Bok van Blerk

Bok van Blerk, born Louis Pepler (born 30 March 1978 in Boschkop ) is a South African singer who gained fame mainly through his song " De la Rey ".

Bok van Blerk grew up in the northern suburbs of Pretoria, where he attended high school. After high school he studied civil engineering and spent several years abroad. In parallel, he began his career as a musician.

In March 2006 he released his first album, calling it first Jy praat nog steeds my taal ( You speak still my language ). In October of the same year the album was again released, this time under the title of the most known songs, De la Rey. In the song, the eponymous General of the Boer War, Koos de la Rey, worshiped. The text by Sean Else and Johan Vorster also recalls the Boer women and children who came in British concentration camps killed. The song quickly became the hit of the Afrikaans -speaking youth. The album sold so well that it went platinum. The video clip for the song De la Rey was named the best music video of the year in February 2007 by the South African channel MK89.

However, De la Rey also gave rise to controversy. The South African Department of Arts and Culture expressed concern that right-wing whites could abuse it as a " fight song ", " call to arms " to the will. At concerts, the flag of the Transvaal was shown to the sounds of the song part. However, Bok van Blerk distanced himself from right-wing groups such as the Boeremag. Critics defended him against allegations of racism by pointing out that his first album contains also a song that is dedicated to the black South African rugby player Bryan Habana.

In other songs that emerged after De la Rey, Bok van Blerk took up isolated historical themes. Thus, the title song from his CD Ons vir jou Suid -Afrika mentioned ( We for you, South Africa), the Afrikaner pioneers of the Voortrekkers. The song Africans Hart ( of the eponymous CD ) deals with the generation by the Boers Battle of Magersfontein.

Albums

  • De la Rey ( Jy praat nog steeds my taal ) (2006, Mozi )
  • Ons vir jou Suid -Afrika (2008, Mozi )
  • Africans Hart ( 2009)
  • My kreet (2010)
  • Steek the Vure aan (2013 )
Transvaal Province Rapport (newspaper)
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