Bok van Blerk (born Louis Andreas Pepler; 30 March 1978) is a South African singer-songwriter who sings in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

. He became famous in 2006 for his rendition of "De la Rey" by Sean Else and Johan Vorster.Tanya de Vente (Vrouekeur)
"Bok van Blerk, 'n bok vir sports
'', accessed 23 February 2007 Though controversy attended the release of "De la Rey", South Africa's

Department of Arts and Culture The Department of Arts and Culture was until 2019 a department of the South African government. It was responsible for promoting, supporting, developing and protecting the arts, culture and heritage of South Africa. The heritage sites, museums a ...

examined the debate and then wished van Blerk well with the song, writing officially that the Department saw "no problem".

Early life and career

Van Blerk went to school at Hoërskool die Wilgers in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

Rapport Rapport ( ; ) is a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned are "in sync" with each other, understand each other's feelings or ideas, and communicate smoothly. The word derives from the French language, French ve ...

,
Hanlie Retief gesels met Bok van Blerk
'', accessed 23 February 2005 After his study, he spent time working abroad. In March 2006, Bok van Blerk and the Mossies released the album ''Jy praat nog steeds my taal'' (You still speak my language). The same album was rereleased in October 2006 under the name ''De La Rey'' and solely credited to Bok van Blerk. According to Van Blerk "and the Mossies" was removed because his fellow singer, Tanya van Graan, was too busy modeling. Van Blerk is accompanied by Jaco Mans (and occasionally Manie van Niekerk) on lead guitar, Francois Coetzee on bass guitar, and Nathan Smit on the drums.

"De la Rey" controversy

On 6 February 2007, the South African Department of Arts and Culture issued a statement regarding "De la Rey" (ostensibly a tribute to 19th Century military leader

Koos de la Rey Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey (pronounced phonetically as "Ya-qui-bis Hehr-key-lahs de la Ray") (22 October 1847 – 15 September 1914), better known as Koos de la Rey, was a South African military officer who served as a Boer general during the ...

) and its then popularity with some

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

s, some of whom were claimed to interpret the song as a call to armed conflict. (See " Bring Me My Machine Gun" for additional historical context.) At some of van Blerk's concerts, audience members were seen flying the Apartheid-era South African flag and the Transvaal flag, the

Vierkleur The South African Republic, which existed from 1852 to 1877, 1881 to 1902, and 1914 to 1915, used two flags: (1) the so-called 'Vierkleur' () from 1857 to 1874, and again from 1875 to 1877 and 1881 to 1902, and (2) the so-called 'Burgers Flag' ...

, also associated with the Apartheid era. The

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

flag (a historical Afrikaner state) is shown in a period scene in the music video. ''

Huisgenoot ''Huisgenoot'' (Afrikaans language, Afrikaans for ''Housemate'') is a weekly South African Afrikaans-language general-interest family magazine. It has the highest circulation figures of any South African magazine and is followed by sister magaz ...

'', a widely read woman's magazine, asked Minister of Arts and Culture

Pallo Jordan Zweledinga Pallo Jordan (born 22 May 1942) is a South African politician. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, and was a cabinet minister from 1994 until 2009. Early life Jordan is the son of th ...

to comment. In its statement, the Department lamented that the song could be hijacked by right-wingers, but wished the singer good luck. The Department also stated that it had no problem with protests or mobilisation from the opposition, as long as they occur within the framework of democratic law.DKK
Ministry of Arts & Culture on Bok van Blerks’s Supposed Afrikaans “Struggle Song,” De La Rey and Its Coded Message to Fermenting Revolutionary Sentiments.
, accessed 23 February 2007 Van Blerk says that he himself does not identify with the old South African flag, nor does he want to be associated with the old South Africa. He is, however, proudly

, and has refused to participate in concerts organised by

94.7 Highveld Stereo Hot AC 947 (formerly 94.7 Highveld Stereo) is a radio station that broadcasts on the 94.7FM frequency from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Current on-air lineup History The station first went on the air on 1 September 1964, as the fi ...

, a radio station that declines to play Afrikaans music.Die Burger
Bok sê aikôna vir ou landsvlag én 94.7
accessed 23 February 2007 Van Blerk is also clear that he does not align with the Boeremag: he does not believe violence to be a solution, and believes that General de la Rey was pro-peace. Famed Afrikaans musician Koos Kombuis points out that van Blerk's Rugby football, rugby song "Habana!" is about a heroic

Coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

athlete,

Bryan Habana Bryan Gary Habana OIS (born 12 June 1983) is a South African former professional rugby union player. Playing mainly as a wing, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He played for the , the and ...

, thus differentiating van Blerk himself from the subjects of his music.

Litnet LITNET is Lithuanian Research and Education Network in Lithuania. It was established in 1991 and had X.25 satellite connectivity to University of Oslo. LITNET NOC is located in Kaunas University of Technology The Kaunas University of Techn ...

br>Bok van Blerk en die bagasie van veertig jaar
, accessed 23 February 2007 Van Blerk printed a disclaimer on the sleeve of his second album, ''Afrikanerhart'': "Afrikanerhart does not call for any kind of revolution or uprising. It comes from the musical 'Ons vir Jou', and we simply wish to say that Afrikaners also shed blood while building South Africa. If we respect all our cultures and history, we together will make this country stronger". (Translated from the original Afrikaans)

Discography

Filmography

* ''Platteland'' (2011) * ''As jy sing'' (2013) * ''Vrou Soek Boer'' (2014) * ''

Leading Lady A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person w ...

'' (2014) * ''Blood & Glory'' (''Modder en Bloed'', 2018)

References

External links

* Bok van Blerk's homepage. * About van Blerk's song ''De la Rey''. * . Video duration 5 min 6 sec. Uploader MasakhaneSA 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Blerk, Bok South African pop singers South African singer-songwriters 1978 births Afrikaans-language singers of South Africa Afrikaner people Living people South African people of Dutch descent 21st-century South African male singers