Search
Close this search box.

CashTime King K.O

It’s a scorching day in Fourways and I go about the business of interviewing Ntokozo ‘K.O’ Mdluli at a quaint cafe. The patron at the table next to mine – who I’d befriended to charge my phone – asked as K.O walked away, the interview now concluded, “Is he always that way?” “What way is […]

Top 10 Rap Beefs

Beef. In 2016 it’s been reduced to fastest fingers first on Twitter. Oh, the drama! (Did you see my eyes rolling all the way back to 1994 there? Did you?) But there was a time when beef brought the slickest, most creative lines out of a rapper, when diss tracks were so imaginative that you […]

Cassper Did That

Artistry seeks out greatness like a moth does a flame. One of the true marks of great artistry is the crafting of exceptional live performances that not only endear yourself to your audience but sets you apart from your contemporaries. With Fill up Orlando Stadium, Cassper Nyovest has done just this. There’s a psychological investment […]

Solo Dreams

“If ever I was blinded they sacrificed their eyes so that I could see.” Jubilee no Ligamo: an ode to sacrifice and family; vulnerability on a track. Solo’s thematically complex sophomore – .Dreams.B.Plenty – converges beautifully on this introspective gem, the puzzle piece that brings the entire album picture into focus for the first time, with a flood of emotion.  Vulnerability is used almost as a […]

Anatii: Rapper, Producer, Creative

It’s a sweltering day in Sandton and the general whir and buzz that’s synonymous with the economic hub, together with the ringing in my eardrum from the chattiest Uber driver in the world, immediately dissipate when I walk into Anatii’s home and studio. It’s an oasis of quiet in the surrounding landscape of cacophony with […]

What It Takes To Make It in the SA Hip Hop Industry from the Experts: Part 3

If talent were a blemished face, public relations would be the wave of a makeup artist’s brush; accentuating its natural highlights and beauty, and concealing its blemishes. PR is the act of disseminating information between a person/organisation and the general public in order to attract their interest. It is a carefully curated campaign to enhance […]

What It Takes To Make It in the SA Hip Hop Industry from the Experts: Part 2

The musical landscape is a rapidly evolving one. For decades, consistent commercial radio airplay was the top of the promotional totem pole that introduced new artists to the general public. With the advent of internet radio stations, podcasts and non-traditional ways of consuming media, the question becomes ‘Does radio airplay still matter?’ The answer is […]

What It Takes To Make It in the SA Hip Hop Industry From The Experts: Part 1

So you think you can rap. You’ve worshipped Lupe’s rich and intellectual wordplay, refusing to dumb himself down to appeal to a wider audience. You’ve studied Weezy’s cadence switch ups, and how they’ve garnered him enough acclaim from those in the know, to realise how a fluid flow can set you apart from the rest. […]

Celebrating exceptional women: The Rise of Female Rappers in SA Part 2

MC, n. /ɛmˈsiː/: microphone controller. The term itself isn’t gendered, but the in the context of the hip hop industry, the differentiation is always made. ‘It’s always “Who’s your favourite female rapper?” It’s never “Who’s your favourite rapper?” and we’re actually considered in that [category]’ says Gigi LaMayne. ‘I hate the fact that for some […]

Youngsta; Leader of the Y? Gen

If words came alive and were sentient, if they developed perception and feeling, moved through a room with human form and awareness, then Cyril Connolly’s quote ‘Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self’ would look a lot like Youngsta. The different lenses through […]

The Rise of Female Rappers in SA

I liken the hip hop industry in South Africa at the moment to a teenager; a kaleidoscope of emotion to be mined for meaningful growth, a host of physical changes that sometimes leave you with more questions than answers, but more importantly, an opportunity to be something really beautiful. The rise to prominence of female […]