Between Musical Shifts; Kwesta and Kabza de Small Just Want To Speak N Vrostaan
How Kwesta and Kabza De Small’s ‘Speak N Vrostaan’ plots the future by merging the sounds of the present and the past During the early noughties, Kwaito – once the creative outlet for young South Africans in the ‘90s – was supplanted by the breakbeats, syncopated rhythms and layered lyricism of Hip Hop. Fast forward […]
Cassper throws his hat in the diss track ring with “4 Steps Back”
It has been two weeks since Big Zulu released his inexplicably scathing yet friendly diss track “150 Bars” and a slew of responses have come as a result. Of those mentioned in Big Zulu’s diss track, K.O. was the first one to respond swiftly with his song “OMEGA FREESTYLE”. Kwesta then responded with “Quanthum (First Load)”. […]
Listen To Amanda Black’s Poignant New Album, Mnyama
This past Friday, Amanda Black put out her third album Mnyama, released under Sony Music Entertainment Africa. Mnyama follows 2019’s Power, which was her sophomore album after her 2016 debut album Amazulu. Mnyama was preceded by the singles “kutheni na,” featuring Kwesta as well as “let it go”. On this new album, the award winning […]
g.o.d Guluva is Kwesta’s Return To The Game
On Friday, Kwesta released his album g.o.d Guluva, which serves as his first full-length album in five years. Not discounting his 2020 EP 2 Skeif, as well as numerous singles released in the past few years, 2016’s DAKAR II was the last time the Katlehong rapper put out a body of work. Featuring a wide […]
Da King of African Rap, Kwesta, celebrates five years of DAKAR II
“I’m being myself in the music. Everybody else is talented and they can do their own thing and you can find them in their own music, but you can find Kwesta in Kwesta’s music. And I think that’s where the originality of everything comes from. That’s why it’s so original when you hear it because […]
Love & SA Hip Hop – Our Valentine’s Picks
It’s that time of year again when your timeline is filled with either cynical thoughts on the capitalist drive behind Valentine’s Day or the sweet mushy stuff between lovers celebrating each other. Hip Hop is not averse to the mushy stuff, the rappers usually don’t wanna let you know that they’re some of the biggest […]
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 […]
Sliqe drops “Spaan Saam” featuring Kwesta
Leading up to Injayam Vol. 2, set to drop on the 18th October, Sliqe’s dropped “Spaan Saam’ today. What’s a hood anthem without the low-pitched and raspy vocals of Kwesta? The two make a mean team everytime they work together, this single is no different. The 808-heavy, kwaito beat is the perfect foundation for Kwesta. […]
Solo features Kwesta on new single off C.Plenty.Dreams, “Promises”
In the Dreams trilogy of albums, Solo is officially upon the final instalment. C.Plenty.Dreams will be released in September and the emcee has dropped another single off the project. True to his conceptual form, he’s given us insight to the nature of the project and the themes surrounding it in a Twitter thread detailing the […]
Kwesta celebrates his birthday Reporting Live from Katlehong
11th August is a significant date in the hip hop calendar. Not only is it recognised as the birth date of hip hop – in that Bronx basement when DJ Kool Herc hosted his back to school jam at 1520 Sedgewick Avenue – but it is also Kwesta DaKAR’s birthday. Da King of African Rap […]
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 […]
Hip Hop – Rediscovering its Political Roots
Words by Glenn Kisela Hip hop has a long and storied history with roots deeply embedded within political movements. It has often been used as a medium for storytelling as well as a source of inspiration for the oppressed, specifically with its American origin. Hip hop has rarely strayed from delving into political issues even […]