This past weekend, US rapper and J Cole’s Dreamville protege Bas presented a picture show named “Nix Mapha – A Thing by Maverick Seizure and The Fiends” with the highly brilliant local photographer Maverick Seizure.
Bas and his team, The Fiends, originally visited South Africa in December 2018 for the Sudanese-American rapper’s surprise performance at Castle Lite’s Ultimate Summer Vibe private house party. Maverick Seizure has been chronicling Bas and his team since their arrival.
Bas told IOL Entertainment at the time of his visit how much he had enjoyed his time in Durban, Cape Town, and Johannesburg.
“Gorgeous, beautiful city. We rode quad bikes on a farm and visited one of the country’s national parks, where we saw rhinos and other exotic animals. Simply the natural splendor of the country.”
Since then, he has gone on multiple occasions, and on each of those visits, he has engaged Maverick Seizure as his personal photographer, since the two have developed a friendship beyond business.
Bas and The Fiends honored Maverick Seizure on the final day of their most recent tour, during which they also performed at the Rocking The Daisies festival, by displaying his best photographs in a collaborative show at Johannesburg Hallmark House on Saturday.
Prior to the exhibition, The Fiends penned a touching obituary describing how they first met him and how their friendship developed.
“The first time @bas took @thefiends to South Africa, we reached out to @umgsa and asked if they knew any photographers interested in documenting our trips,” they said on Instagram.
“A young man named Maverick Seizure approaches us. Every morning he is in the lobby waiting to go outside and shoot. He is educating us about his city.
“Show us South Africa through the eyes of young people. No matter what we were doing or where we were, he would discover an incredible frame of @bas or @thefiends.”
“After about two weeks, we had to return to the United States. He was given a #35mm point-and-shoot by @oakshades. “@kquickofficial gave him a Canon EOS 6D as a gift.”
They then advised him to “keep going, keep studying, keep your focus, and continue to hone his skill.”
They said, “Since the day we met him, @maverick.seizure has been cooking constantly, and together with @rooftop at hallmark, @hallmark house hotel, and @steynent, we are hosting an exhibition of his best photographs in Johannesburg today.”