Jet set around the world and touch down in South Africa for balls, speeches and nonsense. Join our clique as we cover Young, Famous & African this week.

Stats

Network: Netflix
Released: March 2022
Created by: Peace Hyde, Martin Asare Amankwa
Cast: Diamond Platnumz, Khanyi Mbau, Nadia Nakai, 2Baba, Zari Hassan, Swanky Jerry, Annie Macaulay-Idibia

Breakdown and Analysis

  • Our first reality television show on the podcast. Reality series are more in KT’s realm.
  • We had no expectations for this show but found ourselves really enjoying it. Oti shares how he felt compelled to cover the show especially as the show combats the connotations the world has on people in Africa. We get to focus on ridiculously rich people navigating their friendships. He loves how unapologetically rich everyone is and allows the luxury of joy. KT recalls Oti talking about the reach Big Brother Africa had and how this show evolves off the popularity.
  • Initially all of the men made KT cringe at the way they viewed women being with men. She especially calls out Diamond and his comments on being a lion and hunting women as a prize. Because we have been away from Kenya for a few years, our ability to recognise the cast is not as on the pulse as it would have been if we were still there.
  • We explore the traditional African views of man is man/woman is woman. Oti agrees there were cringe moments throughout the show in regards to this also pointing to Diamond also Naked DJ and Adile. We establish Adile is Taye Diggs kissing on the forehead. He’s the male equivalent of ‘I’m not like the other girls’.
  • The show got messy very quickly, however it did bother KT on how ready the women were to throw daggers in Diamond’s direction. Especially as we come to discover that Adile has 3 separate baby mamas. Annie came on too strong and it is clear she is projecting her own situation. It’s not just an African man thing. Men are having babies all around the world. Have a baby by me, be a Starz millionaire.
  • This is where we break the reality tv matrix, Annie was frustrating. It’s high time to kick your man to the road. It was made apparent to everyone that Annie hasn’t done the work to heal from her situation. But also at the same time, her first child was 2Baba’s fifth child, so even then no one is asking her to heal from that. Because that is a lot of shit to take on. But she chose to stay and KT finds qualms that we are in the 2020s but confers to Oti with an African lens.
  • You can’t tell someone anything if they aren’t ready to heal from it. We observe how openly she poured her marital problems to strangers. She used 2Baba’s identity to prop herself up. KT clarifies in that she projects heavily on others but acts like a schoolgirl the moment he calls. Oti speaks to the hypocritical nature of the show and how catty it started to get.
  • What do you think about Annie, an African woman in the 2020s, who continues to stay with her husband when she is clearly in pain? Oti agrees that she needs to move on because she is still hurt by it. We are disgusted by her level of projection to  threaten him not to cheat even in front of her children. KT rolled her eyes at the wedding renewal. Oti remarked how much that moment must have meant to her but KT is quick to point out the naivety that Annie believes this will stop the children by different women and cheating.
  • KT appreciated how Khanyi is so progressive despite her behaviour changing throughout. Annie could not understand that there is more than one way to parent. Nowhere in this show, did anyone give Annie advice for her marriage or her as a mother. KT points out this is part of the problem with culture & religion, these people can’t let people be. The persecution is justified when those being judged are living outside of the norms of the community. Naked used an excuse of Khanyi not wanting to introduce her daughter to random men, to which KT relays it doesn’t matter and is no ones business.
  • Watching all the extravagance made KT uncomfortable but had to check herself because it shouldn’t be any different to other countries that have rich people. Oti talks about how there will also be a discrepancy. Who are we to curtail that because the rest of the continent is struggling? Because at the end of the day we are living in a capitalist world. KT references a scene in I May Destroy You and the group of thriving Black people discussing driving Mercedes is a bad thing now and being guilted out of luxury.
  • KT identifies that Adile is the one trying to rub against you in the shadows as a way to rescue women from the ‘bad men’. This is driven home in the finale where he drops by Zari’s house to see what’s up. He feels entitled to the women he flirts with.
  • Oti shares his experiences when his Swahili slips out usually when he’s speaking to ethnic people. Every so often KT will be minding her business and Oti will throw her a bilingual burn.
  • We both agree that Naked became one of our favourites on the show. He brought the only sort of realism and brought the group to account. KT raises a deep question about Naked saying things that don’t align with a 2020s lens, is it problematic or just frozen in time? Because even his attitude towards cheating was fairly casual because we all have a secret brother or sister somewhere. Does Oti expect him to be different now? Yes. Does Oti judge him for the way he is? No.
  • Naked just seems sick of Kayleigh despite her wanting to be around her all the time. We reference the comment Naked makes about going to bed with Ronaldo or Messi. It was annoying how he didn’t want to be around her but was offended that Kayleigh wasn’t sure she wanted to be married in general. We give kudos to Naked being open to going to therapy. KT doesn’t think it is that deep and Naked just isn’t a one woman man.
  • Oti puts it perfectly in that Nadia holds no thoughts of her own and it’s all fed to her. Whatever is fed to her is gospel and she will believe them over everything else. The residue of misogyny from Diamond is proven right by Nadia in the fact that she said she had a boyfriend but lingered to flirt with him.
  • In a different format at another time, KT will always be here to pull women to account. Do you know how much easier it would be if men could continue to be Big Pun players and women allow themselves to be players too. In liberation is also accountability for your playerdom.
  • The element of Nadia’s attitude towards men was tacked on at the end of the show when it would have benefited to lead with that.
  • We gave kudos to the fact that Swanky would hold Annie to account at the start of the show. Unfortunately, he stopped and started feeding into the bullshit and bitchiness. It didn’t make sense at all. We are still scratching our heads at Swanky’s outburst and hope it was a manufactured storyline. Oti suspects there is national pride at stake so Swanky had an onus to stand by Annie.
  • The same way Adile plays the good guy act, Annie is playing the long suffering wife act. She is Mrs 2Face. As soon as Khanyi wanted to protect Annie, anyone that was her threat became her own threat. The drama could have been fabricated but it was believable that people would act in ridiculous ways. The only person that says there is no hierarchy, is usually at the top.It’s not a lack of information that Annie acts this way. She prefers to live in her fantasy of having the perfect husband and family.Zari is our favourite even if she ruffled feathers. She doesn’t pretend nor does she care. No one makes her family money or brings value.
  • There is no show if there is no Diamond.

Unrelated but vital points

  • KT makes a bible reference.
  • We give a messy shoutout to our beloved Sunni & Brandi from The Book of Lies podcast.
  • Oti reaches his final African form in this episode.
  • KT maintains that if Oti were to check the podcast instagram and see DM’s to Diamond to not believe it.