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 […]
YoungstaCPT: The King
For any artist, the debut album is a fabled thing. An introduction to a mass audience, a culmination of past work, and a distinct declaration of an artist’s current creative space, the debut is a significant and infinite threshold. For an artist like YoungstaCPT, this milestone comes at the perfect time and most importantly, on […]
Nasty C: the Multifaceted
Words by Mercia Tucker Images by Jina Min In beginning the track “Another One Down” with “It’s too many different spirits within me/ a personality is constantly shifting”, Nasty C lets us in to the diversity of his character. This past Friday, he held the Music, Art, Love experience at the Kalashnikov Gallery in Braamfontein. […]
The Indelible Rise of Gqom
Words by Zee Ntloko The popularization of dance and electronic music in South Africa is heavily owed to township culture. The rise of house music and the birth of kwaito are by-products of the kasi experience and Gqom is no exception. How a little-known genre cooked up in the backyard dwellings of D.I.Y DJs rapidly […]
Op-Ed: Independence is Stifling Local Hip Hop
Words by Wiseman Ngubo There has been a notable absence of an outright viral local hip hop hit in recent times, the last two years have seen a pretty lukewarm showing from a local hip hop perspective. Given the fact that there has actually been a lot of good quality music being put out begs […]
Top 10 SA Music Video Directors to Know
Words by Sanele Mawisa “The music video is a promotional tool for the artist. It sometimes serves as a conduit to attention from a label, but more often it is a catalyst for CD sales or artist song downloads. While a hit video can do a lot for you as a director, its primary goal […]