Princess Treatment and Emotional Manipulation: Is Our Search for Empowerment Getting Toxic?

Oct 20, 2025 | Lifestyle, Community

Heterosexual dating in 2025 is, unsurprisingly, fraught with politics. At a time when gender discourse is deeply dividing, to co-exist as ‘man’ and ‘woman’ – and to take with it centuries of social and cultural conditioning– is to question the foundations of love, equity, choice and reciprocity. 

Despite the critical consciousness of our new age, most women are born dreaming of a Prince. Whether he looked like Chad Michael Murray or an animated frog, he represented love and destiny, and more than anything, the safety and security of the Provider. Beyond the companionship and the passion, the romance and the epic fairytale, the Prince symbolises access to wealth. Try as we might to euphemise these economic agreements, in reality, the story book model disguises the call for a saviour. For the girl with no money, no prospects, and who’s already a burden to her parents, romance is but an added bonus. 

Post-first-wave feminism, post-voting rights, post-gender parity evolutions, the Prince returns. With him, stands the Princess. Call it a byproduct of economic uncertainty, the rise of right wing politics, or the success of Nara Smith’s PR manager, but suddenly women are looking for providers again. You only need to watch one episode of Love Is Blind to know that most women, even the successful Sparkle Megan types, want royalty treatment (or else). 

Imagery courtesy sourced via Pexels

‘Princess treatment’ became an online fad just 5 months following conservative election wins in the United States. It began with a woman named Courtney Joelle, whose viral 6 minute TikTok video caused a stir when she stated that, to feel like a ‘princess’, she’d let her man do everything for her, including opening doors, ordering her food, and managing her money. She described it as, “letting your husband lead and be masculine.” Her tips and tricks epitomised Tradwife aspirations, veiling weaponised incompetency, infantilisation and dependency as “femininity.” She recommends communication cut-offs, quietness and feigned helplessness to ensure that he stays interested and “obsessed”.  

On the other side of the radicalised dating spectrum, misandrists mocked the trend by setting their partners up to answer ‘bare minimum’ or ‘princess treatment’ to a selection of high-value services. If he answered wrong, he’d be pushed into a pool or sprayed in the face with a high-pressure garden hose. The more I clicked, the more I saw a concerning amount of prejudice and resentment reveal itself. Examples started with nasty but potentially harmless ‘Short King’ hatred, and finally devolved into some pretty outrageous Machiavellian strategies on ‘How To Make Him Obsessed With You’ (basically, how to neg someone) using your ‘Dark Feminine’ aura. 

Indoctrinations on both sides of the political extreme see women either suppressing their independence to allow masculine control, or using their femininity to gain their own. ‘Princesses’ are well-resourced, and unashamed of using manipulative tactics to get their Soft Life. We’re a long way away from the 1950s kitchen appliance advertisements that once mediated a woman’s role as nurturer, mother and wife. Yet, at their core, these trends function on similar assumptions– and although I know some of them are only satirising heterosexual dating, they leave me up at night, anxious with ideology. I find myself asking, what do women want? Or more specifically, what do feminists want, and what did we get instead?

During the first-wave movement, we asked for the right to vote (but failed to account for intersectional oppressions in class and race). During the second-wave movement, De Beauvoir and Friedan inspired wider emancipation: a radical reformation of gendered conditioning, not only in our state, workplaces and economy, but in our homes. Some more radical thinkers like Firestone proposed that a complete renunciation of biologically-defined reproductive roles were the only solution for centuries of subjugation. To save myself from a life of conformity, I must reject the role of the nurturer. To prove my independence, I must equally refrain from needing. Tough ask. Today, we’re more tempered. Thinkers like Butler speak of gender as a cultural performance, distinct from sex, which we can put on and take off. 

Among each school, one critical downfall is increasingly clear. As Didion so controversially stated in her short story, Women’s Movement: “The have‐nots, it turned out, aspired mainly to having”. Behind the veil of reform and empowerment, some women are taking their newfound choice, and using it to reinforce the same oppressive systems in new, insidious ways. These paradoxes find embodiment in schools of thought such as choice feminism, which often ignores the structural, capital realities of patriarchy that keep many from benefitting in the same ways. 

The regurgitation of women’s empowerment, embodied by fads like Princess Treatment, prove that beyond historic ambitions to dissolve gender, the dismantling of class might remain more difficult. The pull of capitalism and the soft life appear stronger than hopes for equal opportunity. As Celine Song said, “capitalism is trying to colonise our hearts”. 

As harmless as it may seem, Princess Treatment glorifies everything we once contested: the imbalance of effort in a relationship, the materialist and transactional nature of domesticity, and the classist underpinnings of gender performativity. Somehow, somewhere, we managed to turn a resistance effort into a new, hybridised power play where the woman gets it all and the man should consider himself lucky enough, privileged enough, to give. What does this misguided attempt at gendered redress imply? Ana Akana answers, “The idea that empowerment involves appropriating the techniques by which you yourself were oppressed.”

The flipped script of hetero dating in 2025 is not much more than an UNO-reverse on the gendered expectations of a conservative era. With enough normalisation, princess treatment will only reinforce a pre-existing belief that women can’t do hard things without help, while strengthening a malicious male population’s approach to coercion and control through capital. 

There’s something frightening about how quick we are to mirror a broken system and call it ‘justice’, instead of repairing its root failures. As Sakeenah theorises in an analysis of Sabrina Carpenter’s latest album cover, “In a post Roe v. Wade world, where the average guy of 35 and under is red-pilled, we’re tired of being sold female objectification as ‘empowerment’.” I wonder, can resistance really be labelled resistance if it still uses the male gaze to its benefit? 

Now listen, as choice becomes a fossil of global liberal politics (particularly in the U.S.), it is undeniable that women must become increasingly strategic in their efforts to retain power, protection and safety. Radical resistance is neither a possibility, nor even a goal, for us all. In an age of economic fluctuation, political crises and volatile regressions to basic human rights, Princess Treatment is a consolation prize for the misogyny purported by Andrew Tate and other platformed offenders (including the President of the United States of America). And unfortunately, for many women in strict climates, speaking up may only expose them to heinous attacks on liberal values. So, if your own indiscreet way to harness power is through the embrace of gendered norms, and a comfortable quiet resistance within the realms of your assigned label, then so be it. Ultimately, it is each individual’s prerogative to embrace or deny their social conditioning in what Butler calls the ‘living paradox’ of gender. 

But if you are lucky enough to live with more agency, and a partner who embraces shared freedoms and ambitions, then perhaps it’s worth asking whether these material negotiations align with the equity we once hoped for. So, spoil her if it makes you both happy, but also look to redefine love. Ask yourself, how can we sustain each other? How can we make up for each other’s lack? If what we really want is to be acknowledged, seen and sustainably cared for– ethically, and with cultural sensitivity– is economics the best way forward? Or can we also prioritise reciprocity, partnered wellbeing and emotional fulfillment? So long as we continue to imbue bravado and pride only on those who pay the bills, we risk reducing love to not much more than proposition and contract. After all, at a time when it is easy to be embittered by the cruelty of our Nightmarepolitik, it is choice, equity and reciprocity that remains most critical, perhaps now more than ever. 

 

Written by Drew Haller

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Follow CEC on Instagram

Strei Teams Up with BabyBoy AV on New Afrobeats Single ‘Crazily’

Oct 17, 2025 | New Release, Music

Rising Afrobeats sensation Strei continues his meteoric rise with the release of his highly anticipated single, ‘Crazily’, featuring Nigerian star Babyboy  AV.
“Crazily” finds Strei blending smooth Afrobeats vibes with his signature Afromood touch, while AV adds a fresh spark that makes the record instantly stand out creating a push-and-pull dynamic that makes the track both intimate and universally resonant. At 2 minutes and 29 seconds, it’s a compact dose of emotion and energy that demands a replay.
“Meeting AV for the first time in the studio felt natural,” Strei recalls. “The vibe was effortless, and we drew straight from our recent love experiences.” That spark is felt throughout “Crazily”, where the balance between the two artists feels organic and complete.
In under a year, Strei has emerged as one of Afrobeats’ most exciting new voices. His debut EP, “I.T.A.M. (Introduction To Afro Mood)”, didn’t just introduce his self-coined genre  it debuted at #6 on Spotify’s Top 50 Viral Chart and crossed 15 million streams in six months. To date, he has amassed more than 22 million streams across platforms, building a loyal fanbase drawn to the emotional honesty and fluid rhythms of Afromood.

With “Crazily”, Strei signals the next chapter of his journey. His upcoming EP promises to push Afromood even further, with bold, unexpected collaborations that expand the sound beyond traditional Afrobeats boundaries.


As AV’s dynamic voice intertwines with Strei’s soulful delivery, “Crazily” stands as both a testament to Afrobeats’ collaborative spirit and a reminder of the genre’s limitless emotional range.
Stream “Crazily” now on all major platforms here.

Connect with Strei:
Instagram
Tiktok
YouTube

 

Press release courtesy of Sheila Afari PR

NOVINE Releases ‘Shot Me Down’ and ‘Therapy’ (ft. Braxton Cook)

Oct 17, 2025 | New Release, Music

Following the success of her acclaimed EP Daydreaming — which broke into the Top 20 of the UK Global Soul Charts and Amazon UK’s R&B Hot New Releases — rising R&B/Neo-Soul artist NOVINE unveils two powerful new singles this fall: “Shot Me Down” and “Therapy” feat. Braxton Cook.

Born in Heidelberg and now based in Berlin, NOVINE draws from both her Jamaican and German roots, blending warm grooves, floating vocals, and introspective lyrics into a dreamy yet grounded sound. Inspired by the likes of Prince and Sade, her music speaks to themes of vulnerability, healing, and love, all wrapped in mellow Neo-Soul textures.

Her new single “Shot Me Down” is a soul-soaked slow-burner, pairing NOVINE’s emotive vocals with BK Andersen’s crisp yet atmospheric production. It’s an intimate portrayal of heartbreak, strength, and self-reflection — a fitting follow-up to the emotional depth of her Daydreaming EP.

“Therapy” finds NOVINE joining forces with renowned saxophonist and producer Braxton Cook (known for collaborations with Tom Misch, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, and others). The track channels a rich, jazzy palette and speaks to the need for emotional release, offering sonic comfort for anyone working through their inner world.

With previous live support for artists like Noname, Kamasi Washington, and Kofi Stone, NOVINE continues to make her mark on the European R&B/soul scene. Her music has garnered praise for its “intimate sound and mesmerising melodies” — and with more new music and shows planned, NOVINE is poised for a breakthrough year.

 

Listen to ‘Shot Me Down’ and ‘Therapy’ here

 

Press release courtesy of Only Good Stuff 

Jazzanova releases ‘In Between’ Remixes

Oct 17, 2025 | New Release, Music

To continue the celebration of the 20th anniversary of ‘In Between’, Jazzanova and Sonar Kollektiv present a forward-looking reinterpretation of the original 2002 landmark release: ‘In Between (Remixes)’ — a full-length remix compilation that breathes new life into the original LP’s iconic tracks.

‘In Between’ helped define the sound of nu-jazz, broken beat, and future soul. Now, over two decades later, a new generation of producers—alongside longtime collaborators—revisit the Jazzanova catalog with genre-bending approaches, fresh ears, and global perspectives.

The album features 11 brand-new remixes from a carefully curated lineup, including: Jacana People, Eric Hilton (Thievery Corporation), The KBCS, Nautilus, DJ Slowz, Magro, Crackazat, Paskal & Urban Absolutes, Kid Fonque, Groove Chronicles, and Satin Jackets.

 

Each remix honors the spirit of ‘In Between’ while reimagining it through a different lens—ranging from deep house, nu-disco, and broken beat to downtempo, jazz-funk, and future soul.

‘In Between (Remixes)’ captures the musical diversity that has always defined Jazzanova’s universe. But it’s more than a nostalgic exercise—it’s a forward- facing celebration of the collective’s enduring influence.

Following the acclaimed In Between Revisited: Jazzanova Live, this release marks the second chapter in Jazzanova’s anniversary campaign.

But the journey doesn’t end here. Coming later this year, Jazzanova – ‘In Between (Deluxe Edition)’ will bring everything full circle. This definitive collection will include the original 2002 album, the live reinterpretation, the brand-new remix compilation, the legendary 2003 remixed album, and a special Jazzanova singles collection featuring one-off tracks like That Night, Days To Come, Bohemian Sunset, and more.

 

Listen to ‘In Between’ Remixes here

 

Press release courtesy of Only Good Stuff

Yayra Agbofah, Founder of The Revival, is Revolutionising Ghana’s Textile Waste Crisis

Oct 15, 2025 | Fashion, Community

In the bustling heart of Kantamanto Market in Accra, Ghana—one of the largest secondhand clothing markets in the world—an active revolution is taking place. Every week, nearly 15 million garments, mostly discarded fast fashion from the Global North, arrive there by the bale. Around 30 000 traders rely on this influx to earn a living—buying, repairing, reselling, or upcycling what they can. But the odds are stacked against them: roughly 40% of each shipment is made up of unsellable garments, often ending up in open dumps, illegal landfills, or polluting the sea.

For many, the trade is a gamble that rarely pays off. Traders go into debt buying bales with only a fraction of usable clothing and as environmental and economic costs rise, only about 20% manage to make a profit. The burden of the Global North’s overconsumption has become Ghana’s waste crisis—a stark case of what activists call ‘waste colonialism’.

In this harsh reality, an important movement is emerging. One such creative and practical force is ‘The Revival’, a textile activism initiative founded by Yayra Agbofah, Winner of the 2025 Global Change Award. “The Revival was born out of urgency, frustration and pain,” he says. “I’ve worked in this market for over two decades. I’ve seen the damage caused by secondhand clothing—how it pollutes our environment and destroys local livelihoods.” Yayra and others are reclaiming the narrative, transforming textile waste into opportunity—despite limited resources, fire-damaged infrastructure and an uphill battle against a global system that treats their land as a dumping ground.

Every week, hundreds of tons of secondhand clothing, known locally as obroni wawu—“dead white man’s clothes”—flood into Ghana. Most of these items are donated in the UK, US, Europe, China, passed through sorting facilities and sold to importers and traders down the line. Few realise that behind every garment that ends up in Accra, there is a price—and it’s rarely paid by the original owner.

“There’s a myth that these clothes are donated and come here for free,” Yayra explains. “But we pay for every single piece. Exporters, shipping companies, governments—they all profit. The only one who doesn’t is the trader.”

With declining quality, many of these garments arrive unsellable, such as stained undergarments, but there is a larger issue at play: “The whole system is unjust,” Yayra says. “If it was working, we wouldn’t be having conversations about textile waste filling our landfills and coastlines. The system is broken.”

Yayra’s response was personal and practical. He began picking through piles of discarded clothing, looking for garments that could be salvaged. Some just needed washing, others, a small repair. He started returning the restored pieces to traders who had given up on them. “I’d say, ‘This was about to be thrown away. Now you can sell it.’ People saw the impact. It grew organically from there.”

From this simple act of repair, The Revival emerged. But Yayra saw that change required more than just mending garments—it demanded re-educating an entire system.

Imagery courtesy of The Revival

Ghana’s Kantamanto Market. Imagery courtesy of The Revival

“Most people in the market don’t know where the clothes come from, how they’re sorted, or how much waste they create,” he says. “We also need to teach consumers. Overconsumption is part of the problem. If you wear something three times and throw it out, someone else pays the price.”

At the heart of The Revival is a commitment to education, empowerment, and upcycling. Yayra has developed programs that train women in the market—many of whom previously carried heavy 50–70kg bales on their heads—into skilled upcyclers.

“That kind of work causes serious health problems,” he explains. “We’re teaching women how to turn waste into a source of income instead.”

The results are staggering. Since 2018, The Revival has diverted over 12 million garments from landfill. It now runs six upcycling studios in Kantamanto, employs 12 full-time team members and has helped launch two independent businesses in northern Ghana.

The organisation also partners with institutions like Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion to inform fashion students about the reality of the global secondhand trade and the environmental cost of their industry.

“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” says Yayra. “Repair and sustainability are part of our culture. We’re just amplifying that knowledge—and adapting it to today’s challenges.”

The Revival doesn’t just work with fashion, it works in the design and art space too. In Yayra’s hands, waste becomes a medium for creativity, storytelling and cultural memory. “We use design to show that waste isn’t just pollution—it’s potential,” he says. “It’s a resource. And it can be beautiful.” Yayra envisions a future where upcycling is embedded in Ghana’s creative economy, as a formal industry creating jobs and environmental restoration.

Some challenges along the way, however, cannot be predicted. At 2am on January 2nd 2025, Yayra received a phone call which explained that there was a fire at Kantamanto Market which was raging through the stalls, incinerating livelihoods, merchandise and crucial equipment, like sewing machines.

“It was the worst possible start to the year,” says Yayra. “People had just stocked up for the new year—one of the busiest times in the market. So much was burned to the ground.”

For many, the market is tied to a home, family, history and the sole source of income. Some traders lost everything they had: unsold goods, shop structures, even items bought on credit yet to be paid off.

In the aftermath of the blaze, The Revival quickly mobilised to address both the logistical and emotional fallout. First came emergency response: delivering food, clean water, medical assistance and support for families who lost loved ones.

“We provided protective gear, tools, and labor to clear debris and start rebuilding,” says Yayra. “This market is everything for the people here. Rebuilding wasn’t optional—it was urgent.”

Collaboration between The Revival x V&A Museum. Imagery courtesy of The Revival

Imagery courtesy of The Revival

The team launched an online fundraiser, drawing donations that helped replace and restock some of the lost inventory. They installed solar-powered street lights to restore safety and visibility. One of The Revival’s spaces had been affected by the fire, but others remained intact which were quickly converted into temporary shelters for displaced traders and porters who slept in the market. “Some traders were so traumatised they couldn’t return. We worked with psychologist friends to help them heal, to bring them back. We gave them startup capital, helped them rebuild their shops, and even negotiated with importers to subsidise clothing prices so people could restart their businesses.”

Despite the unity shown on the ground, Yayra is clear-eyed about the global dynamics at play, sharing, “The saddest part? The same week the market burned, new containers of clothes were arriving—still coming in like nothing happened,” he says. “It shows how cruel the fashion industry really is. Brands just keep selling. No accountability, no care.”

For decades, Kantamanto has played a quiet but crucial role in the global fashion system—processing the consequences of overconsumption, absorbing waste, and keeping garments in circulation. Yayra and his team have worked tirelessly to extend the life of clothes originally made by global superbrands like H&M, Zara and Shein.

“We try to keep these clothes in circularity. We try to deal with their waste. But when we needed support, most brands were silent,” he says. “Not a single effort to help rebuild. Yet the money they make is astronomical.”

Despite the heartbreak, the response from the community has been extraordinary. Kantamanto is rebuilding. “This fire showed us the power of unity, of resilience,” says Yayra. “The people here don’t give up. And the relevance of Kantamanto—within the global fashion ecosystem—has never been clearer.”

The crisis revealed deep cracks in the system: in global supply chains, in fashion accountability and in how the world values the people who absorb its waste. For Yayra and The Revival, the fire was a call to rebuild, with justice and equity at the core.

We ask Yayra what the world still gets wrong about secondhand clothing, and he doesn’t hesitate: “People think once they donate something, the problem is solved,” he says. “It’s out of sight, out of mind. But the truth is, when that garment leaves your wardrobe, it starts a whole new journey.”

For many consumers in the Global North, clothing donation is seen as an act of generosity. For Yayra, who’s spent years at Ghana’s resale markets, it’s part of a broken global loop—one that pushes the burden of overconsumption onto communities thousands of kilometers away. “Your donation might end up on a beach in Ghana, it doesn’t just disappear.”

While The Revival’s roots are firmly grounded in Ghana, Yayra understands the importance of global collaboration. Partnerships with institutions like Fibrelab and the V&A Museum have helped elevate The Revival’s work, reaching audiences in the Global North who often remain disconnected from the consequences of their consumption.

“These collaborations are essential,” Yayra shares. “The problem is global, and it requires collective solutions. We’re exchanging knowledge, building solidarity and expanding impact.”

Through artist residencies, exhibitions and knowledge-sharing initiatives, The Revival has helped shape conversations on circular fashion far beyond Ghana’s borders. But the goal has never been visibility for visibility’s sake.

“Without collaboration, we wouldn’t be where we are,” he says. “It’s not a one-man solution. It has to be collective.”

One of The Revival’s most compelling projects is its design work—not just high-concept fashion, but functional clothing for workers like pineapple farmers, reimagined from discarded denim.“Functionality determines longevity,” Yayra explains. “If something only has one purpose, it becomes waste quickly. But if it serves multiple needs, it lasts.”

From Japanese kimono-inspired jackets (a best-seller in the UK) to Indian workwear silhouettes and local Ghanaian cultural influences, The Revival’s designs draw inspiration from around the world. 

For the next generation of purpose-driven creatives, Yayra offers a simple but urgent piece of advice: “Don’t do it because it’s viral. Know why you’re doing this. Understand the material. Understand who you’re impacting.” Too many jump on the ‘upcycling’ trend without grasping its depth. “We treat textile waste like it’s a new material. Like it just arrived from the factory,” he says. “That mindset changes everything.”

In 2025, The Revival is expanding its vision once again with the launch of a Circularity Lab in Kantamanto Market—an ambitious project focused on textile recycling R&D. While upcycling remains core to their work, Yayra knows it’s not enough. The lab will explore ways to transform textile waste into bricks, paper and other usable materials, creating new industries, jobs and possibilities for circular innovation in Africa.

We ask Yayra about his proudest moment with The Revival. He shares that women who once earned less than a dollar a day carrying 70kg bales of clothing on their heads, exposed to physical injury and exploitation now have support. “We took some of these women off the street, trained them in upcycling,” he says. “Now they call themselves designers.” One of them, who had never used a computer, is now a graphic designer for the organisation.

As the conversation comes to a close, Yayra leaves us with a call to action: “We are all global citizens. That means we all have a responsibility to care for this planet. To make conscious, responsible decisions. Nature heals itself. Nature gives us the chance to rebuild and if we act with love, we can make it right again.”

Kantamanto Market may stand thousands of kilometers from the high streets and shopping malls of the Global North, but it sits squarely at the center of the global fashion economy’s consequences. Through The Revival, Yayra is not only confronting the mounting crisis of textile waste, but is reframing it as a catalyst for creativity, justice and systemic change. In a world eager to discard, The Revival reminds us that true sustainability starts with accountability, empathy and imagination.

This is not a Ghanaian issue, it is a global one. So, if waste can be reimagined, so too can the systems that created it.

“Style is key,” he says. “Because style changes perception. When people see how beautiful an upcycled garment can be, they stop seeing it as waste.”

 

Learn more about The Revival and support their work here

Follow The Revival on Instagram here 

View The Revival’s collaboration with V&A Museum here

 

Written by Grace Crooks

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Follow CEC on Instagram

Amapiano Innovator Ch’cco Explores The Evolution of Pitori Culture Alongside Focalistic With Their Collaboration Album ‘B.O.A.T.S.’

Oct 14, 2025 | Interviews, Music

Linguistically, my contemporaries would posit that the terms “From nothing to something” and “the come up”, essentially borrowed from the Hip-Hop fraternity, have evolved into a rags-to-riches branding rhetoric, giving credence to the credibility of the modern icon. We may have lost touch with the essence of what those phrases mean to those who echo them. Creativity birthed from circumstance, often the rebellion against poverty and the status quo has curated some of the most memorable mediums of craft that reverb through museums and stadiums; giving the perception of the audience a sight to behold, a thought to chew on, a sound to work through or escape adversity and in the process of overcoming – communicating not only the tone of pop-culture, but the philosophy of precisely what is possible.

Shiko Goodman Matlebjane, affectionately known as Ch’cco, reverberates the spirit of creative nonconformity. Born in Limpopo, raised in Pimville, Soweto, and spending the better half of his life in Mamelodi, Pretoria, his artistry embodies a multi-platinum-selling enclave of being in tune with the pulse of the streets and forging a path, setting the stage for the next chapter of the evolving sonic tale of South Africa. Consider the layers of pioneers that he shares a common thread with, including the post-apartheid renaissance of Kwaito, Deep House, Tribal House, South African Hip-Hop, Gqom, Afro-Tech, and the first wave of Ampanio and 3-step, to name a few. At some point, these styles of music were counterculture, then they became the profitable formulaic status quo. This often pushes the artist into a crossroads where they either become pigeonholed into what they are popular for or they gamble with every stage of their evolution and advance the culture forward.

As an acclaimed lyricist, producer, and style maven, he has been an advocate for staying ahead of the curve since his days of storing songs on Nokia 3310 voicemails. His rise to prominence is intimately tied to the culmination of his latest album, B.O.A.T.S, a vast celebration of community and his collaboration with President Ya Strata and Focalistic. 

‘Based On A True Story’ walks in the lineage of elements tied to the acclaimed Pitori Super League — a collective composed of Focalistic, Pabi Cooper, Mellow & Sleazy, M.J. and other talented Pretoria artists. While not formally a record label, the movement has represented the Pitori ethos with lauded blockbuster chart-toppers, namely Ch’cco’s breakout singles “Nkao Ntempela” and “Pele Pele”. 

Complemented by astronomical streams and Spotify playlist covers for Amapiano Groove and New Music Friday respectively, B.O.A.T.S. epitomises the spirit of paying it forward. Similarly to how Mellow & Sleazy discovered Ch’cco online, Ch’cco & Focalistic paid it forward by introducing producers like Sims Noreng, who were discovered on social media.

Imagery by Hayani Africa

Image Credit Mishaal Gangaram 

Meditating on the power of social media and divine alignment, Ch’cco ruminates: “Realistically, we never put ourselves in a situation where we’re outsourcing producers. It’s just been a product of God’s blessings, aligning the right people, time and place. Usually, we meet on Instagram. We’re like, “Yo, I like what I’m hearing. Let’s put it to the test. Let’s take it to the studio.” When we get to the studio, we experiment and do more.” 

B.O.A.T.S, in the larger rags to enriching the culture conversation, puts Ch’cco at the forefront of challenging the framework of what Amapiano can be, the Hybrid movement encapsulated in this album piqued my Kasi flair, sparking a conversation about the PSL, his role as a team player, “31314” and his future plans.

Steam “31314 (Interlude)” here

For our readers who may not be familiar with you, could you please introduce yourself? What was the most unexpected element of your journey into music?

Ch’cco: “Sho, Dintsang! Shiko Goodman Matlebjane here, I go by the name Ch’cco. Born in Limpopo, raised in Soweto, and grew up in Pretoria. I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember. I was introduced to this whole universe by my late father, Opa France Matani. But honestly, it’s just something that’s been in the family. My grandmother is the pioneer of it all; every Sunday, we’d be bumping tunes that she was playing. It just rubbed off on everyone in the family, really.

Music is my true self, my true form, my true personality. There’s only so much I can say in words; most of it is in the records that I produce. My upbringing helped me understand craftsmanship from early on and showed me the diverse directions my sound as a language can take. The challenge has always been incorporating how diverse everything already has been for me and communicating that to the world. But I’ve always looked at it as an advantage, to say the least. Music is a universal language, yes, but there are still language barriers to overcome.

Being blessed enough to grow up in different environments enabled me, over time, to connect with people on a personal level, particularly in terms of communication, where clarity is key, allowing us to hear each other clearly and effectively. That’s always been my ongoing objective throughout my career: finding a way to connect everyone from everywhere with this one specific thing.

“Haena Wrongo” is a perfect celebration of the ongoing chemistry of the Pitori Super League movement. How do you maintain that artistic and cultural integrity amidst the growing success you experience individually?

Ch’cco: “It’s the love we share for each other and the music we make, how we connect in the studio. It’s really that simple. It’s by far the easiest thing I’ve ever done, making music as PSL. You’re already set up for success. You already know what you’re going to get: the lovely Papi Cooper on vocals, Focalistic with his raps. On a good day, if you get production from me and Sleazy, it’s a bonus. In this case, though, we had Young Sims Loreng, a special guy to look out for. 

He’s a young but highly talented man. He wrote four songs for the album. PSL is truly a sacred movement, especially as we watch it mature and see how we’re growing within it. We’re better than we were the day before, as far as the music is concerned. Every record serves as a prelude to a better one, so it’s really exciting to see it turn out the way we planned. The growth is something I’ll continue to highlight; it’s extremely exponential. That’s really something to put up there as far as the things we cherish the most.”

“B.O.A.T.S” also reveals you as a team player, knowing when to grace a song with your artistry and when to make space for collaborators to shine. Did this album teach you the art of being a producer and curator in a sense?

Ch’cco: “100%. It taught me the art of balance, particularly when working with people, such as collaborating with someone as accomplished as Focalistic. You’d think it’s simple and free-flowing, but there’s so much that goes into it. You also learn a great deal about the seriousness with which they approach their craft and their business.

“B.O.A.T.S” as a project, I feel like there were a whole lot of things that were learned, not just by me but even by the audience, about how an album is treated and created. To such an extent, it will continue to appear in my future works of art. It’s something we rarely discuss. We shy away from it quite a lot because we’re not ones to toot our own horns much. However, as far as a rollout is concerned, this is one of the best rollouts I’ve seen for any album in the history of South African music. So, it truly is something to be embraced.

Definitely, I’ll see myself implementing many of the things I’ve learned, even as a producer. You highlight the fact that I’m a team player, but I never thought of myself that way. But it actually showed me how much of a team player everyone involved in the body of work was. I don’t believe the success of the project would have been what it was if it weren’t for the likes of Sims Noreng, myself, all the other producers, all the managers who were involved in creating the shows and aligning the deals, the people who are actually making this interview for you and me to speak right now. It’s an extended effort of what we’re essentially doing here.”

 

 

Image Credit Mishaal Gangaram

Imagery by Hayani Africa

I effortlessly gravitated towards “DropTop” and “26 Nights” with their ease, charisma, and flair. Could you walk me through the art of crafting elements like setting the mood, flow, and style for those songs? How does working with DJ Maphorisa affect your approach? 

Ch’cco: “You know, those songs, those types of sounds where we’re rapping and trapping on top of is’gubhu, I think those will always be the easiest songs for us to make. That’s really just another day for us with Mellow & Sleazy. Seeing Mr. Pilato rock, they just stay in my room with Ego Slim Flow, Tebogo, Koki and fellow creatives to keep the momentum going. And when we’re in the studio with Foca still there, it was just another free flow. As far as the legendary Phori is concerned, that was long overdue for us to have an official record out there. But as far as learning from him, I’ve always been blessed enough to be in spaces where he was; he’s actually a very insightful person. 

There’s no way you’d spend time with him or be around him and not learn unless you’re not that type of person who likes learning. But there’s no way you wouldn’t absorb some significant new information. I’ve always been honoured to be in similar spaces with him from time to time, and we’ve actually worked on a lot more songs than just this one specific one. However, this is the one that saw the light of day. Those trappy songs will always be in our pocket, believe us. That’s why no one will even try us in that sense. But I’ll say, you know, it’s tough to be this dope, but somebody’s got to do it.”

Thank you for coming to our interview. Before you leave, could you tell us what the future holds for Ch’cco?

Ch’cco: “‘B.O.A.T.S‘ is a timeless body of work, so I don’t think I can ever tell you what’s next or when it’s going to end. It’s just going to keep going. We can drop a music video in four years because we just feel like it, that’s the chemistry. We spoke of deluxes, we spoke of a whole lot of things, but once we actually start actioning it, the streets will know that it’s real. The visuals will definitely be there.

The whole country wants to see a music video for PSL. Focalistic, Pabi and I, although we share several cameos for each other in our respective music videos and social media, we still haven’t created a beautiful video together for the body of work. So that one is highly anticipated. “31314 (Interlude),” the prelude to the actual album, has also been taking shape in the B.O.A.T.S sessions.

Every song in the album is an experiment, We selected 12 within over 26 phenomenal songs, that were being treated and the stakes are higher for me because with my forthcoming debut album, I’m part of the sport, you’re dancing between negotiating for those songs to be on the album or making songs on the album that can compete artistically with the infectious energy present. I’m eager to share the album with my community. It’s been a long time coming. I’m looking forward to releasing more music and collaborations.”

Stream ‘B.O.A.T.S’ here.

Connect With Ch’cco

Instagram: @chiccoalot

X (formerly Twitter): @chiccoalot

Tik Tok: @chiccoalot

YouTube: @chiccoalot

 

Written by Cedric Dladla

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Follow CEC on Instagram

Shelley Mokoena’s Connade Debuts in Paris with Sculptural Precision

Oct 13, 2025 | News, Fashion

This October, Connade made its debut at Paris Fashion Week with its Spring/Summer 2026 collection, Hand in Hand — a luminous meditation on connection, gesture, and ancestral continuity. Presented as part of the TRANOÏ PARIS x CANEX fashion showcase (2–5 October 2025) at the Palais Brongniart, the collection placed African futurism and ritual craft on one of fashion’s most visible global stages with stunning effect. 

Connade is the visionary brand founded by Shelley Mokoena, a South African designer whose work is deeply rooted in African design philosophies while embracing a forward-thinking aesthetic. This Paris debut marks a significant milestone for the brand, affirming its place internationally. We spoke to Shelley earlier this year about her creative process — you can read that conversation here. 

Hand in Hand explores the unseen threads that bind humanity, heritage, and creation. Drawing on tactile traditions and techniques, Mokoena transformed these into the label’s signature sculptural garments that exist between clothing and artefact. 

Using multiple techniques such as pleating, structural draping and intricate handwork, Shelley’s sculptural approach is a testament to her commitment to design and pattern-making that pushes the boundaries of form while remaining incisively intentional. This season, shades of red and brown debuted alongside Connade’s usual strict monochromatic palette of black and white, introducing warmth and depth without sacrificing the brand’s signature precision. Exaggerated shoulders created striking silhouettes, while hand-woven details appeared like inscriptions across the garments. We reckon this debut of avant-garde dexterity is a wildly promising demonstration of Africa’s design lexicon’ adding to the growing canon of visionaries pushing the frontiers of the artform from across the continent. 

The TRANOÏ x CANEX platform, powered by Afreximbank’s Creative Africa Nexus initiative, is part of a continued movement to centre African designers on global stages. While Hand in Hand reflects continuity and lineage, its presence in Paris was also a statement of independence. Connade did not adapt itself for a European gaze; it arrived on its own terms, rhythmically and architecturally. 

The debut was a celebration of a designer and a brand stepping confidently into the international spotlight. By merging futurist silhouettes with ancestral gestures, Connade offered a vision of Africa’s fashion future, and we think it’s absolutely perfect. 

 

Written by Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Follow CEC on Instagram

Zandi Tisani on Filmmaking as a Collective Act and Motherhood as a Creative Practice

Oct 13, 2025 | Interviews, Creatives

The notion of the solitary genius has governed the arts since time immemorial. In its whispers, it promises a mind so singular and a vision so transcendent that it renders the artist a figure apart — dissociated from the collective energy that actually makes creation possible. It’s a seductive myth, but it sits uneasily with the reality of how work comes to life. To be in tune with a crew or a creative community is to witness oneself realised through the potential of others; and vice versa. There are few things more transcendent, than the shared realisation of creating something. Film director and writer Zandi Tisani knows this in her bones, and her practice is built on collaboration, on the constellating energy that has refined her point of view and its ongoing nature. 

As we both exclaim together in our conversation, how exciting is it to assume one hasn’t created their greatest work yet? Defying the pressure to peak early and resisting the notion of being fully formed too soon, Zandi’s veteran-like career as a director remains amorphous, and expansive enough to include one of her greatest creative processes yet: motherhood. 

Zandi arrived at cinema through performance, books, as she refers to herself as a “late bloomer in terms of film,” and that “I came to film from a variety of directions or like kind of a variety of interests that all I suppose seem to converge in film. So in high school I was really into theatre, but actually being more on stage and acting. And I really loved that. I also really loved books and reading.”

Zandi’s decision to study film was the result of research — nudged, in part, by her father’s practical questions over her future; “When I was applying to varsity, I actually wanted to study theatre performance. But my dad just didn’t get it. He was like, ‘I don’t understand what you’re doing every day at school. I’m paying all this money, but what exactly are you doing on a daily basis?’ He made me do a lot of research into other courses, and that’s when I came across film and media production.”

Zandi points out that at the time, the internet still felt like a creative frontier — a place where scripts circulated freely, feeding her curiosity and sharpening her instincts. “At that stage the internet was still a little bit of the wild west,” she recalls. “It wasn’t easy, but you could find so many Hollywood scripts or early versions of scripts online. People would just upload stuff to the internet, and that became my favourite thing to do. I really loved watching additional films outside of the film course at varsity.” 

Portrait of Zandi by Andile Buka

This self-directed education laid the foundation for a filmmaker drawn instinctively to character and story — as you’ll note with Zandi’s work, she is less concerned with structure, and more attuned to the emotional and psychological materia of characters, as they archetypically express human nature; “I’m always drawn to more kind of character-driven stories, me personally, than I am really about like plot-driven stories. Characters come to me first before a series of events. The events, for me, come from the people and the choices they make and why.”

When Zandi graduated, the world was in an economic crisis and film jobs were scarce. Rather than wait for the perfect opportunity, she found her way into the industry sideways; through wardrobe departments, casting rooms, and photography gigs. These roles, though peripheral on paper, became her critical learning grounds. “There were a lot of diversions and taking other paths because, you know, the reality was I graduated my undergrad pretty much around the start of that first recession. So I came out into the world and there was no work. I’d also done some photography and so I worked as a freelance photographer doing all kinds of little jobs,wherever I could to earn a little bit of money and then I got a gig as a wardrobe assistant. That’s actually how I got my set experience.”

Set is a sobering experience for anyone with romantic notions of it. As Zandi notes, “Where it became very clear that this idea that I had in my head about a director being this individual auteur who makes the work come to life through force of their own individual will, and so all my understanding around individual creativity was completely blown apart. I became really aware of the collaborative process, and importantly, I became very aware of the fact that film making wasn’t just about me, really.” 

For Zandi, collaboration is a revelatory site, intrinsic to creating a film. She believes that everyone on set — from stylists to grips — is a filmmaker in their own right. Breaking the term down to its most elemental form is essential. “Everyone’s just trying to create a space where they can give the best they possibly can,” she explains, “and that the best that they possibly can, and also that everybody in a sense has to be a filmmaker. Even as a stylist, you have to think like a filmmaker. You’re not filmmaking by yourself — you’ve got a bunch of filmmakers on set who are addressing different aspects of cinema.”

Zandi’s critique of the cultural obsession with lone creative geniuses — and how it distorts the reality of how work actually gets made — feels like such a necessary correction. Personally, I’ve long desired this kind of articulation, and it is one of the biggest crises facing the creative industry today (aside from economic pressures, and the commercialisation of just about everything). We see it everywhere, especially in fashion, where the myth of the singular visionary creative director persists, and so many people seem to have forgotten, or perhaps never truly understood, that behind every name is an entire team, a house, a constellation of collaborators. The work is no longer the central, guiding force; rather, it’s the rise of the single individual who becomes the vessel for collective labour, elevated to near-mythic status. 

It’s within this acute understanding that Zandi’s directing practice, then, is less about imposing a singular vision and more about holding a space for collective brilliance to emerge. It is also why, years later and into her career, another profound shift entered Zandi’s life: motherhood. Like many women in creative industries, she initially felt the tug between two identities that seemed mutually exclusive. “I think that I became, and at first it felt like this tug of war where it was like you’re either a director or a mom and that these things are mutually exclusive and that they’re fighting one another and that you have to pick one, one over the other. And after a while for me I was just like purely on the basis that I can’t cope with that reality, I’ve got to think of it differently because it’s too, I felt like it was kind of pulling me apart in a way.”

Lo and behold, Zandi’s awareness offered me a seismic shift in my own thinking. As she explains, she chose to reimagine motherhood as a creative act in itself. “I really began to kind of really see, you know, being a mom as a very creative area. Designing or creating someone’s childhood is actually a very dynamic and creative process. And that it’s not just about feeding and clothing, but, like I say, it’s a childhood and you’ve got to imagine what the ideal childhood is that you can provide for your child.”

Rather than hide her motherhood from professional spaces, Zandi folded it into her practice — bringing her baby to set when necessary, allowing her life to be visible. “There’s always this idea that being a mom won’t affect you — that you’ll still be the old you. But that’s just not true. It affects everything. I’m not the old me. I can still do the things I did before, but this is real, it’s happening. If my baby has to be in the background during a meeting, then that’s just what it is.”

Motherhood also altered the way Zandi works — forcing her to make faster, sharper creative decisions and embrace efficiency without losing sensitivity. “Post-motherhood, I just don’t have the time to be that hectic about stuff. I kind of have to arrive at decisions quite quicker and I’ve got a very economic way of communicating those quite efficiently and quite quickly. It’s so strange because that seemed to work better than what I was doing before! But that only came as a result of the reality of just not having as much time and mental space.” 

Motherhood in the modern age is still too often forced to contort itself around spaces that were never designed with women — let alone mothers — in mind. Creative industries, in particular, have long upheld models of productivity that prize uninterrupted availability and the myth of the “total” worker, leaving little room for caregiving to exist visibly. If we’re serious about reshaping culture more equitably, we need to build more woman-centred and mother-centred spaces in our studios, sets, and creative institutions — places that recognise care as a creative force rather than an obstacle. Zandi exemplifies how this is possible, and happening, by her sheer commitment to the full dynamism of her expression in her roles; as mother, maker and so on. 

I ask Zandi about how commercial work has been her training ground, and a space to keep her creative instincts sharp. As we often discuss on CEC, commercial work is critical – and it was Nox Mafu who reminded us of the essential importance of mass culture. Zandi notes that as a film-maker, “I always had this anxiety and I suppose in a way I still do about commercials taking away from my more serious work or not having the time to do the kind of the work that I’m more passionate about because of commercials. But one thing I will say about commercials, what I appreciate about it in my own career, in my own life, is that it’s just made me match fit, as far being on set is. I can get so much done in a short amount of time, purely from my commercial training.”

Zandi embraces commercial filmmaking as a part of pop culture with its own cultural significance, that “you can’t deny the importance and the impact that popular culture has on the broader culture. Pop culture and mass culture are extremely valuable. I think being able to recognise and celebrate that is important.”

Of her favourite works, Zandi points to her own films, which reveal the same synthesis of character, perspective, and socio-political sensitivity that underpins her broader worldview. Heroes, one of her first shorts, fictionalised her family’s move into a white neighbourhood during the 1980s — told from the perspective of the white families preparing for their arrival. “Heroes came from my family history, who were the first black family to move onto our street when I was growing up… I kind of had this idea to make a film from their perspective. And so the film is a fictionalisation of that preamble told from the perspective of this white guy whose father was like a former military guy, and he inherits this home and inherits his dad’s position as the leader of the community watch.” In putting herself into the shoes of the “other side,” as Zandi terms it, shei sought to subvert the usual lens of representation by exploring power, discomfort, and perception from a deliberately uncomfortable angle. This is the kind of artistic courage character of an auteur, if you ask me.

One of Zandi’s proudest works is Ixhala; a vessel through which Zandi could examine the unease that lingers beneath questions of identity and representation. Working within the framework of a Wikimedia brief, she turned outward to the historical archive, and then centred on a Black femme figure navigating the film industry. Rather than presenting this tension didactically, Ixhala moves with pace and precision, layering the personal with the historical. “I think I was able to reference some of my own experiences on film — still exploring identity, but from a different angle,” she explains. “I wouldn’t say it was entirely personal, but it was definitely closer to who I am and my lived reality. Visually, I’m really proud of that piece. What I saw in my head is, for once, pretty much how it ended up on screen — and that very rarely happens.”

Finally, Zandi reflects on time as a creative resource. Again, her perspective offers me mental nourishment (and chillness); pushing back against the pressure to “peak” early, Zandi frames her trajectory as one that deepens with age. “The most exciting thing for me about being creative and getting older — and getting older as a woman as well — is that we’re not athletes,” she muses. “We don’t have to peak at 23. You don’t have to do the best thing you’ve ever done by the time your body starts to age. Of course our bodies change, but it’s not the same way. In a lot of creative careers, the work you really want to do often only comes out in your 40s and 50s.”

Zandi is a creative for whom ideas and experiences gather over time — connected through collaboration, sharpened by lived experience, and illuminated by a deep respect for character, community, and the collective act of making. For her, every detour, pause, or dance accumulates meaning. “None of it is useless, none of it goes to waste.” And I am all the more encouraging for her wisdom, too. 

Written by Holly Beaton

For more news, visit the Connect Everything Collective homepage www.ceconline.co.za

Follow CEC on Instagram

Adekunle Gold Releases his Sixth Studio Album, ‘Fuji’

Oct 10, 2025 | New Release, Music

Afropop trailblazer Adekunle Gold releases his long-awaited sixth studio album, FUJI. Alongside the album, he shares “Believe” as the project’s focus track—a pop-Fuji anthem that captures the spirit of desire and devotion at the heart of the record.

“Believe” is the most pop-forward record on FUJI—a sleek, melody-driven track that flips a standout sample into an arms-raised chorus designed for global stages. Stripped of heavy Yoruba percussion but rich in harmonies and emotive vocal layers, the song embodies Adekunle Gold’s vision: pop music reimagined through a Fuji lens. The track serves as a gateway into the album’s narrative of hustle, rebirth, and expression.

In his sixth and latest album FUJI, Adekunle Gold holds a mirror to his emotions in a way he has never done before. While previous projects explored desire, fame, and self-defined success, here Gold is pensive, honest, and precise, weighing the clashing emotions of triumph, grief, and reinvention.

Across its tracks, FUJI oscillates between celebratory moments suffused with confidence and intimate reflections that reckon with loss—most notably the passing of his father—and the journey of rediscovering himself. It is a beautiful and ambitious sonic feast, weaving together soul, R&B, Afropop, Apala, and Fuji.

At its core, FUJI is about openness. Rooted in a genre that historically thrived on unfiltered truth, Adekunle Gold lays his desires, fears, philosophies, and reflections bare, embodying the ethos of Fuji music while reimagining its form for today.

Equally significant is Gold’s reconnection to his Yoruba heritage and royal lineage, which reframed his relationship with his identity and artistry. As with each stage of his career—from the storytelling of About 30 to the invention of Afro Pop Vol. 1 and the cultural reimaginings of Catch Me If You Can and Tequila Ever After—FUJI represents a man reborn. It is the sound of Adekunle Gold sitting inside his feelings, reconciling with the past, and emerging with a clearer vision for his artistry and legacy.

Beyond music, Adekunle Gold continues his philanthropic mission through the Adekunle Gold Foundation. Its flagship initiative, 5 Star Care, launched earlier this year, provides free health insurance to 1,000 people living with sickle cell disease in Nigeria. Developed in partnership with the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), Sickle Cell Advocacy and Management Initiative (SAMI), and the Lagos State Ministry of Health, the initiative underscores AG’s lifelong advocacy for care, dignity, and empowerment.

Connect with Adekunle Gold:
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
TikTok
Facebook
 

Listen to ‘FUJI’ here

Press release courtesy of Sheila Afari PR

Khaid and Ayo Maff Deliver their Anthem, ‘ROVER’

Oct 10, 2025 | New Release, Music

Khaid returns with his latest single “ROVER”, a collaboration with Ayo Maff that pushes the boundaries of Afro pop. Blending Alte rhythms, highlife flows and introspective lyricism, ROVER is a layered narrative about love, ambition and the reality of modern hustle.


For Khaid, ROVER reflects a shift in perspective:

“Weighing the rate of genuine and fake love surrounding me makes me see life differently. Old-school highlife songs always told stories beneath the party vibes — I wanted to do the same. While I want people to enjoy the energy, it’s also a reminder to focus on your hustle and goals instead of distractions that slow you down.”

Ayo Maff, who brings his own sharp lyricism to the track, resonates deeply with its themes:

“This song really aligns with my sound and experience. When I say ‘Who said money can’t buy love?’ and ‘If you get the rabba make you buy the GLE, when you get the money you go know your enemies,’ it’s about the reality of success — people will always have something to say, but your grind speaks louder.”


With ROVER, the duo deliver a track that is both danceable and thought-provoking — an anthem for the ambitious generation navigating love, loyalty and self-worth.


Listen to ‘ROVER’ here

Connect with Khaid:
Tik-Tok
IG
X
Facebook
Youtube

Press release courtesy of Shelia Afari PR