5 Cool Things on the Internet Right Now

For some reason exam season also translates to a lot of Internet procrastinating time and I've tried to rework that into productivity by curating some of my favourite gems of this here Internet.

1. EVERYTHING Willow Smith

Performing a five song set at Fader Fort's Brooklyn Pop Up along with brother, Jaden Smith and SZA (source)

Willow Smith is the future of music and fashion and general pop culture if you ask me. It's been, what, three or four years since she released Whip My Hair and cut her hair in the super short sides bob that had a lot of respectability police with their panties in a bunch. So I don't know what Kool-Aid Will and Jada are outsourcing from the Pacific Ocean, Willow is only thirteen so I think she's going to have to deal with a lot of people dismissing her success and her fame as either things-her-daddy-paid-for/stuff-her-mom-writes-for-her/the-whines-of-obnoxious-rich-kids-born-with-a-verified-blue-tick-on-their-birth-certificates. It's really unfortunate that a lot of the mass culture is going to make her apologise for her name, something she hasn't necessarily ask for and write her of because she's thirteen and has a better handle on human understanding and creation than people twice her age. Her Soundcloud is a beautiful and addictive mix of punk, alternative R&B and the new wave of alternative hip-hop similar to that of Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino. I'm quite obsessed with her, her Instagram, her Twitter and all the cool stuff she, her friends and her brother are doing. Speaking of, check out Moises Arias photography Tumblr as well.

Willow's EP 3 is out today on Google Play; it's free for a limited time.


2. The Hair Issue by Miss Milli B

(source)

"Biko and Mandela lived and died so that I could make choices as a free black girl, not to live a life restricted by the burden of being strong, resilient and hard done by as a black woman. I just want be young and wild and free like the white hipster kids who are perpetually Instagramming photos of themselves partying as if the world will end tomorrow if they don’t party it the fuck up tonight."

I'm a bit late to the party with the extraordinaire that is local blogger, Miss Milli B but her revamped site and her poignant articles that make use of language, matters and memes I can relate t and enjoy have me hooked.

A while ago she posted The Hair Issue, an interesting read on the links between stylistic and trend related choice and a long history of oppressive voices that influence those as well as the issue of being an educated Black women, uncertain of whether she is choosing to relax her hair simply because it's pretty or she needs a change or is she actually falling victim to a system that promotes the superiority of European standards of beauty.Hair, and pretty much anything to do with black women and black female choice and there seem to be very few articles examining the issue of hair in terms of South Africa and Africa, where it is rather different from its American counterparts where weave and relaxer are a longstanding culture and things like box braids and cornrows are re-surging trends.

3. Sonia Sanchez: A Course on Black Women

Initially, when this popped up on my Tumblr feed I was really reluctant to check it out because I thought it was going to be one of those things that pin-holed Black women as Angry and Mad or something really racist and upsetting that I wasn't ready for and I'm ashamed to admit that because it showed my ignorance as I didn't recognise the name Sonia Sanchez.

This is part of a really beautiful series of videos of an interview with the poet and activist, Sonia Sanchez and in this specific one she speaks about a university course she taught on Black Women and it was more about looking and understanding the culture of Black women in America and the issues that affected them that were rarely discussed like incest, rape and self-hate. Listening to Sonia is such an enlightening experience because there is such a vivid passion to her and she really does care about what her students have to say and what she has to teach and it's inspiring.

4. Under the Influence by Bryan Lewis Saunders

Psilobyn Mushrooms [2 Caps onset] (source)

Butane Honey Oil

"After experiencing drastic changes in my environment, I looked for other experiences that might profoundly affect my perception of self.  So I devised another experiment where everyday I took a different drug or intoxicant and drew myself under the influence.  Within weeks I became lethargic and suffered mild brain damage that fortunately wasn't irreparable.  I am still conducting this experiment but over greater lapses of time and I only take drugs that are given to me."

I was looking at famous self-portrait artists like Egon Schiele and Frida Khalo and a Wikipedia rabbit hole led me to Bryan Lewis Saunders's series of self-portraits, all started and completed under the influence of drugs, ranging from heroin, cocaine and marijuana to xanax, ritilin and ambien.

It's a really experiment that reminds me of everyone's favourite Instagram caption, "Who sees the human face correctly; the photographer, the mirror or the painter?" and if you consider that the only idea of what you look like that you have ever seen is from reflections and film, self-portraits are all really a matter of subjectivity. There is no objective way to reproduce an image of yourself. My friend, Shai, was telling me how she can never resist the desire to arch her eyebrow a teensy bit more or square out her jaw a little bit less when she does a self-portrait and those are based on her ideals and insecurities. Self-perception, man. And, who knows, maybe Saunders's portraits under the influence are quite possibly the most accurate representations of who he is, if you're of the brand of thought that looks at self-portraits as more than just an image but insight into the subject and the painter/photographer than anything else.

This also makes me want to try out more drugs but, ugh, expenses.

5. Rapper, Junglepussy's Twitter

(source)

"Junglepussy, a Brooklyn-bred rapper who... has been making a name for acid-tongued anti-scrub anthems, which seem to be her specialty... Junglepussy’s entire artistic oeuvre is one big call-out. And she’s not just speaking for herself—in interviews, Junglepussy makes clear her aim to empower women." - (source)

Junglepussy is the ruling empress of all things Bad Bitch Carefree Black Girl All the Women in the Building Put Your Hands in the Air.  Her Twitter is an empowering and amusing reflection of the attitude I can't wait to fully embody one day when I've attained enough self-esteem, carefree-ness, no-fucks-given and sass. Follow her right now if you want your soul to be saved.

[Video] 11 - A Longing Look at My Version of Forever

OR None of This Is Permanent and It's Killing Me
OR I'm Procrastinating School and the Eventuality of Life
OR Forever, Blue and Home Videos

I've been wanting to look at film for a while now and I sort of pulled this together, in an attempt to have a show of productivity when I was procrastinating studying for AP English, last night with some old videos I've had lying around for the longest of time. I uploaded in a sleep-crazed whim this morning and I will probably going on to hate myself and love that I dared myself for a while after this.

Here's what I wrote about it:
Tavi Gevinson described Forever as, "the state, exclusive to those between the ages of 13 and 17, in which one feels both eternally invincible and permanently trapped." Forever is marked by a desire for permanence and immortality with the underlying knowledge that nothing will last forever. So those of us trapped/bound/confined to this forever do our best to make these fast fleeting movements immortal so that these feelings, feelings you will never feel or experience so intensely and overwhelmingly ever again, are more than just fading memories once we lose our invincibility.

For as long as I could, I've done my best to record every and everything. Whether this was a subconscious desire to escape aging or a conscious knowledge that everything is temporary, I don't know. I've kept millions of diaries, journals, sticker books, photos and, what I've found to be the best form of recording, trapping and immortalising memory; videos.

11 is the beginning of me attempting to let go of the longing and despair I associate with one day not being in Forever. 2015 will be my final year of high school as well as my 17th year, the official end of my forever so I will be attempting to record this but hopefully in a way that does not remove the sincerity from my teenage existence.

Song: Buzzcut Season - Lorde

Tell me what you think or what you had for breakfast, maybe a little advice on how to stop not studying!

5 Cool Things on the Internet Right Now

I've spent a lot of time on this here Internet and wanted to share some things. I doubt I'll do this regularly because that would mean this would become a Things Khensani Found on the Internet blog because there is so much shit I find every day. Also, my mom could possibly find out my browser history and I cannot explain why I've been Googling notorious serial killers (you have that conversation once, you never want to again).

1. Kendall Jenner: Fashion's Newest It Girl | It's Fashionating
This is the first of many a article I'll be writing for It's Fashionating and it's on my fave, Kendall Jenner. My very first blog post was on her as well. It's been really interesting to see how her career's panning out and I'm really impressed, and rather sheepish, that she's going to be the first Kardashian-Jenner famous for something, like, legitimate. 

2. Why Leonardo DiCaprio Didn't Win the Oscar | Vanity Fair

It's been this recurring gag (and series of funny memes) (and hilarious tweets like my, "Leonardo DiCaprio: always a bridesmaid, never a bride.") that no matter how well Leo D does he never wins an Oscar. And despite everyone's outrage this year that he didn't score Best Actor for Wolf of Wall Street (a great film that everyone needs to see), I'd accepted it as one of those things. The same way Kris Jenner will never turn down a new season of KUWTK or how Art teachers are always crazy: you didn't understand why, but you knew it just happened. 

Anyway, this article explored a new concept I've never considered but totally understand now. "Cool guys don't win Oscars."

(Source)

3. Chanel Fall 2014 Ready to Wear Review | Vogue

I've been paying a lot more attention to the Fall 2014 runways as of late what with  Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Jo'burg at the end of the month and South African Fashion Week next month. A big part of why I love fashion shows is because of the cosmopolitan atmosphere, where cultured and travelled people come together to see the realisation of someone's mind and hand. Or something as artsy fartsy as that.

It's great when a designer puts a thoughtful, creative and boundary pushing collection out and launches the careers of pretty faces but I think it's another thing, where in a designer takes her/his audience into consideration and gives them a Show. And that's exactly what Karl Lagerfeld did yesterday. Oh, if only I could've been there. I would have stolen appropriated twenty bottles of Eau de Chanel.

4. Editor's Letter, December 2013 | Rookie Mag

OK, [insert asshole statement] #oldiebutagoodie. I love when Tavi [Gevinson] gets the time to actually sit down and write what is practically a love letter to all us Rookie readers. This is my favourite thing ever and the other day when I was on a caffeine high and catching up on all my Maths homework (it was a month of dilly dallying) I found the printed version I keep forgetting to put in my journal. I just love this because it fits so perfectly into my life like right now. And I remember being at a friend's house, beginning of the year and his mom asking me about university applications which are two minutes away and it hit me like a ton of bricks: it's all real.

5. Lupita Nyong'o's Speech at Essence's 7th Annual Black Women in Hollywood
OK, I haven't even seen 12 Years A Slave (yet) but I'm also very obsessed with Lupita (Foyin's post about her as well) and how well she fits into #CareFreeBlackGirl2k14. She is such a gem and I loved this speech she gave at Essence's Black Women in Hollywood Celebration. This hit rather close to home and I want to immortalise something her mother told her; "You can't eat beauty, it doesn't feed you."
I do wish reporters and award show hosts/presenters would take the time out to learn how to pronounce her name. I've heard Nee-yongo, Ne-wongo and Nae-yongo. I also wish that people would stop reducing her beauty to just the fact that she has dark skin. I understand that a dark skinned beauty icon is quite the paradigm to what's been praised and I guess it shows how truly institutionalised we've become that it's such a revolution in itself, that no other black women in Hollywood are riding the Jennifer Lawrence-esque wave that she is now.
Can we also take a minute to bow down (H-town bitches) to her sartorial choices? Here's a collection of her best looks.

Forever,
Khenzo xx

Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Portolio

[Moodboard] Do You Believe In Magic?

Warning: Music should start play instaneously and while I love Childish Gambino and think the rest of the world should, I don't think your parents/other people in the room/teacher would appreciate this sentiment should you be viewing this not all by yourself in your dark room.
Also this a very image heavy post. I suggest you open up a pack of Oreos and remember that time in The Parent Trap when Annie and Hallie bonded over the fact that they both like to dip them in peanut butter and thus become twinsies fuh'real. 

do you believe in magic? by khenzonatalia on Polyvore

So my blogging's probably going to go stale for a while because I've finally picked up Visual Art and we've been given the hugest task ever. For the first time in my life I'm so eager to do homework on the weekend, specifically all of Friday night and Saturday morning, but it's also taking its toll on my brain because I have so many ideas and so many weaknesses and all I want to do is make amazing art so my parents won't think I'm wasting my life.

But besides that, I've got a new motif/aesthetic encroaching into my life lately. Since my discovery of Amy Scheepers and all the pastel pink and mint memorabilia from my past and the way pink/purple tinted photos make me feel like I'm in an Indie romance film, I've been drawn to ethereal, other-worldly like creatures. Specifically: fairies.

source

source

I. Fairy: fay, fae, faery, faerie.

II. Metaphysical, supernatural or prenatural.

III. Wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk.

IV. Mischevious, wicked, benevolent, good, beautiful, angel.

- From Wikipedia

These are some images from the Paris Spring 2014 runways that have reinforced and inspired my fairy aesthetic.

Elie Saab, Spring 2014

Elie Saab, Valentino, Viktor & Rolf and Zuhair Murad have captured the light, simple, flowy romance of lace, silk and pastels that are so connected with strange, purple tinted magic that's been haunting my thoughts lately. From top to bottom you can see the descent from the Good Fairy Queen (much like Glinda, the Good Witch) to neutral fairies that play harmless pranks and make roses bloom (think Barbie's Fairytopia and, relucatantly, the Disney fairies) to the dark, wicked fairies that perform vengeful acts and grant wishes that will only bring harm (like the evil fairy in Sleeping Beauty - I believe she's Disney's Maleficent, the villains from Barbie's Fairytopia and Tinkerbell's dark side - in Peter Pan, though). I'm really bad at explaining this, forgive me, I've been up to my ears in Romanticism, exponential equations and the Russian Revolution all day but hopefully this curation will explain it all.

Elie Saab, Spring 2014

Alex Mabille, Spring 2014

Zuhair Murad, Spring 2014

This does remind of Barbie's Twelve Dancing Princesses which makes me really happy.

Viktor & Rolf, Spring 2014

Elie Saab/Zuhair Murad/Elie Saab, Spring 2014

Elie Saab/Elie Saab/Zuhair Murad, Spring 2014

Elie Saab/Valentino/Zuhair Murad, Spring 2014

Zuhair Murad/Valentino/Zuhair Murad, Spring 2014

Elie Saab/Zuhair Murad/Valentino, Spring 2014

Valentino, Spring 2014

Runway photos are all from Style.com.

Amy Scheeper's has this strange magic, distant time of soap bubbles and giggles and simple love songs accompanied by acoustic guitars that I love. It's kind of like you're given these small glimpses of perfect moments that make you sleepy and in the background you start to hear a creaky playground swing and children laughing.

source for above photographs

Forever
Khenzo xx

Twitter | Instagram | Portfolio | Tumblr

The World Ends and Begins with January

The end of days is near - well, really, it's here.

No more waking up at 7am to CBS Drama and then going back to sleep only to be woken up by Lucy/Mona whining on 7th Heaven/Half & Half or the sweat pools collecting in every crevice, crook and corner.
No more collaging until 12pm and putting everything off to 3am when I'm watching Suite Life reruns and spewing absolute rubbish all over Twi'rra.
No more watching spoken word and poetry slam videos on Youtube* for six hours and then repeatedly going through Tavi's blog again and again and again.
Now I'll spend five days a week pining for the weekend and every single waking moment pining for December because I know five minutes into my first day of school I'll be like, I'm so done with this shit. I'm going back to dealing with sexist, racist and/or homophobic microaggressions everyday and having to remind myself that it's just one more year, slow and steady wins the race, you can slam all these basics in your Indie documentary later.

January's the worst because you have to deal with a new year and being expected to suddenly be a new person, and you have to simultaneously forget and remember everything that happened in December, and you're constantly bombarded with back to school ads (TV has no chill) all while you're holed up in your room, blasting The College Dropout trying to forget about school and then school actually starts and you've got a brand new set of eleven months of bullshit, tears and euphoria. January's also terrible because you're reminded that nothing ever really changes.

I think I'm more upset about growing up than anything else because that's what the end of days means anyway. Like, I can't wait to be away from certain teachers, the oppressive choke-hold of parents and school and having to depend on your parents for everything and not being allowed to own anything that's even remotely yours (which is why you hang on so tightly to your favourite music and books so tightly because they're so personal to you and no one can ever love them like you can and, like, seriously THIS IS ALL I HAVE DO NOT TRY TO TOUCH JHENE AIKO BECAUSE I WILL DMX YOUR ASS BACK TO 2002, you feel me). I can't wait to be super hipster in university and meet new, interesting people that are so over high school too and want to hang out in artsy cafes with clever names (THAT ARE PUNS) (no matter what those literary smart guys say, puns will always be funny) and don't think French Montana is great.
But then it's like you're gonna be a grown up and you're going to get old. You're going to have to think about taxes and being wifey material. Everyone will be on your case about settling down and how your clock's ticking and eye creams, shapewear, professionalism, dem hips doe, red wine and candle lit baths, Say Yes to the Dress marathons, life insurance. Your parents aren't going to take you on random shopping trips as much and your mom's not going to be there to make you clean your room and you're going to have to live with your decisions and not be able to blame it on your parents or peer pressure or the fact that you're young and your heart changes, like, all the time.

And don't even get me started on making wise academic decisions this year because my future depends on my results this year because I'm applying to real big schools this year. Why am I, a "silly," "emotional," teenage girl, expected to know what I want to do, where I want to go and who I want to be with? Like, I don't even know what August looks like, let alone the rest of my life.
What if I move to Cape Town and everyone hates me or the wind messes up my hair forever? What if all my friends go abroad and I'm left behind on a different pace? What if I trying living for once (you know, the teenage experience and all that) and end up with malaria?
If I don't know whether or not these things will happen how am I supposed to know if I want to go to the University of Cape Town or live in London or spend a year travelling (I hate airports and road trips and packing and unpacking)?

But I'm like Sway. I don't got the answers.
And that's kind of the nice part to all of this. The not knowing. I guess it's a catch 22 because there'll be a whole new world of possibilities and opportunities and I'll become a new person everyday but then I don't know if it's all going to come up rosy** and if the good things will outweigh the bad things and how am I supposed to prepare myself for the things I can't see?

Like, it's so hard to try to imagine life outside of right now but I know that every year millions of ordinary aliens just like me do this and grow up and stuff.

Forever,
Khenzo xx

Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Portfolio

* seriously, though, everyone needs to discover Zora Howard, Alysia Harris, Falu's '10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Man,' Joshua B's '10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Woman,' Jasmine Mans, Def Jam Poetry and the millions of other things that will appear in the related bar***
** (what if university is just like high school except without parents and teachers in your bidness?) (what if it's more lonely nights in a dark room, yelling the lyrics to Destiny's Child songs) (or what if I fail because of a hectic 'party' lifestyle) (and by party lifestyle I mean Skins and Revenge marathons when I should be studying) (like, what flies in high school isn't supposed to fly in univeristy, amirite)
*** you are so eternally welcome for these links

[Collection] Call Me When September Ends

From the top:

1. Me in our villa's kitchen, opening up some sunflower oil about to fry up some fish like a bad mama jammer
2. It was my baby brother's 6th birthday party on Saturday, the 4th, and he got a really cool intricate cake that made me wonder if my mom even went half the trouble for my 6th birthday - she didn't
3. My baby brother and his missing tooth and giant eyes with the world's greatest eyelashes to match. Notice that his eyebrow game is also proper
4. Some of brother's grumpy friends waiting for the cake to be cut and not knowing any of the birthday songs their drunk parents were yelling (been there)

I think 2014's off to a really great start. I'm kind of finally getting my life in gear and stuff. I've had several visions about the projects I want to do (like make a short film and make nifty jewellry stands and stuff for my future vanity table), Sandy Nene, the founded of South African Bloggers, not only knows about my shit but asked me to be the photographer for the website so I'll definitely being doing a lot of photography this year. My dad's letting me have a birthday party for my sixteenth and I've had a million visions of how great and magical it's going to be.

How great are these Beyonce gifs? I'm trying not to be too teen girly (but then again, that's who I am) by constantly compulsively obsessing over BEYONCE but she's inspired me to just get my life and get on to making some cool shit with cool people. Tomorrow waits for no one because by tonight, the King could drop a platinum album in between wrapping her hair and putting the baby down.

I hope in 2014 you stop being a scary faggot pussy and follow those dreams you got so you can do cool shit with me. This is to everyone.

- Tyler, the Creator

 These are from a classmate's birthday pool party in October. I'm sad I didn't swim because after our trip to Mozambique I'm head over heels for swimming pools. I'm trying to get my dad around to installing one so that I can swim everyday. Once I start swimming everyday, my legs will become thinner and my stomach tighter and I'll be able to hold my breath for longer, water fairies will visit and turn me into a mermaid. IT IS ALL IN THE PLAN.

 

 In case you weren't aware, our Bad Gal Riri inspires all my hair decisions and around October last year, I got braids so that I could grow my hair out in a chic, punk rock bob (image one)(and end up going to the salon less because hiding growth would be a lot easier) but I kind of miss seeing my hair everyday and I also miss how easy (some things were) it was with my little pixie cut (image two) so I figure I'd compromise and go a little longer (images three and four).

I think I felt super badass with my short hair and when it was looking it's best, I was having the time of my life, flipping off idiots and being a big, bad, mean motherfucker but the braids were more fun to style.

Notice me rocking blue lips with my pixie cut and then notice me being sleazy and two parts trendy with my braids and brown lipliner.