Invisible Alive

We all love a good story, just as long as it has a happy ending. People want stories that can inspire them going forward, through whatever adversity they may be experiencing. They want a story that will remind them that there is perhaps a light at the end of the tunnel for them too, that it does get better. This of course leaves the average Joe whom themselves is still on the course of achievement, of self betterment in the lonely pits of silence. No one wants to hear a story that is still being written.

Writing about how a black boy from the dirtiest streets of the township of Umlazi established such a spiritual relationship with rock music and continues to be scrutinized for that relationship is not what I’ll be doing here, instead I’ll touch on something a few other South Africans born during the apartheid era have been scrutinized or teased for, that of course being our second names.

During the apartheid era it became a custom for black parents to give their children at least one western name. Post-apartheid, a lot of my black brothers and sisters wear their western names as a badge of shame, they are embarrassed by these names, not because they are a sign of the mental imprisonment the apartheid regime had on some of our parents and grandparents but because we ourselves think very little of our names, this arming these very names we don’t understand with the ability to humiliate us.

I for one am glad my grandmother named me Cyprian, not because I think it sounds good, but because I see Saint Cyprian as an inspiration. We often find heroes that fight for what they believe in, a hero that lays down his life and is willingly beheaded in public for what he believed in is something not widely glorified by Hollywood, and that’s what Saint Cyprian was. Someone I know who wears his “western name” as a badge of honour, is of course our brother Genius Brown. Genius Brown is a young, talented up and coming Durban based producer/Deejay who has a great passion for his music.

Having started his Deejaying under the mentorship of DJ Jili Pepsy (whom some of you may know) back in 2010, Genius Brown has made his star potential known upon releasing his 1st number entitled “Tribal War” under MD Hustle records, this particular track was very popular on Traxsource. His remixes of a couple of well-known tracks also proved to be popular on various audio sites.

With nothing but a dream, a drive to show the world his talent, the world is not ready to hear his story. Invisible alive Genius Brown continues to capture crowds of house music lovers and plays small venues in and around Durban and Johannesburg. With his natural flair for music he carries a dream to one day own his very own record company under his brand “Genius Brown” merely to nurture not only his music but any other talent that dares to grow.

Invisible to the world, alive is the dream, our lives are a silent scream, success we dream of, our hustle we scream of, not yet there, our hard work, unheard of.