Keeping it real

Lately, I have been having visions of what the future of Namibian entertainment culture is going to look like. With these visual predictions, I’ve slowly been re-evaluating my former prophecies - which have been sort of fulfilled, I might add, because these days the unpredictable is considered the norm.These days the norm plays out of the box, within the ‘restricted’ areas and above condemning rules. Okay, look, I’m not ashamed to admit that in the last three years of being tjil’s custodian journalist, I have learnt a lot about myself, family, friends, business and the game or the so-called ‘industry’.From the first tjil edition I curated, I have made mistakes but have played the brave role of deconstructing an already adopted editorial content approach to make development space for forward-thinking coverage. In short, I am chasing a dream. A dream that always used to replay itself each night I went to bed during my university days. A dream that convinced me that I might have a bigger role to play here than what I had initially imagined.So, really, what does this all mean? Well, I think it means that if you have a vision or an idea of how you foresee our local cultural society growing, then that really matters and your passion is pure.Good or bad, overviews of current or future cultural statures have always been informative because that’s when the game gets an honest impression of itself. Man, I remember the last tjil edition we put together in 2019 was themed ‘tjil awards’ that had everybody in their feelings... remember that?It was crazy but necessary for that time, because that birthed cultural insight, which helps progress on all entertainment levels.What does it all mean, when today’s Namibian music misses yesterday’s music? I ask this because parts of my visions brought back longings for the old. Old with regards to spoken and performed content. Okay, let me just be frank about this: I miss how Namibian music used to make me feel back in the day.It is difficult to digest this void and to add the cherry on top of this lack, I have been bumping amapiano and Afrobeats to help ease through the crises that our country is facing. Foreign music genres helping with a local societal struggle.Okay, I think I have said enough weird things there that have just been on my mind, but back to regular programming. If you are reading this, congratulations! You’ve just opened a tjil edition that finds arguably one of the most relevant R&B acts at the moment, Max Junior, who is gracing his first tjil cover.In this edition, we touch on various genres of entertainment - from music and books to travel, making this one not to miss. If you don’t know it already, I go by the name Michael Kayunde and God is love.Praise be.michael@namibiansun.com; @MichaelMKAY on Twitter.

Keeping it real

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-30

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Keeping it real

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-30

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