A bunch of Young, Famous and African celebrities in the first show of it’s kind on Netflix? I knew I was going to watch it, if only to support content from the continent. So far, reviews have been mixed, especially on Twitter…some hate it outright whilst others love it and cannot wait for season 2. There was criticism about the show being scripted while other’s were stuck on the semantics, arguing that the cast was not young or that famous… so? Are all the Housewives in RHOA housewives or even wives? Let’s not even start with Basketball Wives which could have easily been called Basketball Exes and Potential Girlfriends but I digress…let’s take a look at the cast so far:
The Young Famous and African cast
The producers did the thing MTV Africa, TRACE TV and M-Net do when capturing Africa, they brought East, West and South and that’s it. It would have been fun to have some Congolese or even Djibouti sauce in the mix.
Khanyi Mbau
A South African actress, business woman, socialite and life coach who is known to always bring the drama, all of it. She likes to wake up to live piano playing because phone alarms are just too violent. Khanyi gave us the intro with her party and you can tell she is here to dominate. Her boo Ndege Boy (Zimbabweans really thought with that nickname eh?) however does not look comfortable in front of the camera..perhaps due to his back story.
Annie Idibia
Annie is a famed Nigerian actress and business owner but also well known as Tuface Idibias official wife. A label she wants to shake off but fails to do so on the show. She later blamed the producers for editing her scenes wrong giving viewers the impression that all she does is live and breath for Tubaba..or is it 7baba since it has since been revealed he has yet again sired another child outside their marriage. Oh Annie.
Diamond Platinumz
This is a guy who is very comfortable in front of the camera. He has gotten dragged for his english and being “31st” years old, but who cares really. If you ask me, it has really improved from the weird accented version he gave in that one interview. His Kiswahili on the other hand! Chef’s kiss, I wish he spoke it full time because it was just beautiful to hear. On the show, he is basically a playboy/prolific babydaddy whose still in love with his ex Zari but not enough to give up his international players passport.
Zarina Hassan
Bringing the Ugandan sauce is Zari the Bosslady, a business woman in South Africa, she owns Brooklyn City college among other ventures. She has two children with Diamond and their coparenting dynamic is friendly if not a bit flirty (possibly for the cameras). She quickly became a fan favourite because of her stage presence and style. Of all the ladies, her style was the most consistent. Zari gave me Nene Leakes vibes in terms of scene stealing and somehow being forgivable even when clearly baiting another cast member.
Nadia Nakai
A South African rapper. She is the youngest on the show and funny but also a bit to easily swayed in terms of attraction. One minute she was in a long distance relationship with Vic Mensa the next she is getting confused by a Tanzanian dude with not one but two man buns atop his head.
Andile Ncube
The messiest gentleman in Africa. Well known TV personality Andile manfished the audience. He looked well dressed, calm and collected at the beginning only to invite his two baby mamas whose kids are 6 months apart to a poetry event with no poetry where he then proceeds to hit on his new crush, who just happens to be his friends ex wife. Messy! Then he also goes on to officiate the wedding of the sworn enemy of his crush. Then showing up at Zari’s unannounced. Andileee why are you like this?
Naked DJ and Kayleigh
I will just lump them together because…sigh. Their relationship is sad… does this man even like his girlfriend? Kayleigh needs to hightail it out of there and stop trying to save a dead ting. They also seem to have zero chemistry. That said, Naked DJ seems to have a really good skin regimen and his spats with his “sis” Khanyi are hilarious.
Swanky Jerry
The most stylish person in the show, a celebrity stylist who has just been waiting for ths moment to show people how to dress with some je ne sais quoi. Swanky is a good friend and he really was not about the drama, apart from that weird shouting speech on the train. He added some zest and possibly is the only man on the show who is not a multiple baby daddy.
What went right?
It is the first show of it’s kind. Mixing different African celebs, the locations were stunning but hope to see more next season.
What went wrong
The wigs and makeup seemed a little eh. The scripting of the show was sometimes weak, the train drama seemed very high school. We need some good lighting too.
Watch or Skip
Watch if you want some mindless ” popcorn for the brain” entertainment, the show does have its moments. Skip if you are expecting anything deep or life changing.