Witbank Voices

15/12/2023

Read full profile, first published earlier this year.

https://bit.ly/47WelEy

14/12/2023

This profile was first published in 2021 from our old site. We transferred it to our new one.

Phakamani Mahlangu From an early age, Neo Monyamane always had a love for stories but never really considered filmmaking as a career path. Back then, he was mostly fascniated by radio plays, drama …

29/07/2023

We are changing websites.
All of our content from the last website, whose domain has expired, will be moved to the new site. This will mark our return to WordPress.com as our webhost. We've also decided to go for the free version this time. This has all sorts of benefits, one being that the website will live on even when we've stopped. We've had two paid-for sites that have expired since we started. A free website never ceases to exist(as far as we know). This is real important for legacy. The aim of Witbank Voices is to reach generations. In our few years, we've interviewed great individuals, whose stories must live forever.
Hopefully we'll complete the new site by next week.

27/07/2023

Dope Hope will be performing at Black Labone in Pretoria.

"Very Excited about this one, it's been a while since I've been on stage doing poetry with a full band. I LoOoove LIVE music and this is it." @ Presley Hope

19/06/2023

[Book Review] The Colour of Water

"Young McBride often feels ashamed walking side by side with his white mother. He knows both of them do not fit the accepted norm of what a mother and her child should look like together."

https://witbankvoices.co.za/f/book-review-the-colour-of-water

14/06/2023

“Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them. And if you look at these obstacles as a containing fence, they become your excuse for failure. If you look at them as a hurdle, each one strengthens you for the next.”

― Ben Carson, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

26/05/2023

The bridge crossing the N4 near Del Judor Police Station suddenly looks more spacious. For people walking on it, the walkway seems a lot more secured and wider. Two people are now able to walk side by side. No one worries about a truck colliding with their shoulder. Also, this openesss on the bridge makes the walk a little more dignified than before. Previously it would feel like you're an intruder in the land and cluster of cars. You dreaded walking on it, sometimes ashamed someone you know might see you; sometimes you'd feel you could easily fill in for one of the beggars on that bridge. But that has changed. We now walk there with our heads held high.
Knowing we will encounter potholes on our residential streets, the bridge at least gives us a glimpse - only a glimpse - of good road maintenance in Witbank.

https://witbankvoices.co.za/

~ Witbank Voices

24/05/2023

One of our customers bought himself a few on self-development this morning. He saw us infront of the parking lot at Highland Square, and felt the books calling him. He couldn't resist.


~Wi Book Space (Connections through books)

21/05/2023

New page alert... Please follow.. 🙏
It's all books

19/05/2023

There's a lot of formal business making less sales than informal traders in a month. It's possble for a formal shop to make a lower, daily turnover than umama selling fruits and veggies on the streets. Some formal businesses can go for days without making sales while umalume outside their parking lot rakes in hundreds of rands in just a single day.

Formal shops usually present a well-off appearance, their busiensses enclosed in elegant shopping complexes. But a closer look may shock us. We'll discover that many of these shops are desperately behind on rent. What usually keeps them operating are the owner's other sources of income, such as investments, their other businesses, even loans. But we do not see that. The shop, however, is always in sparkling condition.

Meanwhile the hustler on the street, often in old, washed out clothes and relies on a precarious trolley to transport his product, is making more money. The man who does embroidery and sewing torn jeans on a corner in downtown is making more money.

It's easy to dismiss informal traders on the street as poor and invisible people. That's an incorrect view. They may not always dress elegantly and smell of expensive perfumes, but they make a lot of money, more than some formal businesses. And another important thing is, unlike many employees on work contracts, informal traders often have their own financial fate in their own hands. No expiring work contracts, it all depends on their spirit of hard work and dedication.

~ Witbank Voices

11/04/2023

[Opinion] If a chance to fight for your business comes on a holiday, then you can't afford to follow the masses on their long holidays....

What's the worst that could happen if small-to medium enterprises open on holidays -- make money?"
https://witbankvoices.co.za/f/small-sa-businesses-cant-afford-to-close-on-long-holidays

31/03/2023

"At first the idea to start a business didn't appeal much. For her, baking fell in the hobby section, something she simply did for the love of it. But those she baked for, impressed, had other ideas. Tirelessly they encouraged her to start a business. Finally, the more she baked, Nelly decided to try it out."

It was at age ten after her mother taught her how to bake when she found one of her passion. Now in her twenties, Nelly Mkhabela has turned that passion into a business.

24/03/2023

Tips from a serial blogger...

Whether it's for business or personal reasons, blogging is an essential form of communication. Used effectively, a blog can establish a loyal following of readers. And if its for a business, those readers can become cust...

24/03/2023

https://witbankvoices.co.za/f/how-your-small-business-can-communicate-effectively-to-the-media

So your company has attracted positive media attention and they would like to profile your business. It's a chance to reach a bigger market. Many big companies know how to use media coverage to attract more customers. An...

24/03/2023

We started writing in 2020.
Our first website's domain expired in the middle of 2022. But we revived it, learnt and continued to push.

©️Witbank Voices

We are brands. Communities. Stories.

20/03/2023

❤️

On the UATV platform, content creators have an opportunity to make decent earning for their work.

15/03/2023

14/03/2023

The first article we ever published on Witbank Voices - on our old website - was a review of an Ep called Stoic by rapper Rodge MP K. It was produced by Dreadi'Loops. About 3years later it sounds like it has aged well and is timeless.
Here's passage from the review, written by Phakamani Mahlangu.

"....the beats in the EP are unique to Dread Loop's soulful touch. The first song, 'The Beyond,' starts the journey of Dreadi Loop's masterful production. Other tracks that stand out are "Move On" (ft Sensei), Blink (ft Lady Steezy). The latter song floats on a sample from Norman's Brown 'Rain'. Loops also does something with his beats. He likes to keep them short. Why?

"I want to capture the attention of the listener from the get go and leave him/her wanting more," said Dread Loops. "So I always keep them short so that the listener can come back for some more Dreadi'Loops," he said."

09/03/2023

We've finally written about Dope Hope, an amazing talent. It means our work on this Earth is complete. We can leave now.

Check out the article on our website

https://witbankvoices.co.za/f/dope-hope-still-has-unfinished-business-on-stage

09/03/2023

Never mind 'inspiration', just work.

If inspiration is what's required to complete or even start a project, then it should find you working. Sometimes the search for inspiration becomes desperate and delays the actual work. It's like a deliberate and forceful attempt to be creative, which can sometimes work. But the best creative sparks tend to happen without forcing things too much. They come naturally. Just work and you'll see.

Check out our website

https://witbankvoices.co.za/
We are Brands. Communites. Stories.

©️ Witbank Voices.

Image: stolen

05/03/2023

"The brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.... but sometimes, the most impenetrable brick walls are made of flesh."

The last lecture (Lessons in Living)

27/02/2023

22/02/2023

Unfiltered Africa TV - UATV is a new Afrocentric streaming app we should definitely support. It has that vibe about it that it will be a huge streaming platform, a game changer.

We had a chat with its creative founder and wrote this article below. Check it out to find out more

https://witbankvoices.co.za/f/introducing-unfiltered-africa-tv-an-afrocentric-tv-streaming-a

17/02/2023

Time flies...

15/02/2023

https://witbankvoices.co.za/f/the-inkondlo-sessions-shine-light-on-poetry-in-witbank

15/02/2023

Mindvoice is an artist who lives in the moment, and makes it a point to live creatively. And that was part of his message: the art of improvising, thinking on your toes and allowing your craft to be true to what you may be feeling at that particular point[on stage]. He also highlighted the importance of subtle techniques in poetry such as the silence between stanza, stage presence and proper articulation on stage.

Read more on

https://witbankvoices.co.za/f/the-inkondlo-sessions-shine-light-on-poetry-in-witbank

Photo credit: U MEDIA Photography

14/02/2023

Vusi Leeuw is a music business consultant who spoke to an audience of creatives in eMalahleni.

He dedicated a lot of his focus on the business side of poetry, urging poets to see themselves and their craft as businesses. Most of the lessons and tips he shared were derived from the stories of his experience in the music business. In an interview with Witbank Voices after his talk, Leeuw said he always finds satisfaction in seeing artists fulfilling their dreams.

Photo credit: U MEDIA Photography

Read more
https://witbankvoices.co.za/f/vusi-leeuw-lives-to-guide-and-create-spotlight-for-artists

14/02/2023

Final cover !

We have decided to drop our First issue on the 5th of may due to some technical problems & Extra interviews .
But rest ashored the magazine will be Released!

13/02/2023

The talent in eMalahleni is phenomenal. It's what the world needs to witness. If it doesn't... its loss. To be that publication that writes about it makes it an even more fulfilling experience for us, Witbank Voices. We are recording history. We said it at the beginning of this year: The creative industry is on an upward trajectory. Up we go eMalahleni, up we go eMalahleni💪. What we witnessed at the Inkondlo Sessions, "eMalahleni Voices", was proof of this ascent.

13/02/2023

An opinion piece by writer Khunulogo Mpolokeng who's questioning his drinking habits.

On those rare occasions when he gets wasted, he goes around showing complete strangers pictures of his girlfriend, telling them he will marry her😅. He also likes to spark debates and often denies himself a chance to learn from others as he rarely listens when very drunk.

He wants to put a stop to this🙅🏾‍♂️

This is really a piece about tackling bad habits while they still seem small and harmless.

Many of us simply fail to introspect, to recognize our bad habits and correct them before they get out of hand. Instead, we water the seeds of these habits and they eat away something as they grow.

Sometimes it's important to take a moment, do some introspection and self-correct before it's too late.

Check it out on his blog.

But what would life be without alcohol? I ask this because I genuinely believe it's a serious question and not because it serves as a prof...