The Coronavirus pandemic has placed lots of doubt into the minds of Kaapse klopse and Malay choir lovers about this season’s competitions and marches.
However, there is hope on the horizon and initiative has already been taken on Women’s Day this past Sunday by one of Cape Town’s favourite sons, the iconic Loukmaan Adams.
Loukmaan along with Oddball Concepts launched a brand new online klopse and Malay choir competition.
The show is called Culture Shock and is a breath of fresh air for Cape Town’s most loved musical traditions.
Loukmaan says: “The intention of Culture Shock is to create a platform during this tough time to help keep the spirit of klops and Malay choirs alive, but more importantly, to create a vehicle for coaches, singers, musicians and teams to generate an income.
“We are well aware that many people feed their families from the sport,” he adds.
When I was at the launch event on Sunday I could not help, but feel a sense of pride for what Loukie was busy with.
Firstly, he took so much pride in what he wanted to present and if people ever wanted to see what we mean by taking our culture to the next level, then this is exactly what Loukmaan has done with Culture Shock.
He placed it in the perfect environment with beautiful sound and lights and a great sounding cultural band backing the show.
He added a level of sophistication and swag which I believe will appeal to the youth while still maintaining the raw feel which makes klops and Malay choirs so authentic.
I believe that our culture needed a Loukmaan with his showbizz experience.
It adds so much value to a culture that was already shining, but just needed that special someone to polish it a bit.
Experience means everything in today’s life; it helps with making good choices and one clever choice on the day was giving radio queen Irma G the hosting duties.
I have not seen someone acting as a host at any klopse event ever and definitely not a Malay choir event.
But Irma fitted into the theme perfectly, not least because it was Women’s Day on Sunday.
The judges stole the show and I think everyone watching this show will be as excited about watching their teams as they are to hear the judges’ opinions.
The presentation judge, the legendary Terry Fortune, is known for his delivery and can sell almost any song on stage.
His delivery of David Kramer and Taliep Petersen’s hit Dancing On My Own won him a Fleur du Cap award in the past and still remains a performance that can move you to tears.
On the moppie item, the judge is none other than the father of local entertainment, Omar “Boeta Maan” Adams, the founder of Kinnes Vannie Ses.
I believe that when it comes to moppie, nobody is more qualified than Boeta Maan to judge, because he is the true moppie king.
He is one of my mentors and has been the mentor of almost every famous and award-winning moppie singer in die Kaap.
Because Culture Shock is showcasing the best of both worlds when it comes to Cape culture, I wondered who was going to be the Nederlandslied judge, which is the only item that is different between klops and Malay choirs.
I was really happy when the Nederlandslied king, Boeta Armien Vardien was announced as the judge for this item.
Boeta Armien is an ambassador for the Nederlandslied for many years now and he has coached many Malay choirs.
I am truly excited about this concept because it’s new and because now I know for sure that our culture will survive the virus.
Culture Shock is the new normal for our culture and I encourage all to join as it is an independent competition with a fresh young feel.
Follow Oddball Concepts on Facebook for details on how to buy your tickets.
To Loukmaan Adams, slamat and much respect for taking this bold step in the right direction.
In my opinion it will have a positive impact on the klops and Cape Malay choir culture, in addition to supporting the players and their families.