Celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop At Back To The City 2023
Back To The City yet again lived up to its reputation as the biggest hip hop festival in Africa by hosting a successful edition on Saturday, October 7th. This year’s edition was primed as a celebration of hip hop’s 50th anniversary, doubling also as a special occasion for SA hip hop’s 40th anniversary as well. […]
After 15 years Back to the City Festival is firmly rooted in SA’s hip hop heritage
On his aptly titled song “Nostalgia” off Marco Polo’s Port Authority album, legendary hip hop artist Masta Ace reminisces about the early days of hip hop, punctuating his second verse with the line “Hip hop used to be so thick in the air, when it was there, you ain’t even need a kick and snare…”. […]
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 […]