It was supposed to rain all weekend.
The third annual Cotton Fest, which took place on the 23rd and 24th of April at The Station in Newtown, could have been a wet and muddy affair if the weather forecasts had been anything to go by. In fact, just a day before the festival, certain activities like the Mini-Skate Ramp, were in potential jeopardy as organisers feared for the weather.
Despite the threat of weather, one thing was clear: come rain, hail, sunshine or anything otherwise – the show would go on.
As it turned out, the weather became a complete non-factor. The skies opened up, the sun shined bright over Newtown as a host of South Africa’s biggest artists took to the stage for the first edition of Cotton Fest since the pandemic and more emotionally the first since its founder, Riky Rick had passed on.
It was always going to be special.
Day 1 – A Vintage Nyovest Performance
Day 1 of Cotton Fest was unreal. It felt like years of pent-up emotions and anxiety were finally released on the grounds of The Station and the end result was an explosion of street culture like none we’ve seen in 2022.
The hip-hop dominated lineup on the first day of the two-day festival didn’t disappoint either. Rappers brought their bars without compromise but all eyes were on the headliner on the day, Cassper Nyovest.
The circumstances surrounding his absence from the last Cotton Fest were all forgotten – instead, Cassper, like many others, did everything to ensure that Riky Rick’s memory was honoured at his festival.
Day 2 – A Tribute To Riky Rick
Along with the electrifying performances, we were schooled in the art of street fashion from many of the University of Cotton Fest students. The outfits were eclectic, eye-catching, colourful and inspired.
On the second day of the festival, several DJs and amapiano artists took to the stage, including the likes of Zakes Bantwini (who had the audience in a trance) and Kamo Mphela (whose choreography is on another level!).
All of the performances came to a head as the industry eventually banded together to put together one final show-stopping tribute to Riky Rick, singing along to all of his biggest hits in an ensemble that brought tears to the concert-goers.
A feat worthy of Rikhado’s legacy
It would be remiss not to mention that Cotton Fest 2022, with all of the challenges it faced, would not have been possible without the tireless work of the Makhado and Naidoo families, as well as a number of close friends, collaborators, colleagues, peers and of course fans. Everyone was united, everybody had the same mission in mind: To truly ensure that Riky Rick’s legacy would live on for eras to come.
The festival drew to a close with an elongated performance by A-Reece and before we knew it, sights were already on 2023 for what we hope will be another massive return to the City for another edition of South Africa’s biggest street culture festival.
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And then, hours after the dust had settled on the stage of Cotton Fest – hours after the last concert-goer had found their way home, almost as if queued by Riky himself, the heavens opened up as Mother Nature herself paid tribute to our fallen store.
It rained, and rained, as the soundtrack of Riky Rick’s iconic continued to echo with each raindrop.
