Boiler Room and Ballantine’s Dish Out an Epic True Music Africa
Words by Mercia Tucker The Boiler Room and Ballantines have made their way to South Africa once again for True Music Africa, a tour dedicated to uplifting talent in the continent to a global audience. In a spectacular display of the strength of cross-continental conversation, Ballantines and Boiler Room hosted the True Music Forum on […]
Ye – A Review
Words by Joey Drumz No stranger to controversy, Kanye’s innate ability to say things that shock the world has been matched only by his ability to articulate the message behind some of those statements in song form. Since the release of his College Dropoutdebut, the world has watched Kanye morph himself into a pop culture […]
What Shane Eagle’s SAMA Win Means for SA Hip Hop
South African hip hop has come a long way. The evolution from an American-inspired sound to an aesthetic that is distinctly South African has been an incredible journey to witness. The rise of vernac and how South African hip hop has embraced it and come into its own voice is equally as remarkable. The significance […]
Road To Reason
Words by Mercia Tucker Traces of exhaustion lace his voice as Reason lets me know that he sees his different albums as books in an anthology of his life. He’s been hard at work on the new addition to the collection and while working on it he’s listened to those albums and revisited those depictions […]
Bubbling Under #5 – LUKE
Sanele Mhlungu aka Luke is an up and coming hip hop artist from Pietermaritzburg, eMbali. He has dropped his single Still Do from his EP Third Lane Flows dropping this month under 03THIRD CREATIONS. Sanele Mhlungu was born and raised in Pietermaritzburg, he first got exposed to the music “scene” while doing dancing as a […]
Op-Ed: Artists Must Be More Proactive
Words by Rouge da Rapper The exploitation of artists in the music industry has been a topic of conversation since the industry’s nascence. Everyday there’s a new story about an artist being taken advantage of either by managers, labels, promoters, venues, websites, or the Southern African Music Rights Organization (Samro). Dubious practices, musical paupers Even […]
Part 2: 20 Most Influential People & Brands of all Time in SA Urban Fashion
Words by Nick Kaoma This is Part 2 of the list of the 20 Most influential individuals and brands of all time in SA urban fashion and street culture. You can read Part 1 which consisted of individuals and brands in positions 20 – 11. 10. Trompies If you had told me in 1997 (my […]
Bubbling Under #4 – Kumnandi
Birth Name: Luyolo Ndayi Occupation: DJ/Producer Stage Name: KUMNANDI Genre: Hip Hop / Gqom Born in Port Elizabeth in 1995, Luyolo is the youngest of 3 brothers. He credits his older siblings for his love for music. At an early age he was introduced to kwaito and hip hop. At the age of 15 he […]
Album Review: Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy
Words by Ziyanda Ntloko Cardi B has had a truly remarkable rise. From the moment she appeared on VH1’s massively popular reality show franchise Love & Hip Hop, a star was born. Although no one could’ve guessed it at the time, Cardi B would catapult from the small screen to pop culture prominence in record […]
Drake’s Top 20 Best Songs To Date
Words by Ziyanda Ntloko To be a Drake fan is to never be satisfied. Since his début in 2009, Drake has meticulously crafted himself from a seemingly non-threatening Young Money rookie into a wildly successful artist and pop culture phenomenon. With a discography spanning 6 mixtapes, 4 studio albums, 2 EPs, multi-platinum singles, a bevy […]
10 Alternative Artists To Watch Out For in 2018
Words by Ziyanda Ntloko The opening half of the year always presents the exciting prospect of new music not only from industry stables but those who are also on the cusp. Here’s my list of genre-breaking acts who I anticipate to have a great 2018. BROCKHAMPTON A music group truly born out of Generation Y, […]
Bubbling Under #3 – Kennedy Green
Our entries for #BubblingUnder are getting better and better as the weeks go by. Thanks to everyone that’s sending us their work. This week’s spot goes to Kennedy Green, a R&B and Soul artist that’s shaking things up on the internet. His songs on Soundcloud already generates tens of thousands of streams. Think The Weeknd […]