Now, here's some raw stuff you'll never get to read anywhere else about my 'hood. Not only is it a lovable 'hood but it also has culture, serious lifestyle and culture that makes it a serious contender for the Presidential Orders, if only they were given to 'hoods. So, this year it was not that different.

Mpumalanga’s flagship hip hop pilgrimage, Luv Ur Hood (themed Marope Ra Maja - we are eating dumbies) kicked off 2011 with a bang. A bang it could be heard in the Libyan cities of Misrata and Benghazi.

Within a short space of four months the stellar session hosted two spasmodic shows that exposed new emcees (cats with rhymes), new voices (poets with lines) and new patrons to this grassroots hip hop extravaganza pioneered by Katsuko (Khutso Malele) and Masta H (Hlompho Lekhuleni).

The 2011 revolution, immediately after the successful Tunisian and Egyptian insurrections started off on 26 March with an outing to Love Life Centre at Acornhoek. Luv Ur Hood has never been held outside of its homebase Ga-Kabila, which is a chillaz doubling as a car-wash and other things the police with ugly berets wouldn't want to read about. F-ck it, those dudes can't read.

In its inaugural outside venture it attracted new emcees who have performed in bedrooms and garages thinking the world was four by four metres wide. You know those cats whose parents bought desktop computers and installed them FruityLoops and Q-Base and who have always rapped their lungs out inspired by the latest video on TRL.

The Luv Ur Hood show exposed the talent of cats such as Eardrumbusters from Bushbuckridge whose intimidating lyrics reminds one of deceased geniuses, Tupac and Biggie - especially on that fearsome 'i f-cked your b-tch' ripper. There was also Thulamahashe’s finest in Crazy Doggz, who are a tight set led by C-well, a veteran of the game. C-well's involvement in the game is as old as Cashless Society.

Mesmerizing was the performance of KFB (who never really jots down his lyrics) and newcomer to the game Young KCee with his mohawk. Modelling his style and swag after the Young Money crew, KCee had half the crowd eating out of his tiny palm as he was accompanied by his cousin and hype-man for the day Masta H. For a moment it reminded me of the old Busta Rhyme and Spliffstar. At least a hundred patrons were entertained. With regulars DJ Sparkle, newcomers JOP, Wonder, Chris Force Feed and two DJs from Radio Bushbuckridge KP and Matt the show gave a platform to b-boys Wild Cats. KP is the older brother to prolific producer and rapper AB-Crazy and him and Matt hosts a show between 18h00 and 21h00 every Friday on Radio Bush. There were also life skills offered by the Love Life team.

On 24 April, barely a month later the duo took the session, themed Mangozi ya tala ka Spice (Raw mangoes eaten with spice), back to its spiritual home, Ga-Kabila in Shatale. Characterised by a proliferation of tight emcees and ghetto merchandise on sale and display, the Freedom Day eve show was off the hook. Snoop Dogg would have said 'off the hinges'.

Krazy Doggz brought their whole entourage, numbering a staggering eight or ten to the show which was graced by hundreds of good-looking clean patrons. Blue Noise from Sabie performed and bootlegged their CD titled Focused. The trio still need a stage act and presence. They looked a little disjointed.

Young KCee held down the stage but the show was flipped by Dwarsloop’s hardcore-manic Dialectic. This younger brother to DJ Sparkle free-styled with so much flow that even KFB who free-styles unhindered had to pick up his game or risk obsolensce. On the day Katsuko performed what is undoubtedly going to become the Luv Ur Hood anthem titled Ke Tšwa Bush. On a show that was more about flexing muscles and impressing hordes of sesenhoritas, C-well blasted, KP and Masta H spit rhymes in Get Your Swag On, a song from H’s still-in-the-kitchen mixtape.

On sale were mixtapes from Krazy Doggz and Blue Noise. Also sold were tons of t-shirts by 100% Lepulana/Tsonga, Re Phela SOH, Luv Ur Hood, Shatale Ya Rocka etc. Langa Media’s Nellie Ndlovu (publisher of Bushbuckridge News) graced the event and showed interest in a partnership. The next Luv Ur Hood show will be hosted by Krazy Doggz in Thulamahashe in June.