It may have started off with Pharrell Williams’s luxury streetwear brand Ice Cream but once this far out funky, bright and eclectic mix of colour and style touched down in South Africa it completely morphed into more than just a look.
The look was adopted by young creative South Africans with big flamboyant personalities, given a local twist, fleshed out, and a new generation of fashion eccentric status-quo-redefining clicks was born.
Spotting the beginnings of a trend, a local interactive made for youth TV channel called VuzuTV launched a reality show following the lives of four uber-cool Johannesburg friends who live the lifestyle. Fittingly, they called themselves the Cream Cartel, and two seasons down the line the show’s still going strong, with a production team signed up for another three seasons. 
The show describes itself as "a blend of fashion, Africa, street, beauty amongst the rubble, and creativity blooming within the most unlikely place,” which is accurate enough as well as being baggy enough to encompass the unexpected.
Nothing is ordinary in the lives of Choc, Guy, Abiah and Mome, whether it’s creating a garment, a tour of the back streets of Jozi or just a simple night out on the town, and the show is driven by the distinct personalities of the characters.
MOME
Leopard-print-loving Mome is the only female in the group. She describes herself as the female version of rapper Method Man.
- Ghetto smart / madam
- Gangster
- Embedded in black culture
- Lauren Hill type of woman
- Doesn’t trust easy, but if you earn her trust her loyalty is unlimited
- Hard worker
- Skeptical of people and situations
- Problem solver
- Mad drunk
- Girl version of Choc
CHOC
Choc is a hardcore, streetwise, rule-breaking, loudmouth who is usually the centre of conflict and drama in the group and can only be kept in line by the ‘big sister’, Mome.
- Doesn’t take shit, speaks his mind and can be aggressive if pushed
- Mad, but in an intelligent way
- Skates, and loves breaking rules
- Introverted, but has an extravert alter ego that ties in with his Hero Superman
- Eats a lot of chocolate
- Dreams of being on island in Bora Bora
- Thinks Japan is the pinnacle of the world
- Always on own mission, normally skating or goofing around
- Always speaks on phone
ABIAH
Abiah is the creative member of the Cartel, and definitely the poser/diva of the group. Always sporting mad fashion with big hair and lots of accessories to match.
- Wildly creative / leader creatively / great designer
- Won't get his hands dirty, and loves the Sandton life
- Drinks café lattes and sips on Rooibos
- Has secret crush on Choc
- He is the poodle in the fight, more bark, relies on others to bite
- Designs are inspiring. He is the shit.
GUY
And then there’s Guy. He’s so vegetarian he turned his Dog into a vegan too! He’s constantly mistaken for being gay because of his style but don’t be fooled.
- Stylish, prim, proper, polo boy
- Vegetarian, owner of Spoonki (vegetarian dog)
- Cracks really bad jokes
- Uses huge complicated words, trying to sound clever
- His interviews are long and drawn out. We have to cut him short. Talks a SHIT load.
- Loves animals
- Designs dog attire
- Analytical
- Hates dirt
- OCD
- Dresses immaculately
- Carries a hanky
- Business minded, all about the moola
- Gentleman, refined to the max
- Tea, ties and tailors
- Always trying to sell shit
- Loves cooking and is great at it
Capitalising on the mainstream success of the show, and to cater to their growing fan base, the four launched a fashion line late autumn. It consists primarily of caps and t-shirts but they plan to expand shortly.
YOUNG, BLACK & SELF-ASSURED 
South Africa is still a fairly conservative place, so at first the colorful four were considered a little weird and got a lot of funny looks, but then the show took off and what started as a sub-culture entered the mainstream, predominantly in Johannesburg at first, but gradually all over South Africa. Now you can find a Cream Cartelier in most major cities. Surprisingly enough, these are mostly in townships, rather than in the ‘Diamond Class’ neighbourhoods, as would be expected. But then the members of the Cream Cartel all come from the ‘ekasi’ of Johannesburg, which is slang for the hood.
Many European tourists coming to South Africa head for Cape Town, probably because that feels more like Europe than Johannesburg. None of those “dangerous city” stories that dog Johannesburg. But Johannesburg is the Big Apple of Africa, it’s where the action is, the grittiness, the street creativity (as opposed to Cape Town’s corporate creativity: advertising agencies, design agencies, etc.); it’s more liberal than Cape Town or anywhere else in South Africa for that matter, and young people are able to express themselves freely with less fear of judgment than is the case elsewhere. 
It’s worth noting though that this freedom to express oneself has been embraced more by young black South Africans than by any other shades or groups. There’s actually been some social research that touches on this, albeit indirectly, and the conclusions were that Black and “Colored” youth tend to be more certain about their South African-ness, have a more collective identity, and have more positive perceptions of South Africa. In contrast, White and Indian youth are less certain about their South African-ness, have a more individualistic identity, and have less positive perceptions about South Africa today. At the same time young black South Africans are very open to global culture, especially American culture, which they have taken as a cue to just do their own thing regardless of what anyone else thinks.
“…many Black adolescents are actively embracing this worldview [a “Coca-cola” culture informed by American individualism, competition, and individualistic aspirations] as a way of achieving greater integration. In addition, there is an increasing presence of globalized American ideological symbols at all levels of the society - through language, dress codes, recreational activities, and so forth. Although many Black adolescents actively adopt aspects of globalized identities that allow them to be part of this new socio-historical period, this may also have the effect of marginalizing and alienating them from their and their families' social realities that are more traditionally African” (Stevens & Lockhat, 1997; Abstract from The Journal Of Adolescence)
More than a decade later and the above findings hold true, except perhaps that the alienation from families thing may be weakening. Based on my observations and those of almost everyone I know I’d say black families/the older generation are becoming more accepting of the “eccentricities” of young black South Africans, partly because of the evident popularity of cultural creations like the Cream Cartel, and because many youngsters experimenting with various creative sub-cultures actually find a way to make a living from what they’re doing, in entertainment, music, fashion, etc. Even established artists sometimes “borrow” from or adopt elements from these sub-cultures, probably as a way to remain credible.
Anyway, the fabulous four do not have a collective website yet but you can follow their exploits on their YouTube channel to catch glimpses of the new South Africa.
If you’re in Africa you can watch the show on Vuzu, Channel 123 DStv (Digital Satellite Television).
CREAM CARTEL MEMBERS
Guy Ndlovu
Abiah Mahlase
Choc
Mome
Written by Mudzithe Phiri
