Leon Botha (4 June 1985 – 5 June 2011) was a South African painter and disk jockey. He was known for his close association with the hip hop group

Die Antwoord Die Antwoord (; ) is a South African hip hop duo formed in Cape Town in 2008. The duo consists of rappers Ninja and Yolandi Visser (also spelled Yo-Landi Visser and stylized as ¥o-Landi Vi$$er). Their music, a fusion of hip hop with rave mu ...

, as well as for being the second of the world's longest-lived persons with

progeria Progeria is a specific type of progeroid syndrome, also known as Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome or Hutchinson–Gilford progeroid syndrome (HGPS). A single gene mutation is responsible for causing progeria. The affected gene, known as lamin A ( ...

before

Sammy Basso Sammy Basso (1 December 1995 – 5 October 2024) was an Italian biologist, patient of progeria and one of the oldest known survivors of the disease. Basso also took part in clinical trials for which he carried out research. Early life and educ ...

who was one of the oldest known survivors of the disease.

Biography

Botha was born in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, South Africa, and lived there until his death. He was diagnosed with

around the age of 4 years. He had no formal training in art beyond high school courses at the Tygerberg Art Centre, but became a full-time painter after graduation, doing commissioned works. In 2005, Botha successfully underwent

heart bypass surgery Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage"), is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest p ...

to prevent a heart attack due to progeria-related

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types and is driven by eleva ...

.Sampson, Lin (17 October 2009)
"Coming of Age: Cover Story"
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' In January 2007, Botha had his first solo art exhibition, entitled ''"Liquid Sword; I am HipHop"'', revolving around

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

culture as a way of life.van Zyl, Peter (11 January 2007). Art from my hip-hop heart. ''

YOU In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

'' It took place at the Rust-en-Vrede (which translates to Rest and Peace) gallery in

Durbanville Durbanville, previously called Pampoenkraal, is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, part of the greater City of Cape Town, Cape Town metropolitan area. It is a semi-rural residential suburb on the north-eastern outskirts of the ...

and was opened by Mr Fat of the South African hip hop group Brasse Vannie Kaap. His second solo exhibition opened in March 2009 and featured pieces of the artist's life. Botha was asked if the title ''"Liquid Swords; Slices of Lemon"'' referred to the adage "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Botha said no, adding, "Lemons? I slice 'em and serve 'em back!"Peters, Melanie (11 April 2009). Progeria victim finds life in art. ''

Independent on Saturday, South Africa ''The Independent on Saturday'' is an English-language South African newspaper, part of Independent News & Media. It was launched in 1998 to replace the ''Saturday Paper'', which was formed in the mid-1990s after the demise of the Saturday editi ...

'' In January 2010, he hosted the first exhibit of ''Who Am I? Transgressions'', a photo collaboration with Gordon Clark, at the João Ferreira Gallery in Cape Town.Clifford-Holmes, Lauren (15 January 2010)
The Fibre of Reality
''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'', formerly the ''Weekly Mail'', is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, loca ...

'' Botha said of the exhibition, "I am a spiritual being, the same as you, primarily. Then I'm a human being and this part of the human being is the body, which has a condition."Clark, Gordon, and Leon Botha (2010)
"Who Am I? ...Transgressions"
via YouTube Botha was also engaged in

deejaying A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music festivals), mobile DJ ...

and

turntablism Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more Phonograph, turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into ...

under the name DJ Solarize. He was featured alongside

Watkin Tudor Jones Watkin Tudor Jones (born 26 September 1974), better known by his stage names Ninja and Max Normal, is a South African rapper, songwriter, singer, record producer, performance artist, and director. Tudor Jones found international success as a me ...

, aka Ninja, in the music video "Enter the Ninja" from

. In November 2010, Botha suffered a stroke. Botha died from complications of progeria in Cape Town one day after his 26th birthday. *Staff report (6 June 2011)
Die Antwoord collaborator Leon Botha dies, age 26.
''

'' *Aboobaker, Shanti (7 June 2011)
Cape DJ dies of Progeria.
''

Independent Online ''Independent Online'', popularly known as ''IOL'', is a news website based in South Africa that serves the online versions of a number of South African newspapers, including '' The Star'', '' Cape Times'', '' Cape Argus'', ''Weekend Argus'', '' ...

'' Botha was the inspiration for the one-act opera ''Solarize'', by Marcin Stańczyk, libretto by Andrzej Szpindler, which debuted in Warsaw in April 2014 at Teatr Wielki, the

Polish National Opera The Grand Theatre, Warsaw (), or the Great Theatre—National Opera (Polish language, Polish: ''Teatr Wielki—Opera Narodowa''), is a theatre and opera complex situated on the historic Theatre Square (Warsaw), Theatre Square in central Warsaw, ...

References

External links

Leon Botha's profile
from africanhiphop.com, at archive.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Botha, Leon 1985 births 2011 deaths Cape Town culture Afrikaner people Musicians from Cape Town South African DJs South African male painters People with progeria Deaths from genetic disorders