trouble. The other is tuned to the sound of water trickling from a small plastic can. His name is Mpho, and by day, no one would guess. To most of…

Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer, the twin daughters of Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, are members of one of Britain’s most distinguished aristocratic families. As nieces of the late Princess Diana, they have grown up in the shadow of royal heritage while forging their own path in the world of fashion, philanthropy, and media. Unlike many of their British aristocratic peers, the twins spent much of their formative years in South Africa, a decision that shaped their personalities, outlook on life, and approach to fame. Cape Town, with its blend of cosmopolitan luxury and natural splendour, became the backdrop for their unique upbringing, offering both privacy and opportunity away…

Patrice Motsepe’s ascent from a modest childhood in Soweto to one of Africa’s most influential business and sports figures is a testament to vision, resilience, and strategic decision-making. As South Africa’s first Black billionaire, he reshaped the mining industry through African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and later extended his influence into football leadership as the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). His journey is one of calculated ambition, merging corporate success with philanthropy and sports development. Born on 28 January 1962, Motsepe grew up in a business-oriented household. His father, Augustine Motsepe, a chief of the Mmakau community, owned a small but successful retail store that catered to local…

In the corners of South Africa’s oldest prisons, there’s a quiet language written on skin. It isn’t spoken aloud, but it’s seen in the flicker of a sleeve pulled back, in the shape of a number curling around a knuckle, in the ghostly blur of faded ink on a man’s forearm. Prison tattoos in South Africa are more than art. They are biographies, warnings, badges, maps of loyalty and survival. They speak to lives shaped by concrete walls and iron bars, by days spent waiting and nights spent remembering. And unlike the polished studio tattoos worn by celebrities and influencers, these aren’t about aesthetics. They are raw, improvised, and painfully…

In South Africa’s rural communities, something powerful is happening, not with loud announcements or flashy campaigns, but through the steady construction of dignity. Where pit latrines once stood as symbols of neglect, sustainable sanitation facilities are being built, maintained, and owned by the very people who use them. Organisations like The Mvula Trust have been instrumental in shifting the narrative from donor-led delivery to community-owned infrastructure. While government policy and funding are critical, the key to lasting impact lies in grassroots ownership. In 2025, as South Africa continues to address historic service delivery gaps in water and sanitation, it’s clear that empowering communities is not just a strategic choice, it’s…

It’s the distant pop of a power tool in a backyard garage doubling as an auto body shop. It’s the static buzz of a cracked speaker advertising Sunday haircuts and cheap data bundles. It’s the thunk of crates being unloaded at dawn from a bakkie with no plates but an ironclad delivery route. These are the new kings of the underground economy, men and women running businesses off instinct, sweat, and the kind of raw resilience you can’t fake. They didn’t come from Sandton boardrooms or UCT business incubators. They came from somewhere hungrier. Places like KwaMashu, Katlehong, and Mahikeng. And what they’ve built isn’t just impressive. It’s infrastructure. Sizwe…