StereoType Records

It’s Tuesday morning and I woke up at about 9am. Thinking about everything, everyone I love. Curious to see what the world had in store for me. Said a quiet prayer to my heavenly father, in thanksgiving for the blessings of family, friends and creation.

It was a slightly overcast day in the Mother City, Cape Town, as the clouded cloth covered one of the wonders of the world – my  Table mountain. In my mind, I remember personifying the Mother City as a beautiful women poisoned by the ills of babylon. My sister, Roxanne, walked into my room and asked if I was ready for my journey. “Yeah, I guess” was the response. My Godfather and uncle were there to see me off and deliver me to the airport. I met Lee at the airport, wrapped my bag and checked in only to have to unwrap it again as my luggage was a tad too heavy. I met up with my lawyer and partner at the Spur restaurant at the airport, a proudly South African restaurant- damn i’m gonna miss their rib burgers. My siblings, family and friends had also arrived shortly afterwards.

Leaving is extremely emotional, having to depart from my loved- ones. Waiting to board I noticed an elderly woman forgetting one of her bags on the floor, I immediately picked it up and handed it over to her. It’s the little things, right? I tried holding back the tears as Q started crying, I love her so much man. If it means compromising my brand by saying that, then its my brand that needs to change in my opinion. From Byron the single guy, to Byron the family, ordinary guy- archetype. Lester’s gonna nail me for saying that, haha.

I was lucky enough to get a window seat and periodically glanced outside at occasional lights, and even two planes that had flown by. There’s not really much to look at on an evening flight, is there? I couldn’t sleep as I was extremely uncomfortable, even with my seat adjusted, so I watched a few movies.

By the time the pilot announced that we were to land in the next 30 minutes, my eyes were bloodshot- red from the endless hours of airconditioning and movies. Customs, luckily,  was a walk in the park.Just as well, I was exhausted! Sanjay broke the news to me that I already had a gig that very evening. Sanjay gave me a brief tour as we drove through the streets London. At the house, I met my roommate – Sha. Sha is a nigerian producer/ songwriter/ artist and he’s hilarious. He cracked me up from the word go. I think he should add comedian to his activities.

When we got to the house, I was so tired I couldn’t even sleep- if that makes any sense at all! We met up with Sanjay again and off to soundcheck, at my very first gig at the 12 Bar – an extremely popular acoustic venue. Damien Rice performed here not to long ago. I finished my soundcheck, took the chance to relax for  a bit, then hit the stage for my performance. My cousin’s roommate and friend had arrived to support, which was great. Everyone enjoyed my performance, and I was asked to do another set some time very soon by the owners. After my gig, I had my very first Guiness with Seany, and then they took me for a brief tour of the city.

I was amazed by London’s cosmopolitan life. A normal Wednesday night in London is like the finals night was of the world cup in Johannesburg. After being mesmersized by the hip hop artistry at Picadilly circle, and the Audi mechanical hand at Trafalgar square, we said goodbye to Seany and Sudan, and then myself and Sha headed off to the tubes.

Transport is extremely efficient and convenient here. Most people use the tubes in the evening. We finally made it home, had a pizza and a cracked a siz pack of red stripe, a Jamaican beer and off to bed, finally!