Maria McCloy is a force in Joburg’s music, culture, and fashion scene – a publicist, DJ, fashion designer, and urban media pioneer with a knack for making things happen. Born in England and raised across Lesotho, Nigeria, Sudan, and Mozambique, with stints in Hilton and Makhanda, she finally landed in Johannesburg in 1997 to intern at the Mail & Guardian. But instead of just writing about the explosion of youth culture, she helped shape it.
As a founding member of Black Rage Productions, McCloy helped redefine South Africa's urban media – from television, steering the direction of Channel O and producing acclaimed SABC shows; to music, launching the country’s first dedicated hip-hop label, Outrageous Records; and co-founding www.rage.co.za, one of the country's first urban culture websites. She’s also the woman behind the buzz for artists like Thandiswa Mazwai, Nakhane, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as well as major events like FNB Art Joburg and Basha Uhuru Freedom Festival.
But her talents don’t stop there. When she’s not amplifying the sounds of the continent, you’ll find McCloy behind the decks, spinning a genre-blurring mix of bubblegum, kwaito, afrobeats, and amapiano at galleries, parties, and corporate gigs. And if that wasn’t enough, her Pan-African-inspired fashion label, Maria McCloy Accessories, proves that style and substance can go hand in hand. More than two decades later, McCloy is still moving culture forward – whether through the beats she plays, the artists she amplifies, or the stories she tells.
We caught up with this powerhouse to chat about Joburg’s art and culture scene, the best spots to shop for standout fashion, and why community – and exploring every corner of the city – keeps her inspired.
"I arrived and [Joburg] opened its arms and was home immediately."
Your career has spanned journalism, music, fashion, and PR. Give us some highlights.
I was born in England and brought up in Maseru, Lesotho, with stops in Nigeria, Sudan, and Mozambique, boarding school in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, and Rhodes University in Makhanda. I arrived in Johannesburg in 1997 to be an intern at Mail & Guardian's art supplement, Friday, and to start up Black Rage Productions with my fellow Rhodes Journalism graduates Kutloano Skosana and Dzino. There was simply no other place to do this, no other place came to mind.
We started our urban culture-focused media company to cover the explosion of youth culture happening around us – we wanted TV shows, websites, and magazines that respected and reflected our culture in the way Vibe and The Source, The Face, and ID did abroad – so that's what our 21-year-old selves did!
From 1996 to 2009 we helped mould Channel O, we created our own SABC shows (Bassiq, Street Journal, and Noted), the first label dedicated to SA hip hop, Outrageous Records (home to Zubz, Proverb and Pebbles), and the first urban culture website in SA, www.rage.co.za. I always joke that if I died now, it'd be fine as I have already achieved everything I wanted. Many musicians, music producers, directors, TV presenters, researchers, editors, and graphic designers got their first industry breaks with us. We were still in our 30s when we ended, and our staff was way younger. We all look upon it as a kind of a golden age.
How has the city influenced your journey across these industries?
Our company couldn't have happened without Joburg. I wonder what other place and time would give such space, access, and opportunity to make our dreams come true? I never felt like a "Jim Comes To Jozi". I arrived and it opened its arms and was home immediately. In our first year here we were fraternising with Boom Shaka, Brenda Fassie, and Bongo Maffin, being mentored by media giants like Charl Blignaut, [Blignaut is an established arts editor and award-winning journalist.] The vibrant Joburg music, fashion, party, art, open mic scene, radio was what we covered, but also what we became part of and what made us. We were pioneers like kwaito, house, hip hop afro soul creators, like YFM, YMag, Kaya FM, Stoned Cherrie, Loxion Kulca, Yizo Yizo, and all the amazingness in between.
Joburg culture has changed and evolved and I still feel this way in my recent incarnations, which like from day one are about representing, reflecting, and creating the best in what it is to be a global African, in touch with all that's new, but firmly rooted and inspired by our past.
When something big happens on Joburg's cultural calendar, your name is often somewhere in the mix. How do you manage to balance it all?
Haha, that's nice to hear. I'm about to be 50 but deep inside I am and always will be a street kid. I want to know the dopest music, art, food, fun hangouts, shops, and new developments. I love mixing with the city's creative set, many of whom are my friends and mentors – so naturally that's what's on my radar. I choose projects I love to publicise so that never feels like work, and so that I can faithfully nag journalists and producers to feature things – I know I am peddling greatness, LOL.
And it feels like your repertoire is ever-growing...
I like to learn! I started off selling earrings made by Ntate David in Maseru in the mid-2000s and then I added vintage finds found at hospice shops, before adding wax print bags and shoes to my range and selling every Sunday at Maboneng. That range found its way to Woolworths once even, wow.
In 2018, Colleen Balchin of Pussy Party persuaded me to join their [DJ] academy... and I have not looked back since then.
Over Covid, Ephraim Molingoane encouraged me to come to his studio and start making clothes under his mentorship – my clothes and shoes are now available at Africa Rise, an emporium of local wears started by another mentor Thula Sindi.
"I call clubs, launches, events, and bars my boardroom because I literally do meet and secure clients there."
What do you love about Joburg's art and social scenes?
It is such a friendly, open, and ever-evolving vibrant scene. Joburg's magnetic and fun-loving unique energy is unmatched. There's no way you won't love the vibe, looks, and energy when you get here. I feel like there is an opportunity around every corner, whatever you do. I call clubs, launches, events, and bars my boardroom because I literally do meet and secure clients there.
Your DJing journey began unexpectedly at Kitchener’s, thanks to Pussy Party. What was it like stepping into that world?
Kitchener's was such an important place for culture because so many kinds of people felt at home there. We all converged for a good time, free of any shackles of conformity or having to impress... This led the way for cultural experimentation and new sounds, and a great night out.
I am worried such a space doesn't really exist any more; Joburg's nightlife scene isn't in a great space to me, who has seen such variety before at open mic, the small Bassline in Melville, the big Bassline in Newtown, 115, Monday Blues, etc. I feel we are stuck in a boring bar service, blessers, and bling warp, where there aren't enough actual dance floors. Which would be fine if there were more alternatives.
Where do you go for a night out in Joburg?
Today, I like to go to Mamakashaka & Friends, Untitled Basement, Marble, Smoking Kills, Neighbarhood, Native Rebels, and Piano Hub.
You founded your accessories and clothing line with the philosophy of making African aesthetics a part of everyday life. How do you think Joburg has embraced this stylistically, and how do you want to push the conversation forward?
It must be said we have always had Afrocentric style here – Marianne Fassler, Stoned Cherrie, Black Coffee, Sun Goddess, and Loxion Kulca among others always led the way in fashion, as did style icons like Miriam Makeba, Thandiswa Mazwi, Busi Mhlongo, and Simphiwe Dana.
Today there are so many ways of being afrocentric, from Maxhosa to Ephymol, Thabo Makhetha, Ditsala, Lashongwe, and all the designers at Africa Rise, The Space, We Are Egg, and all our fashion weeks. I believe I'm part of the movement too with my Ndebele and Xhosa biker jackets, and my knits inspired by Basotho mural art called Litema.
"It must be said we have always had Afrocentric style here."
What are some of your favourite and/or underrated shopping spots in the city?
I love to walk from the bottom of Diagonal Street to the end of Albertina Sisulu Road buying cloth and blankets in shops and beads on the street. The staff at Ismail's on the corner of End Street are great if you need cloth. Kwa Mai Mai is a forever fave for beadwork and sandals and pots and a yummy meal afterwards. I think Jewel City is such a cute area and a model for how Joburg should be – safe, not uppitty, but clean, maintained, and filled with street art and vegetation. A nice place to stop for some Chicken Licken. I love taking my guy friends shopping at City Outfitters and the Johannesburg City Hall in Jeppestown. City Hall should surely win an award for shop decor.
44 Stanley is where I always am – for Salvation Cafe’s cheesecake and mimosa, but also all the shops there. There is always an interesting event at Constitution Hill, and you know, the gift shops are good. You have to have a meal at the gorgeous Food I Love You there. I like the beadwork at Art Africa in Parkview, and wandering the three stories of Pan African treasures at Amatuli in Kramerville is awesome and makes me wish I was a lot richer.
I start my day with a Coconut Flat white at Vida at Exclusive Books in Rosebank, and you will frequently find me at Proud Mary. I stop for a coffee at Rand Club and Sadie’s Bistro when I am walking the streets of Joburg for treasures to fashion into my range.
As a publicist, you work with artists and festivals. How do you see Johannesburg as a platform for African talent?
Well, look at Amapiano – it's taken over the world through the talent of its creators. I am inspired every week and truly work on amazing projects thanks to such talented artists, promoters, and institutions. I see young people creating fresh new concepts like Bacardi Beach Club, BKHZ Gallery, Stevenson Gallery, The Manor, and Vogue Nights Jozi. We see theatres and venues of old like Market Theatre, Everard Read Gallery, Gallery Momo, Goodman Gallery, Constitution Hill, and Joburg Theatre thriving, and Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) just about holding on, too. Whoever you are in this diverse salad of a city, there is something flavourful for you.
What more do you think can be done to support local artists?
Imagine there was more funding and support. It is costly to create, it is costly to run venues. A functioning, safe city would mean places of culture like Newtown, Braamfontein, and Maboneng would not fade away like Newtown did, or evolve into just being about capitalism or groove and not creativity – we need creative spaces. Creative industries need government and corporate funding to be able to truly fly... but also to be employed by and purchased by them. I'd like to see... local graphic design, art, furniture, fashion design, music, and film talent being utilised... much like Nandos does in its restaurants or like FNB and Standard Bank's cultural injection into art fairs and festivals. It isn't charity – the arts create billions in revenue and employment.
"Whoever you are in this diverse salad of a city, there is something flavourful for you."
Home is...
Where the heart is, and my heart is in Joburg. Specifically on the Highlands Road hill overlooking the city from my Westminster Mansions kitchen. I said the city is my husband and Nakhane put that in a song, which was cool. [Nakhane is a South African singer, songwriter, actor, and novelist.]
What is a surprising thing people might learn about Joburg by having a conversation with you?
No one talks about how pretty this city is, do they?
Your favourite Joburg author or favourite Joburg book?
I don't have one. I love Marc Latilla's Instagram account of Joburg architecture. To collect vintage books on African culture, I recommend Lit Alt Culture at Breezeblock Café or L'Elephant Terrible at 44 Stanley.
Your favourite Joburg suburb, and why you choose it?
Yeoville and the Inner City – I resent the government letting their beauty go to ruin, even us city people find it hard to live and work there now. Yet there are still pockets of beauty and well-maintained areas of the city and it is not as scary as people make out. Everyone I take on a walk has the best time.
Since the fire, [at my building in Yeoville] I have lived in Killarney in a gorgeous building. But nothing will ever compare to the inside and outside of Westminster Mansions, our cream 1920s haven on the hill – we had a village, a sense of community and caring, we soon realised does not exist anywhere else, plus a beautiful legacy of creatives who lived there over years – Rapula Seiphemo, Melanie Ramjee, Thebe Magugu, Dineo Bopape, Nakhane and loads more.
"No one talks about how pretty this city is, do they?"
What three things should a visitor not leave Joburg without seeing or experiencing?
All sides of it. Don't stay in one place or you won't get a proper sense. I love how a 15-minute drive takes you to a wildly different place.
One song on your playlist that either is about Joburg or makes you think about this city?
Nomalizo by Letta Mbulu.
The most memorable meal you have eaten in Joburg?
The meals Phiona Okumu, head of music (Sub-Saharan Africa) at Spotify, cooks at her beautiful Melville home. You arrive for delicious oxtail and bubbly seated next to famous musicians from around the continent who happen to be in Joburg to perform, network, produce.
If you could buy one Joburg building which would it be?
I love the Barbican building and dream of a day when all of the Inner City buildings and streets are restored to respectable glory.
"Get advice from a Joburger. Fun and delight are around the corner, but so is trouble – neither is apparent at face value."
If you were Joburg's mayor for one day (average tenure), what would you change?
Crime. Grime. Water. Electricity. Potholes. Rubbish.
Favourite Joburg label, and why?
Marianne Fassler's Leopard Frock. I go to her home and drool. No one can top her African interpretation.
What makes someone a Joburger?
An entrepreneurial, can-do attitude. A sense of humour. An open mind, a love of fun, because anything can happen after bumping into someone or going somewhere.
What do you love most about Joburg?
The people.
What do you least like about Joburg?
A lack of service delivery. It has led to crime, a crumbling, dirty, unkept city that is at its core beautiful but now unkempt.
"Joburg IS about its people."
Your number one tip for a first-time visitor to Joburg?
Get advice from a Joburger. Fun and delight are round the corner, but so is trouble – neither is apparent at face value.
Who is one Joburg personality you would honour with the Freedom of the City if you could, and why?
Too many to mention. Joburg IS about its people.
Three words that describe this city.
It's a vibe.
Check out some of our previous #MyJoburg interviews for more insights into the city:
#MyJoburg with James and Vicky Peech, gracious hosts
#MyJoburg with Samm Marshall, storyteller and media buff
#MyJoburg with Donovan Goliath, funnyman and creative director
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