By its title, Batuk’s latest single should give you a fair idea of what you’re in for. No, they’re not telling you to get out the way, but rather to move that ass of yours to the tropical groove. ‘Move!‘, the first single off the Pan-African duo’s upcoming 7-track Move! EP and Kasi Royalty album is an up tempo jam that’s sure to get you shaking what your mamma gave ya on the dancefloor.
While their most popular single to date, ‘Call Me Naughty’, had a bit of a darker vibe to it with the deeper bass tones and repetitive house beat (although it still had plenty of grove to move to), Move has a much more jovial feel to it. They call it an ode to their township roots that shaped them although personally, it sounds like a party on the beach. Truth be told, this would have been perfect for December but there’s still enough Summer left to slip on a floral shirt, sip on a cocktail and sway those hips to the sounds of Manteiga and Spoek Mathambo.
You might remember Batuk being a 3 piece but the trio is now down to 2. Spoek Mathambo has taken over production fully from Aero Manyelo whilst Manteiga handles most of the vocal duties. Spoek’s production on Move adds a layer of pop sensibility that makes it a bit more accessible to the general public than some of the group’s earlier work, which might lose them some of their earlier fans but will certainly help them pick up a few more. Manteiga fully embraces the front woman role and comes through with 2 verses of raps that are full of attitude and spunk, whilst Spoek casually drops a few bars in the second verse but takes up very little space on the song vocally.
The video for the song is a visual feast of dancing in settings that’ll look familiar to many South Africans. Kitchens, lounges, backyards, the beach and even an M3 serve as the backdrop to gyrating bodies. The only real crit I have is that a Playstation doesn’t make 8-bit sounds, but that’s just the nerd in me being pedantic.
Give Move a watch and a listen below and look out for more from the Mozam and Mzansi connection in the next few months.