All Stars grab attention

HARUKI Murakami once said, ‘If you are young and talented, it is like you have wings’ – and the EMP All Stars crew fit the bill perfectly.

Hip hop, kwaito, ijithi, bhenga, two-stepping or whatever it may be, these guys know how to command attention.

The EMP All Stars crew, made up of three smaller crews namely ‘The Dorks’, ‘OSOM Danger’ and ‘Rap Mobsters’, got together in 2011 when Banele ‘Chris’ Khumalo (16) and Jonty ‘Kaotic’ Stander (17) met at the Crossroads Teen Centre over a game of cards.

‘I actually won that game,’ boasts Banele.

The guys started chatting, watched a film and as they say, the rest is history.

Well, not quite.

‘That same day, we watched the film Step Up 3 and it just ignited interest,’ says Jonty.

‘It’s a bizarre movie,’ added Banele.

The crew started with three guys and two girls.

‘The girls gave up and the guys moved away and then it was just the two of us again’ says Jonty.

‘We recruited more people by posting on our Facebook page, held auditions and reformed our crew.

‘The name was a derivative from the sneaker line by Converse, All Stars, and being from Empangeni, the EMP is obvious,’ explains Banele.

Dance is not something that can be explained in words, it has to be danced, and what separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.

The Dorks’ advice – ‘Do not join a dance school. Dance is an expression; you cannot express an emotion that is not yours. YouTube is the way. Get yourself out there.’.

The truest expression of a people is in their dance and music and Osom Danger recreate kwaito, ijithi and bhenga moves.

‘We complicate things. We recreate and then develop upon those moves,’ say the crew.

Made up of school friends Sambulo ‘BudaSmbush’ Dlungwana, Dominique ‘DOG’ Sibisi, Mandisa ‘NdisoskatD’ Mdunge, Thabani ‘Princee’ Langa and Sanele ‘Nkinga’ Mthembu, the guys met and recruited more people.

It is said that great dancers are not great because of their technique, but they are great because of their passion. These guys are quite the ‘brainiacs’.

Sambulo, studying toward his mechanical engineering degree, plans to pursue dance as a career. ‘Mechanical Engineering is just a backup for when I’m older,’ he says.

Mandisa, studying architecture, spends the rest of his time dancing.

Leaving the rest of the crew in agreement that they want to get into a career that’s creative.

‘To others out there, if it is in you, never stop doing what you love. It is a gift and don’t let it sit on a shelf, use it, it’s yours,’ is the crew’s shared opinion..

Luthando ‘Ryder McKnight’ Dlamini and Lindokuhle ‘N-Mercy Gunz’ Mbatha met at a local studio and decided to join forces. The guys have registered to study music and producing.

‘Rap is an expression of feelings through the mic – it takes talent, passion and practice. You either have it or you don’t,’ says Luthando.

‘If you know and believe that you’ve got it, then go for it,’ says Lindokuhle.

The EMP All Stars are looking at one day opening a studio and hopefully getting sponsors to get something together for the youth.

‘There is such a high drug and teen pregnancy rate in our community. Dance can create an outreach and escape for the youngsters out there,’ the All Stars say.

For those interested in joining, there are hip hop ‘cyphers’ every Friday in Ngwelezane to showcase your talent whether it be dance, poetry or rap.’

‘Holla at us on our Facebook page ‘EMP All Stars’ which is linked to each individual group page,’ says Jonty.