The Braam Issue: Champagne69
Words by Mercia Tucker Photography by Anthony Bila Cover Designs by Dumaza Ndata It’s hard not to feel the undercurrent of youthful exuberance when traversing the streets of Braamfontein. It’s at the heartbeat of this urban precinct; a silent hum, almost as definitive as an 808 to boom-bap rap or the Ponte tower to the […]
Interview: 2LeeStark
Words by Azola Mona It’s been quite the journey for Ndumiso Buthelezi aka “2LeeStark”- we first heard of this talent alongside Truey Donatello on their 2009 “We Run The Block” mixtape collaboration with Headhoncho. Their “B.OS.S” offering fired up the streets of Cape Town, and it was evident that big things were on the horizon […]
Africa’s Influence on International Hip Hop
Words by Mercia Tucker Drake’s More Life was released on the 18th March and with it the revelation that South African producer and DJ extraordinaire, Black Coffee, was featured on one of his tracks, Get It Together. Black Coffee, if you’ve taken residence under a rock for the past decade or so, is one of […]
Event Review: Back to the City
After a number of years of attending festivals you begin to wonder if the festival still has the same appeal or if you’ve fallen into the ho-hum of habitual patronage. Every year, however, I walk out of Back to the City gates at the end of the night begrudgingly, with a sense of wonderment at […]
10 Most Influential Powerbrokers in SA Hip Hop
Words by Mercia Tucker and N.D. Forster In the Roc-A-Fella legacy, Kareem “Biggs” Burke was one third of the trio of founders who was always present but not always in the spotlight. The man behind the line “Biggs did it first, Jay put it in a verse” was the silent partner in the label, working […]
Interview: Gemini Major
Words by Mercia Tucker Photography by @welcometoromesa “I wanna show people here it’s bigger than this. You need to think out of the box, you need to take your mind out of the gutter and shoot for the stars, there’s no limit.” He’s an enigma to most people but at the heart of the exuberant […]
Does socially conscious hip hop have a market in today’s culture?
Words by Mercia Tucker “It was the first dominant rap group with the most dominant MC saying something that meant something.” Chuck D said this of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s The Message. The recreation room of the apartment building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the West Bronx is listed by the New York […]
The Rise of Family Tree Records
Words by Mercia Tucker Images Jabu King In 2017, Family Tree Records has grown to become a household name in hip hop circles. The opus of its CEO, Cassper Nyovest, the label was started in 2014, when he was only 24, and has been prolific in its growth. In the years since its conception, it […]
Cutthroat Entertainment
Words by Caron Williams Photography by Max Mogale From Def Jam, Death Row, Bad Boy to Roc Nation, each iconic era of hip hop has been accompanied by equally iconic record labels that have helped shape the genre. Whilst prolific musical outputs and the impact of their respective artists on hip hop helped shape their legacies, […]
10 Best Debut Hip Hop Albums
Words by Mercia Tucker They say you live your whole life to make your first album and a year to make your second. It’s part of the reason why debut albums are so magical and sophomores, more often than not, don’t live up to the standard. Your entire life experience up to that point […]
Maftown’s Impact on SA Hip Hop
Words by Mercia Tucker Mafikeng is home to some of South Africa’s most talented and celebrated artists. When considering the cultural capital of South African music and entertainment spaces in the 90s, however, Maftown hardly came to mind. Kwaito took the urban youth by storm as the centre of a cultural revolution that validated a […]
Da L.E.S – Larger than Life
Words by Mercia Tucker It’s April 2016 and the VIP section of the Zone 6 venue in Soweto starts to fill up with the fashionably late. The precursory pouted pics posted, small talk starts to run thin amongst the invited guests in what seems like an almost dramatic wait for the North God Concert to […]