Reggae Got Soul, no not the Toots and the Mytals 1976 Classic, is the latest addition in the archival of reggae in South Africa. Its a reggae publication which saw its official launch issue in the month of February, International Reggae Month. Reggae Got Soul is a music lifestyle magazine edited by Solly Malatsi of People of the Sun productions who brought Luciano in South Africa back in 2012. Mr Malatsi has not been much active in the Reggae scene after staging the Back to My Roots festival and Africa My Beginning, it is now evident what he was busy with during that period.
Back in 2013 a Reggae got Soul Launch issue was circulating on social media. The cover was captivating and had the headstrong producer, Bereket Tafari as the lead story. It seemed like it was going on print and physical copies would be made available, but other than the cover, nothing much came out of it. Fast Forward to 2016, and a full edition of the publication is out. The copy can be downloaded in PDF format and some sections of the magazine are available online at the website. It is not clear yet if physical copies will be available and where would they be sold and also the frequency of the publication is also not clear.
Also, the magazine is targeting a particular audience evidenced by the content. It covers content that is beyond reggae up to current affairs and a varied gig guide.
The launch issue reads:
In this first edition we feature Tsholofelo, a 33 years old woman, a mother of 3 girls and a boy. An artist, theater practitioner to be specific. An introvert, self-indulgent go getter who shares with us her life experiences and triumphs.
Only towards the end does Tsholofelo make reference to Reggae in response to the question: Your first contact with Reggae?
It could be that those are the intentions of the Magazine, to showcase ordinary people who listen to reggae? We can only speculate at this point as we did not get a response from the magazine at the time of going to print.
MzansiReggae extends a warm welcome to the new publication as there is a lot of ground to be covered when it comes to Reggae in South Africa, and its refreshing to see action rather than speculative talk and we look forward to fruitful collaborations.
Download your first issue of Reggae Got Soul here
