Chaos In The City - A Show Of Musical Fortitude
Master Kiii preaching to the audience - Shot By @jaytayclicks / Instagram
“I like getting people together to enjoy the experience. It’s a cool idea. I dream of one day having my own venue in town. A Chaos In The City venue. That would be crazy.”
Those were the passionate words used by JOEY, the founder and curator of Cape Town’s newest cutting-edge sonic event, catering for the many advancing musicians scattered around the Mother City, gifting them the chance to showcase their talents to a wider audience.
Unaware of the first installment of the event series, we missed the first show, hosted at Trenchtown in the vibrant Observatory district. However, the VERVE team made sure not to miss out on the second and third showings, hosted at Kaya Cafe and Selective Live.
Poster For Chaos In The City
In my interview with JOEY last year, we briefly spoke of the event. I hadn’t fully understood what he was setting out to achieve until we attended the second show at Kaya Cafe. I can’t lie, we were left shell-shocked after the experience, having the likes of In2une, Mick Kairo, Kozee Chikwenya, Lock, Shell, and Barrel, and Liamar shake the room with their marvellous art.
After the announcement of the third installment, being hosted at the cosy Selective Live on a stormy night, we just knew we had to be there for another round of that experience. And the line-up was one that could not be missed, having the brightest Hip Hop minds preparing to flaunt their talents on stage.
I’m talking about the likes of JOEY, LEE3x3i, Young Downs, Jarry Pitboi, Permi Kwaali, LOUNGE SINGER, Master Kiii, MeccaMind, and Passionpanther. If you’re tapped into the underground Cape Town Hip Hop scene, that’s pretty much a WrestleMania lineup.
Jarry Pitboi Running The Room - Shot By @vuyopolson / Instagram
Walking up the steps into the event space and doing my due diligence in greeting the artists preparing for their sets, I had this warm feeling come over me - even while the rain had me heavily soaked. And as shitty as the weather was, I was proud to see the impressive turnout. It was clear to see how eager people were to see what the show could offer.
And a brilliant show is what we received, having all the talented musicians charm the room with their discographies. Every one of them dominated the stage, stunning the audience with their poetry over eccentric beats and instrumentals that had everyone bumping their heads along with the tunes.
From my personal experience, I had waaaayyy too much of a good time (thanks to the many joints being passed around the balcony), and I absolutely adored the vibes from the many good people in the audience who were simply there for a lovely time.
I knew I had to ask the man behind the plan, JOEY, a couple of questions to fully comprehend why he chose to pursue curating an event of this magnitude.
JOEY Swooning The Crowd - Shot By @jaytayclicks / Instagram
What was the aim behind Chaos in the city, and what are you trying to achieve with this event?
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - the reason I wanted to create Chaos In The City is because I felt there was no platform consistently showcasing the underground talent in Cape Town.”
“There’s an immensely talented group of individuals in Cape Town that don’t get the recognition that they deserve, so I’m trying to create a community with Chaos In The City, build the culture, and actually get a room full of like-minded individuals who enjoy and actually embrace Hip Hop.”
“It was originally more of the music side, broadly as a whole. I wanted Chaos In The City to encapsulate the whole music scene to create the culture. But I feel like it’s going to have to be a bridge that we’re going to have to cross later because I feel like there are not a lot of people who mix and blend multiple genres.”
“Obviously, there’s some overlap, but I think the majority of the audience either likes one or the other. They don’t really like to attend both. I, myself, I like to attend both or as many as I can, but a lot of people don’t.”
“So I think I’m going to build the Hip Hop community and slowly incorporate other genres and other blends of arts into the event. I just want to do it for the culture. Create the environment, create the community, and push the Cape Town scene through the roof.”
“I feel like Joburg has quite a big scene, and it’s popping over there, and I feel like a lot of talent from Cape Town moves there because there’s no scene here. That’s why I want to build the scene here, so people don’t have to leave to pursue and grow.”
The Crowd Having A Good Time - Shot By @vuyopolson / Instagram
Seeing my brother, Jeriah, organise events firsthand, I’ve seen how curating an event is no easy task. Being your third time running the show, what’s your experience been like, and what were the ups and downs?
“Yeah dude, curating an event is no easy task. It’s not a thing of saying 'let's have these people here and let’s have fun’. There’s quite a lot of layers to it.”
“I found one of my biggest challenges was communication with the artists effectively, and trying to get the work together to push it out. I feel like a lot of artists will say they’re keen to perform, but I realized there was a lot more to marketing the event to make sure it’s a successful event.”
“I’m not saying that’s their job, but to have a successful event, I feel like we have to have a lot more on the marketing side and all fronts. I’d definitely say that’s one of my biggest challenges of curating an event, as well as finding the right venue that encapsulates the right energy.”
“But definitely the ups are just seeing the people enjoy themselves throughout the night and seeing people come together and really vibe with the Hip Hop and the music being displayed and performed. I think that’s definitely my favourite part of hosting the event.”
“I quite like the challenge, though, I think it’s pretty fun. Managing to put it together is no easy task, but I think that’s the beauty of it, you know? It’s the beauty in chaos. I like to embrace it rather than to shy away from it.”
LEE3X3i flexing his talents - Shot By @jaytayclicks / Instagram
After what I thought was a successful show at Selective Live, what were the most memorable moments of this show for you?
“Yeah dude, I actually got taken back from the Selective Live show. It’s like all events, but the week before, there was quite a lot of overhead. I wasn’t sure if I was able to pull this one off.”
“I don’t know…something happened by fluke or coincidence, but I think it was an amazing show. People pulled up, the community was alive, the culture was there, and people were properly embracing the moment.”
“I really enjoyed it. All the artists had their own crowd, but they all came together to enjoy the other artists that they didn’t know or didn’t know much about. That was definitely a beautiful thing to see.”
“My family was there, always supporting. That shit is golden. My good homies were also there. And I also met a bunch of people that I hadn’t met before that didn’t even know that I rap or was behind Chaos In The City. It was a very special moment, I must say.”
“I’m looking forward to the next one. I think it’ll be bigger and better. But yeah dude, it was purely amazing. Honestly amazing, not purely amazing. That beauty in chaos that aligned into magical fucking night.”
LOUNGE SINGER Controlling The Set - Shot By @jaytayclicks / Instagram
The one thing I took from experiencing this event was how in line JOEY was with what VERVE had set out to initially achieve - putting people onto what the many local underground creatives have to offer to the world.
Not only was this show an event - it was also a moment for Cape Town. It’s something we don’t see too often in the Mother City, and it makes my heart and soul feel so good knowing someone else out there understands what’s needed for the city and is actually doing something about it.
VERVE honestly thanks JOEY for his ambitious efforts, and he’s assured us that many more events are set up for the near future. Keep an eye out for the next exciting Chaos In The City experience.
