Creative Conference Day 3
WORDUP BASHA: WORDS OF FREEDOM
26 JUNE 2025
18h00 – 21h00
CONSTITUTION HILL – JOHANNESBURG
WORDUP BASHA: WORDS OF FREEDOM
A CELEBRATION OF SPOKEN WORD, RESISTANCE & RHYTHM
Experience a mind-blowing fusion of rhythm, resistance, and raw power as WordUP Basha: Words of Freedom takes centre stage at this year’s Basha Uhuru Creative Uprising Festival. Curated by the formidable Sabelo Soko of WordUP Sessions, this showcase is where legends meet, generations collide, and poems speak.
This is more than just a session. It’s a call to feel, to question, to remember – and to rise. WordUP Basha is poetry with purpose. Words that work. Freedom that speaks.
Topics
Main Showcase: Poetry & Performance
Featuring Makhafula Vilakazi, Nomashenge Dlamini, Belita Andre, Dshamilja Roshani, Kush Mahleka, Shaman Chant, Mzilankatha Mbhali, and Jonathan Lefenya
Musical Intermission: Bopha Blackman
A sonic palette cleanser with revolutionary rhythm
Poetry Gallery Showcase: Curated by Mandi Vundla
A tribute to poetry as both performance and living archive
Special Feature: New Acropolis School Poets
A youthful spark from emerging voices in the poetry scene
PANELISTS & FACILITATORS
Flo Mokale
Host/MC
Dynamic poet and host guiding the evening with wit and rhythm.
Makhafula Vilakazi
A Soweto-born poet whose work fuses township reality with tsotsitaal, Zulu, Sotho, and English. Known for hard-hitting projects like Concerning Blacks.
Nomashenge Dlamini
A Ladysmith poet merging music and performance to revive the tradition of izimbongi and spiritual storytelling.
Belita André
Spoken word artist of Nigerian-Namibian descent. Has headlined Poetry Africa, Izimbongi Festival, and worked with Mac Cosmetics and Jameson SA.
Dshamilja Roshani
German-Iranian poet based in Joburg. Known for The Pride of Water and works centering queerness, fluidity, and belonging.
Kush Mahleka
Eastern Cape wordsmith with over a decade on stage. Her voice has graced everything from Amanda Black’s album to the Essence Festival.
Shaman Chant
Performs “ancestral poetry” in isiXhosa, rooted in indigenous knowledge, African cosmology, and spiritual memory.
Mzilankatha Mbhali
Poet and performer from KwaZulu-Natal. Known for blending street rap and performance poetry across Jozi and KZN stages.
Jonathan Lefenya
Award-winning poet and playwright whose work is known for pathos, precision, and poetic power.
Sabelo Soko
Curator
Founder of WordUP Sessions and creative director of Heroes Creative Joint. A poet, performer, and storyteller with 20+ years in the game.
