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Mario "Mr. Devious" van Rooy, an enigmatic and talented hip-hop MC and activist, is stabbed to death in his neighbourhood of Beacon Valley, Mitchell's Plain, leaving an irreplaceable void in the lives of friends, family, and his community. His close friend filmmaker, John Fredricks, whom he worked with on numerous cultural upliftment projects in prisons and townships, struggles to make sense of his untimely passing. Honouring a pledge to his friend, John comforts Devious' wife, Natalie, who is left to fend for her three kids. As Devious, in his own words, takes us into his life and work, Natalie and John discover the legacy of a fiery and conscious street poet.
Dr. Adam Haupt, of the Centre for Film & Media Studies (UCT), comments: "At once deeply personal and political, Mr. Devious' music is a journey into the lyrical world of an MC and poet whose untimely death tells a telling tale about life in post apartheid South Africa. A celebration of passion, activism, and art - a must if you wonder about the limits of South Africa's new democracy."