Better known by her stage name Blaq Pearl, Janine van Rooy has graced many stages with her captiviating fusion of Afro/Soul/Hip Hop/Jazz/R&B and many folk with tastes ranging across all those genres boast having her 2011 album "Against All Odds" in their collections but now people could very well be playing her music in the background while they read her new self-published book titled Karadaa!!!
Janine is a cast member and creative contributor of two popular award winning musical theatre productions named 'Afrikaaps' & 'n Plekkie in Die Son' and she has been writing poetry and songs since the age of 12 while growing up in Beacon Valley, Mitchell's Plain.
Well-known in entertainment circles for her phenomenal performances at various prestige events, both nationally and internationally, she released her debut album "Against All Odds" and followed it up with a succesful European tour in 2012.
She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Linguistics from the University of the Western Cape and she tends to be quite vocal about social issues. Her qualifications also add great value to the youth development work she so loves doing.
The release Karadaaa!!! which is a collection of her poetry, stories and songs written in both English and Afrikaans adds a new dimension to her already impressive resume which includes Acting, Live Music Performances, Poetry, Storytelling and Motivational speaking.
“I am very excited to release this collection of my writing, which is my poems, stories and songs” said the multi-faceted creative artist.
Karadaa is an Afrikaaps expression of excitement which means “Kyk daa(r)!" which when translated means "Look over there!" or "Look at that!" and in her own interpretation she says it means “Here’s the space/gap... Just take it”!
The main themes in her writing are about issues in society and also about her experiences in love and relationships. This book includes writing from her teenage years until now that she is in her thirties. She chose these poems, songs and stories to share with the reader to firstly somehow get to know her a bit.
True to form she of course also likes to raise issues and offer solutions to things we face in this day and time and she feels that anyone should be able relate to her writings.
“To know enables us to have choice to then do something. For me the word goes with the deed”, she says and also expressed her hopes that through her writing the reader gets to find some relation or connection (knowing you are not alone), a sense of release, and possible solutions to whatever problem they face now, which she has faced at some point in her life.
Released in September 2015, Janine has run a second batch at the printers so besides that more copies of her book are now available directly from her, Karadaa!!! will also soon be available in selected stores.
We at bruinou.com think that it will make a great gift for a loved one or maybe you can simply put it in the Christmas stocking foryourself.
Enquiries on how to get your copy directly from her or for a list of stockists can be made via Email:
Here is a video of a TedX Talk by Janine with the topic being named Against All Odds
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