The musician has been in the spotlight for the past few days after City Press used the right words and mentioned his Australian sexual assault conviction in a recent article.
OkMalumKoolKat finally decided to break his silence, ironically enough on International Women's Day, and started by complaining that no one will write about his latest music video or his foray into graphic design.
I GUESS NO ONE WILL WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT #GQIMUSICVIDEO OR EVEN THE FACT I AM BRINGING VAPORWAVE DESIGN TO THE KIDS. EVEN MY ALBUM?— #MLAZIMILANOⓂ️Ⓜ️ (@okmalumkoolkat)
Poor him. How dare we discuss a societal ill that mostly affects women on a day dedicated to women when he's out here busy making music and designing cover art for his friends' songs?
OkMalumKoolKat finally addressed his conviction however, stating:
IT'S NO SECRET, I WAS CONVICTED WITH ASSAULT WITH INTENT OF INDECENCY AND ASSAULT WITH INTENT IN AUSTRALIA WHILE ON TOUR 01/2006— #MLAZIMILANOⓂ️Ⓜ️ (@okmalumkoolkat)
But failed to use the right words, yet again.
I AM SINCERELY SORRY THAT A WOMAN FELT VIOLATED ON MY ACCOUNT. I SPENT TIME IN PRISON, SERVING A SENTENCE GIVEN TO ME BY THE JUSTICE SYSTEM— #MLAZIMILANOⓂ️Ⓜ️ (@okmalumkoolkat)
Saying that he is sorry that "a woman felt violated on [his] account" is not saying that he genuinely feels remorse about what he did to her.
In case you still do not know the details of the case, Aussie publication, The Mercury, detailed it back in January 2016 when the story broke.
They reported "Brian Simiso Zwane, who performs as OkMalumKoolKat, was yesterday jailed for a month despite his defence pushing for a fine so he could leave the country today."
He then addressed the fact that he did not truly apologize for his actions when he got back. Before waxing lyrical about the realities of rape in South Africa. A point his fans still chose to ignore.
I ADMIT THAT I DID NOT ISSUE A SOLID APOLOGY WHEN I GOT BACK. INSTEAD I OPTED TO STOP THE MEDIA FROM HARASSING MY FAMILY & TEAM. APOLOGIES— #MLAZIMILANOⓂ️Ⓜ️ (@okmalumkoolkat)
@okmalumkoolkat you are a human. We won't be shady abt something that we ain't even sure of. We luv you bro u da coolest guy ever❤👊...gqi😀🎶— Homie_mega (@VuyoMega)
@okmalumkoolkat I suggest you use all this negativity to your advantage, use this to push your ulbum sales G !!! 🙌— #BottomBaby 🔥 (@MC_Pressor)
@okmalumkoolkat u dnt even owe us an explanation.ur also "Human b4 a celebrity"..drop more music.Mayb u should drop visuals 4 #MegaMilano— George (@chauke21)
OkMalumKoolKat then switched up and threw a shameless album plug (promotion) into the mix in an effort to try and illustrate that he is not a bad person.
He even claims that the experience taught him a lot.
MY EXPERIENCE TAUGHT ME A LOT ABOUT OUT CURRENT GENDER RELATIONS. IT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT HOW TO RAISE A BETTER GENERATION OF BOYS & GIRLS— #MLAZIMILANOⓂ️Ⓜ️ (@okmalumkoolkat)
THAT EXPERIENCE ALSO TAUGHT ME TO BE MORE RESPONSIBLE WITH MY CRAFT AND THAT IS EVIDENT ON THIS ALBUM. I AM A POSITIVE VOICE— #MLAZIMILANOⓂ️Ⓜ️ (@okmalumkoolkat)
Not once has Smiso "OkMalumKoolKat" Zwane ever publicly addressed his victim or tried to speak about how he thinks this might have affected her. We don't know if he has ever tried to reach out to her, hear what she has to say or apologize to her face to face. It has always been about him (and his music, which quite frankly has nothing to do with the issue at hand).
"I," "my," "me," all the time but never when it is time to take responsibility.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGISE AGAON TO EVERYBODY, ESPECIALLY WOMEN. I AM SINCERELY SORRY— #MLAZIMILANOⓂ️Ⓜ️ (@okmalumkoolkat)
OkMalumKoolKat then tried to apologize to women he has never tried to speak to, women he repeatedly chooses to ignore.
Women who speak about the very things he said we never speak about. Why did he say what he said?
Because he makes it seem as though he does not see women as the free-thinking, intelligent human beings we are. Human beings who have repeatedly tried to highlight the issues he briefly mentioned.
THIS IS THE REASON WHY I WILL NOT STOP CREATING ART. EVEN IF I HAVE MADE A MISTAKE LIKE I DID. INFACT THAT PUSHES MY ART EVEN MORE— #MLAZIMILANOⓂ️Ⓜ️ (@okmalumkoolkat)
If he won't stop creating art to address young men, why must the media stop writing about this to keep discussions around sexual assault and gender relations going? Simple, because they do not cater to the agenda that he and his peers are trying to push. That is why they accuse the media of having an agenda in the first place, because it is not in line with their own.
THESE TWETS ARE NOT FROM MY P.R TEAM. THEY ARE FROM ME, LET ME REPHRASE ' I AM SORRY I VIOLATED A WOMAN'— #MLAZIMILANOⓂ️Ⓜ️ (@okmalumkoolkat)
He eventually used the right words but it smacks of insincerity as he has been told, countless times HOW to apologize by other people.
The fact that he can't talk about this (sexual assault and his conviction) and only this without making it about his music is proof enough that he feels no remorse whatsoever. He still doesn't understand.. He's just upset that you would rather talk about a problem/crime that affects women instead of his own music which he feels is more important.
Main image credit: okayafrica.com