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, […]
10 Years of One Last Letta: A conversation with Zubz
Words by Sekese Rasephei Zubz has managed to create music that transcends time. His legacy is best described as one that is embodied by unwavering reverence, compelling his fans to continue revisiting his catalogue with the same fervour as when he first released. With a number of mixtapes and EPs under his belt, it is […]
The Big Hash’s “Circles” Is An Anti Love Song For The Ages
Words by Mayuyuka Kaunda The Big Hash basks in the confidence of adolescence on his debut release, spitting searing bars between captivating melodies. He proves he’s as adept at hooks as he is at lyricism in a whirlwind of lesson bunking, date scheduling and crippling heartbreak. That much is clear on the 808x-produced “Circles” and […]
Luna Florentino’s road to music redemption
Luna Florentino excites me. Whether its listening to him freestyle around words that Queen Azizzar throws out at him during a Massiv Metro interview, or taking in Fresh Prince of Rustenburg one song/week at a time; there’s an ease around the mic that Koketso Ramafuthula embodies that’s difficult to ignore. Narrating his life story as […]
The Plug TV: Punchline Media
The Plug presents a quick, behind the scenes look at our Punchline Media shoot for Youth Month. Featuring Manu Worldstar, Luna Florentino, Dee XCLSV, and Tony X, head over to the Covers tab to peep their stories. Video shot and edited by Loddy Thabang.
Manu Worldstar’s new frontier
To many people, finding the distinction between a South African expression of a culture of Bronx, New York origin seems a natural progression. To others, that differentiation skirts a blasphemous line of diversion from the altar of hip hop foundations. Manu Worldstar is losing his religion in musical exploration and blurring every line that comes […]
Riky Rick: SA hip hop’s favourite middle child
Four years and two months ago Riky Rick dropped his debut album “Family Values”. This marked the beginning of his role as South African hip hop’s favourite middle child. South African fashionista, songwriter, rapper and producer Riky Rick was introduced to South Africa’s mainstream with 2014’s “Nafukwa”. This set the stage for him to champion […]
Owning The Show – SA hip hop’s evolution
Words by Joey Drumz In the kaleidoscopic world of music and the arts, the ability to stand out has always been at the heart of any great success story. In whatever aspect of the game these mavericks have been involved in, their ability to take advantage of the changing way in which we create and […]