Activist, rapper and author Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh spoke to The Daily Vox about his newly released project Democracy and Delusion. The project is two-part: a book which is available nationwide and an album to be released on Wednesday.
Democracy and Delusion – the book and album – is an attempt to reshape the political conversation about South Africa which have been stale, which has been hogged by old and tired politicians, he said. In his interview, Mpofu-Walsh says he wanted to do something new that’s never been done. He combined a book with 10 chapters about 10 different topics in South African politics with a 10-song album mirroring the chapters in the book.
Mpofu-Walsh wants to spark public debate in a fresh way. “The aim is to hit people in the head – but also to hit them in the heart with music and authorship at the same time,” he says.
We asked Mpofu-Walsh how he plans to make his project more accessible, and he says he plans to launch in in various regions in South Africa, such as Khayelitsha. He is not opposed to translating it into other languages and asked for suggestions on how to make the book more accessible.
Mpofu-Walsh knows his book would outrage racists, and the politically powerful – the ANC. He spoke about about his EFF affiliation, saying that while he supports their call for political influence, the solutions he poses to South Africa’s problems are more personal.
Dealing with one of the the myths in his book – that free education is unachievable – Mpofu-Walsh breaks down a solution on how to incrementally achieve free education. He also touches on his involvement in Rhodes Must Fall at Oxford University – where he is a PhD candidate – and the international media furore that followed the launch of the movement.
Stay tuned until the end where Mpofu-Walsh drops bars from his song about free education, Singamasoja, featuring rapper Solo and Fees Must Fall activist Busisiwe Seabe. It gets lit!
If you would like to win a copy the Democracy and Delusion book and album, be sure to share the Facebook live video with a comment. We will announce a winner by the end of the week.
