Black Coffee teams up to launch academy

Black Coffee has teamed up with award-winning artist Nelson Makamo and internationally-renowned fashion designer Laduma Ngxokolo to start an arts academy for talented young creatives in South Africa.


The trio this week unveiled their grand plan to educate and save the future of young musicians‚ artists and designers through the Fashion‚ Art and Music (FAM) Academy.


“Our goal is to build an academy for talented youth in these three professions. We want to create jobs for the students straight out of the academy. This is not for us but for the future generations – we are going to need any kind of assistance with this project. Foxes have holes‚ birds have nests (but the) children of Africa have nothing‚” Black Coffee said.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE‚ Laduma, who hails from Port Elizabeth and studied at NMMU, said that the idea for the academy had come when the trio realised that they all had long-term ambitions to launch dedicated schools for their craft.

Musicians who are admitted to the academy will receive a recording contract and will by the end of their threeyear studies have launched an album.

“[In first year] you’ll be taught about music‚ branding and social media‚ music business and more.

“[In] the second year‚ you release your first single. Then in your final year‚ you work on your album and launch it at your final recital‚” Black Coffee explained on Instagram.

Meanwhile, Laduma is planning for fashion students to be paired with sponsors who will help them through their academic journey and secure funding for their projects after graduation. “Students will learn some of the lessons I have learnt in my time as a fashion entrepreneur‚ including proper branding‚ networking and marketing,” he said.

“I also want to teach professional practice and pattern-making that I feel may not be adequately taught at the moment.”

The trio are planning to officially launch the academy late next year for admissions in 2019.

They are hard at work looking for premises and trying to find investors through their global connections.