By David Jenkin

Slikour, a founding member of the hip-hop group, Skwatta Kamp, is heavily engaged with South African urban culture through his online platform Slikour onLife, which is focused on “young Africans doing things in music, culture, lifestyle and entertainment”.

The film, Brands Doing Dope Sh*t, was filmed at the 18 June event, which took place at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, headlined by the platinum US hip-hop artist J Cole. The line-up of local artists for the event was impressive – catering to fans’ requests – with heavy-weights, Reason, Kwesta, Emtee, Speedsta, Boyz n Bucks, Riky Rick, Major League, Nasty C, and Cassper Nyovest. The documentary features Slikour interviewing the artists and Castle Lite’s campaign managers about what made that event different, and how the artists felt about it.

In one word, that difference can be described as authenticity. One featured artist after another sings the praises of Castle Lite for taking a collaborative approach, that allowed them more creative freedom in their performances than is usually permitted. The general consensus was that the brand had found a way to work with artists rather than dictate to them, and through that, a perfect synergy between brand and culture had been established. Artists expressed a feeling that Castle Lite wasn’t simply using their names to sell tickets, rather it was doing something profound for urban culture.

Introducing the film, Slikour spoke about the need for authenticity in branding in order to stand out from the crowd, and the importance of telling real stories, and finding a niche wherein such collaborative campaigns can successfully marry brand and culture.

“Here’s what I think is the future,” he said to the audience at the film’s conclusion, “and maybe we should all have a meeting to discuss this… We need to bring the – you might call them influencers, maybe it’s guys with culture, the musicians – we need to bring the brands, we need to bring the media, we need to bring everybody in one room. And we’ve got to get to know each other. We’ve got to share. You see strategies can’t be boardroom things anymore. The boardroom cannot be isolated to the world.”

He proposed a Brands Doing Dope Sh*t convention, in which stakeholders and industry players can discuss “what everybody needs”,  and working out what is the South African narrative. “The culture has got the talent, the brands and the businesses have got the money, the media have got the platforms, y’all got to get together y’all, that’s all I’m saying. That’s the only way we’re going to keep on doing dope sh*t.”

For more information, visit slikouronlife.co.za. Alternatively, connect on Twitter or on Facebook.