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 language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

. 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 The

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 and ...

denounced "De la Rey", as it could be inspiration for violent right-wing Afrikaner groups.

Early life and career

Van Blerk went to school at Hoërskool Die Wilgers in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

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 stems from the French verb which means liter ...

,
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 Tanya van Graan (born 13 December 1983) is a South African actress, singer and model. She is known for her roles in '' Zulu'' and '' Starship Troopers 3: Marauder'', and for being FHM's Sexiest Woman at the 2007 FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World ...

, was too busy modelling. 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 the song "De la Rey" (which is a tribute to

Koos de la Rey Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey (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 Second Boer War. also had a political career and was one of the l ...

) regarding the controversy that arose due to the popularity of the song with some

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

s, who interpret the lyrics as a call to armed battle. At some of his concerts some audience members have flown the old South African flag and the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

Vierkleur Two flags were used as the flag of the South African Republic, which existed from 1852 to 1877, 1881 to 1902, and 1914-15: (1) the so-called 'Vierkleur' ( en, Four-colour) from 1857 to 1874, and again from 1875 to 1877 and 1881 to 1902, and ...

. The

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

flag is shown in the song's music video as part of the period scene depicted in the song and video. An article in ''

Huisgenoot ''Huisgenoot'' (Afrikaans language, Afrikaans for ''House Companion'') 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 ...

'' magazine challenged Minister

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 on the song and the message it is said to contain. In the statement the Department deplored the possibility that the song could be hijacked by right-wing circles, but wished the singer good luck. The Minister also stated that he has no problem with protests or mobilisation from the opposition, as long as they occur within the framework of the 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 himself says that he does not identify himself with the old South African flag, nor does he want to be associated with it. But he does promote

and has refused to participate in the concert organised by the

94.7 Highveld Stereo 947 (formerly 94.7 Highveld Stereo) is a radio station that broadcasts on the 94.7FM frequency from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. History The station first went on the air on 1 September 1964, as the first SABC regional FM service, '' ...

radio station because of their policy not to play Afrikaans music.Die Burger
Bok sê aikôna vir ou landsvlag én 94.7
accessed 23 February 2007 He also makes it clear that he does not side with the Boeremag, that he does not believe violence to be a solution to problems and that General De la Rey was pro-peace. Koos Kombuis also points out that Van Blerk's Rugby football, rugby-song is about a

coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

rugby player,

Bryan Habana Bryan Gary Habana OIS (born 12 June 1983) is a South African former professional rugby union player who initially played as an outside centre but later on, he shifted to the wing. He most recently played for Toulon in the French Top 14 competit ...

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 Network Operations Center, NOC is located in Kaunas University of Technology (KTU). R ...

br>Bok van Blerk en die bagasie van veertig jaar
, accessed 23 February 2007 For the sake of his own survival, Bok was forced to print a disclaimer on the sleeve of his second album, ''Afrikanerhart''; "Afrikanerhart is not a song that calls for any form of revolution or uprising. The song comes from the musical 'Ons vir Jou', and all that we want to say is that the Afrikaner also shed blood while building South Africa. If we respect all cultures and their history, we can together all 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 simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of 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 who typica ...

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

References

External links

Bok van Blerk's homepage

(with YouTube video)
Bok van Blerk's fanpage

about van Blerk's ''De la Rey''
''De la Rey'' music video
from

MK89 MK was a mostly Afrikaans music channel, launched in mid-2005, as MK89, that is part of the DStv bouquet of satellite channels owned by MultiChoice/M-Net, based in South Africa. MK is for ''Musiek Kanaal'' (Music Channel) and 89 was the original ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Video interview with Bok van Blerk about "De la Rey"
on

Beeld ''Beeld'' (freely translated as ''Picture'' or ''Image'') is an Afrikaans-language daily newspaper that was launched on 16 September 1974. ''Beeld'' is distributed in four provinces of South Africa: Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West, pr ...

webwerf
Bok van Blerk's ''De la Rey'' on iTunes UK & Europe

Bok van Blerk's ''De la Rey'' on iTunes USA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Blerk, Bok South African singer-songwriters 1978 births Afrikaans-language singers Afrikaner people Living people South African people of Dutch descent 21st-century South African male singers