Bubbling Under: Roy August
We wouldn’t be The Plug if we didn’t plug you, right? This month, we’re relaunching our Bubbling Under feature where we plug you to up and coming artists in SA that you should be taking note of. We kick it off with Roy August. Formerly known as Roy Charamba, this 20 year old has been […]
The Plug x Castle Lite present: 100 Most Influential People in Urban Culture
“There’s no argument. I am a hundred percent the reason why hip hop is drenched.” Part of his Utatakho Remix verse that shook up the fourth quarter of 2019, Riky Rick stakes his claim on the game boldly with that bar. Hubris is almost a cornerstone of hip hop, but who really got the block […]
Injayethu uSliqe on his new album
Gospel is king in the South African music lover community, even the SA hip-hop legend Sliqe agrees. He shared this a moment before sitting down to discuss the past two years of his life and creating Injayam (Vol. 2). Where music consumption is concerned, gospel music is likely the one genre in the country that […]
Khuli Chana: The Blueprint
Khuli Chana begins “Endurance” – the opening track off his upcoming album, Planet of the HaveNots – with the lyrics “’Ha o tshwere Chana go ka palang?’/ the confidence was colossal, no sekala se se ka e kalang/ had to learn quick or hung out to be dormant/ flipped a couple of pages, learned all […]
Solo’s Dreams lead him on a journey of balance
“Thank you for your RSVP. As a sign of our gratitude, we would like to gift you with the first song off of ‘C.Plenty.Dreams’ titled ‘Two By Two’ by Solo featuring Buks. An ode to love and family.” This is the message – and track – you received when confirming your attendance to the Langa […]
5 Women In SA’s Urban Music Scene You Have To Hear
Hip-Hop was born out of struggle and the desire to tell a more relatable story than what existed in American pop culture in the 1970s and 1980s. In the South African context, hip-hop was not nearly as recognized as the soundscapes we associated with pop, traditional or any other genre of music. However, today, South […]
Electro-Soul Artist SIÓ Sets Her Sights On Greatness
Electro-soul artist Sio has opened her heart to the world with her debut album “sbtxts”, which delves into her personal views on the joys and challenges of romantic love by combining soulful storytelling with electronic music. Refusing to be confined by any predefined category of musical expression, she fuses and blends many styles and genres […]
DJ Doowap’s Artistic Awakening
DJ Doowap has just performed at Afropunk in Brooklyn this past weekend. It’s hot on the heels of her performance at RoseFest on the 9th August, where she dropped an original track as part of her set. “Dude! At RoseFest I just dropped my own track, and I started performing it. I picked up the […]
Msaki: on her record label, collaborations, and her songwriting
Asanda Lusaseni Mvana better known by her stage name: Msaki. Short for Nomsakazo (the one who likes radio) it’s a name she was given to by visitors she used to perform for before her rise to stardom. She is the angel voice behind hit songs “Wish You Were Here” and “Fetch Your Life” and one […]
In her own words: Ayanda Jiya talks us through her debut release
Ayanda Jiya’s debut album is a sonic journey on the power of growing through our understanding of love. The R&B is soulful with hip hop, gospel, house and funk references owing to features with Stogie T, A-Reece, Naomi Parchment and Ziyon. We got a chance to get a track-by-track breakdown from the chanteuse herself to […]
In conversation with Ginger Trill on Paid in Full
Words by Sekese Rasephei On August 2nd, one of the most exciting emcees in South African Hip Hop, Ginger Trill will release his highly anticipated EP, Paid In Full (PIF). Ginger has built a name for himself as part of the crop of emcees whose pen and flow are heralded in the scene. Having traded […]
Dee XCLSV: Inspired
Musical idolatry is a fickle thing; faced with your role models in the flesh, the idea that you held of them in awe may turn out to be one cloaked in the emperor’s new clothes. Didintle Mothine joined the second season of the rap reality show The Hustle intent on impressing his rap elder statesmen, […]