Tag: rap

  • Yung Killa’s KILLA$ZN – for a sound that is both familiar and different in rap

    Yung Killa’s KILLA$ZN – for a sound that is both familiar and different in rap

    What do you expect from a rapper named Yung Killa? Probably raps about gats, stacking racks, stunting on the haters, smoking on weed, and sipping on Dom? Guess what, you’d be right. How perceptive of you. That’s not to say everything about Yung Killa’s KILLA$ZN is what it says on the box though.

    I mean, you are 100% gonna hear all the rap tropes you’ve heard before, but KILLA$ZN has an old school feel with new school weirdness, and Yung Killa brings a laid back yet menacing attitude to some uniquely wavy beats that keep things fresh. At this point, nobody is reinventing the wheel when it comes to rap, but it’s still fun to see how each new rapper approaches the genre and it’s tropes.

    Yung Killa kinda reminds me of Angel Haze meets Dope Saint Jude – Angel for cadence, Dope Saint Jude for flow but a bit slower. The adolescent murderer has a lazy flow for the most part that suits the more experimental beats and gives both space to shine. She might not be able to go one on one with Tech9 but she knows how to make her shit sound dope all the same.

    There are a few stand out tracks on the release. ‘Hol’ Up’, which is the 2nd track, is fully the kind of song you lean your seat back in your Toyota Yaris and wind the window down as you roll through the suburbs. I’m assuming most of you aren’t that thug that you’d roll your windows down in town, but ‘Hol’ Up’ is the kind of track that makes you feel like you could and nobody would fuck with you. ‘Stunnin’ sounds like it’s made using church bells and is all about looking stunning in leather. It’s the perfect anthem for getting dressed before the jol. That’s followed by ‘Studio’, which references the infamous “don’t touch me on my studio” moment and I like to think it’s the soundtrack to walking in the club to. ‘Wo’ is my favourite track, though I’m not sure who the dude rapping on the track is but I enjoy the juxtaposition between him and Yung Killa and I’ve the hook of “Pull up on ‘em like ‘do do do’” has been stuck in my head since the first time I heard it.  

    If you enjoy rap music about all the things rap music has come to be known for but you’re tired of hearing it done the same way, then give KILLA$ZN a listen for something that’s both familiar and different.

  • Sainty Baby is the Fierce Lesbian Rapper She Dreamt About

    Sainty Baby is the Fierce Lesbian Rapper She Dreamt About

    Sainty Baby is one of the most AMPED people I have ever met. She’s a diminutive ball of energy, and comes across as a soft and genuine person. Her positivity and belief in herself is infectious. With her upcoming EP dropping on the 13th of July, I figured it would be a good time to really get to know the house DJ and rapper who has had quite the life so far.

    Originally from Pietermaritzburg, Sainty Baby is 1 of 3 children which is why she was named Nthathu, which means ‘Three’ in Xhosa. She’s open when I ask about growing up and tells me, “I don’t remember much, honestly, or maybe I’m becoming good at covering things up, especially if they involve hurt and pain.” I relate to her on that. Most of my childhood is in deep recesses I don’t want to delve into either. “I was bullied in primary school,” she explains, “‘til I told my older sister about the culprits. I don’t know why it took me 2 years to tell [her], but boy, did she save my gay ass! Sorry can I say that? Real talk, I can never understand people who are actively mean for no reason.”

    Her complicated relationship with her father is one of the motivations behind her work. But music wasn’t the original dream. “I remember exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up – a cop. I always imagined one of those shootouts where the cops hide behind a car, pop up carefully and fire at perpetrators, like in the movies, and guess what? I sort of did it! I say sort of because the only time I shot a gun was at Traffic Training College and during the annual Station Shoot.” Not exactly what I was expecting to hear. Personally, watching those movies, I always imagined being the bad guys and anti-heroes, but haven’t pursued the fantasy too much IRL. Sainty Baby became a cop for 5 years. “From 2009 to 2014, I was a cop by day and DJ by night. Provincial Inspector for the Road Traffic Inspectorate to be specific. Yawned out after 5 years.” Before that, it was working at McD’s on weekends and school holidays from Grade 11.

    Sainty Baby got into rapping back in 2007 thanks to a MXit rip-off and wanting to fit in. “There was a chatting app called Mig33. One particular group that intrigued me was the Rap Battle group. I decided I HAD to learn how to battle so I could hang people out in public. I know that’s terrible inspiration but in the beginning that’s what I desired.” She’s so self-aware and open, it’s disarming yet comforting. “I had a rapper friend/producer called KayDee so I asked him and he was more than willing to help. Immediately, I picked up that my word play was pretty sick.” She also has a fair bit of self-confidence.

    “I moved to Durban in 2009. In 2013 I met an artist/producer named Gavin from Sydenham. He actually gave me a Hip-Hop hit which I never released. When it came to practicality, as a new artist I had to choose an art to finesse.” Sainty came to a crossroads in her musical journey. She had been rapping and DJing for years, and had to figure out which to pursue further – “I had to choose between rap and house.” She choose house. Her thinking was, “Once I got GOOD at DJing, then I could look into learning more and incorporating that into my music, which got me looking into production. I quit my job in November 2014 and the following year I used the money from my old job to pay for my Soul Candi Institute of Music fees. That’s when life became interesting – I could make my own music from scratch!”

    Recently though, she found herself called back to rap. “Last winter, I was in my brother’s studio. He handed me his phone and asked me to try and do the last verse he had written. I did it. It felt good until the other rappers started complimenting my verse.” Usually most people are stoked to get compliments but Sainty Baby wasn’t satisfied with her brothers words in her mouth. “At first, I wanted to write my own raps so I could get compliments for my own rhymes, but a year later I feel like lyrics descend upon me during my quiet moments, like a gift from a higher power. Or maybe I’ve practiced enough to confidently say that this is my best medium of expressing myself. I don’t know how I’d speak about getting shot in the face over a house beat.” Being a house DJ just didn’t fit the vision Sainty had in her dreams. “I’ve always had a picture of a fierce lesbian rapper who’d drive the country crazy with punch lines, word play and a bit of confusion. Girls like her. Guys like her. All the lesbians want to be her. I woke up one day and realized that star female rapper was me. My fellow citizens just don’t know yet. I’ve created a lot of audio letters and confessions and I’d just like every person to listen to it at least once.”

    I asked her how she’s found the transition from behind the decks to in front of them. “Astonishing, exciting and a bit nerve-racking because it’s different to DJing. Now I have to stand in front of a crowd and convince them I’m worthy of their time and I CAN actually entertain. Meanwhile, I’m just trying to tell everyone how grateful I am to be alive still. I’m also very eager to release my audio confessions so I can finally move on from all the things I’ve been through. Everything is okay now.”

    Sainty aims to be one of the 5 best female rappers in South Africa, so I asked her what she thinks it’ll take to get there. “Hits, sass. Honesty and playfulness. Dope visuals and a lot of well curated shows, preferably free shows. A bit of giving people what they want without losing your uniqueness in the process. International strides are a good way of boosting your fans’ confidence back home.” It seems like she has it pretty figured out, although time will tell if she can make such moves.

    She’s got a unique vision and wants to offer people something different. I asked her what she’s offering that others aren’t and she burst forth with ideas. “I pray my competition doesn’t copy this but instead of traditional music videos I will put on live theatre shows, showcasing the music. The picture on my E.P. cover, picture that bed on a real stage and the opening act is me waking up from sweet slumber and bursting into song! I’m offering a new and evolving sound. Every beat is different from the next. I’m also bringing my birthright into play. Vernac! I don’t know a female rapper that spits in her own language, with the exception of Sho Madjozi. I’m going to give people Instagram captions in isiZulu and have them ask themselves HOW a girl is able to come up with such. It’s beautiful because I do everything on these songs. I sing, I rap and I switch between my two languages with the greatest of ease. Fun and Truth combo is an angle I’m going with. I’ll jokingly or sometimes straight up say something that most people already have on their mind.

    ‘Getting you outta rotation,

    Vele you’re so overrated,

    Why are you famous?

    Alrighty that’s none of my business,

    The company went outta business,

    The country economy dipping,

    Why are you doing this Cyril?’

    I didn’t mean to use his first name but it rhymes better. Anyway, I’ll use my sweet voice to carry messages across and once in a while, in between the lines, you’ll find something you also relate to.”

    Sainty Baby’s debut EP drops on the 13th of July, you can hear her most recent singles below:

  • M(x) Blouse doesn’t have time for idiots

    M(x) Blouse doesn’t have time for idiots

    Joburg-based M(x) Blouse might rap, but they don’t consider themselves a hip-hop artist. Born at the end of 2016 as a creative outlet for KZN-born Sandiso Ngubane, M(x) Blouse’s first release was “WTF(SQUARED)” in collaboration with Joni Blud. The release made an impact and led to a performance at Braam’s Pussy Party and which was followed in May 2017 by the release of their debut EP ‘Believe the Bloom’. Produced with a heavy boom-bap influence and a lot of mistakes along the way thanks to naiveté, the EP nevertheless was a valuable learning for M(x) Blouse. “I think it’s true what they say, if you wanna do something, just jump in and hope to swim. Because after that I started seeing more interest from other people saying let’s work.”

    Fast-forward a year and the latest single from M(x) Blouse has sonically moved away from boom-bap, exploring areas such as kwaito and gqom. Produced by Thor Rixon, Stiff Pap’s Jakinda and Albany Lore, the track has helped M(x) Blouse push themselves as an artist. “It’s been amazing for me to just take a cue from them and how they do things and incorporating my rap into that. It’s opened up a huge scope for what I can do as an artist rather than trying to stick strictly to rapping in a hip-hop sense. So the growth has been crazy.” Another major growth-point for M(x) Blouse has been the switch to vernacular. “It just feels so comfortable, feels authentic, but I must add that I don’t necessarily feel like people rapping in English are not authentic. It would be a ridiculous notion to say that considering how much English is a part of our lives in South Africa. But for me specifically, writing in vernacular and mixing it with English just feels natural to me because that’s just how I speak.”

    The single, “Is’phukphuku”, Zulu for idiot, speaks of freedom and those that encroach on it, the idiot being those who restrict the freedoms of others trying to have a good time. “The beat to me just communicated a sense of freedom and I wasn’t necessarily thinking this is a song about freedom but that’s eventually what it came to be. In the second verse I talk about this dude who approaches a woman. She’s trying to have fun, he offers her a drink and she’s like ‘nah, I’m cool bra, but thanks’, but he takes that the wrong way and starts calling her a bitch. That to me is someone who is making a space unsafe for someone. That sort of became what the track is about, but it really didn’t start off that way, it just clicked in the end.”

    The video that accompanies the single is a visual feast featuring M(x) Blouse in South African fashion from the likes of ALC Man, Nicholas Coutts, with jewellery by Stefany Roup and Lorne, while dancers and supporting cast can be seen rocking Nicola W35T, and Art Club & Friends, with headgear by Crystal Birch. “I identify as non-binary. So it was important for me to express that stylistically, so the styling very much communicates that I’m not bound by gender in terms of what I wear. When you dress how you feel it doesn’t matter how you express yourself in terms of fashion. People always raise an eyebrow. So I really wanted a video that expressed that kind of quirk, if I can call it that, and being in a space as someone who is different you always seem like a fish out of water. I wanted to find a space where me and the people that I’m with would just look like a bunch of weirdos in the space, so we ended up going to a fish and chip shop!”

    An EP or album isn’t on the cards for the next year at least, but M(x) Bloue will be releasing music this year. “I do have one or two more singles that I want to put out before the end of the year, but there’s also the Thor Rixon collaboration which is a house track, I’m very excited about it.” They are also looking to perform more in 2018. “What I’ve been trying to do is, at least here in Joburg, gather like-minded artists and do our own shows. So I’m hoping that’s going to pan out real soon.”

    Having found a way to touch on social issues much like their hip-hop idols such as Nas and Lauryn Hill, without boxing themselves within hip-hop, M(x) Blouse is able to push themselves creatively. “I don’t even know what genre to say I am doing at the moment, but I’m happy to be exploring the limits of what I have to offer.”

    Credits:

    Photography – Aart Verrips

    Styling – Bee Diamondhead

  • Rare & Sudden Podcast- Doing It For The Culture

    Rare & Sudden Podcast- Doing It For The Culture

    The podcast format was only invented in the early 2000’s, but we have already entered the medium’s golden age. They are cheap to produce and unlike traditional radio you can access content whenever you want. Titles like the true crime podcast Serial and the political satire show Chapo Trap House have become cultural phenomena, with epic story arcs and rabid fan bases. Even Obama has got into the podcast world, appearing on Marc Maron’sWTF in 2015.

    Perhaps the true appeal of a podcast is in its intimacy, like you are listening to the wit and surreal absurdity of close friends. That is certainly the case with South Africa’s Rare &Sudden – aka “The Culture’s Favourite Podcast”. The show is a hilariously candid look at hip hop and street wear culture, with the verbal darts being fired by hosts Rolo Rozay and Hake$y, self-described hustlers with the magic gift of talking endlessly inspired silliness and sarcasm. The show’s intentions are signaled with its Soundcloud banner, a contemporary version of the gaudy album covers endemic to rap at the turn of the century. Rolo Rozay and Hake$y are shown in a DJ Khaled-worthy mansion surrounded by flamingos, Siberian tigers, a lion and for good measure, floating sports cars.

    The tongue-in-cheek attitude towards hip hop braggadocio is central to the podcast, with the host’s making outrageous boasts and dropping ludicrous slang while taking time to remind their audience to add kale and wheatgrass to their lives! It plays on the format of US rap news like Sway in The Morning and Everyday Struggle, while retaining an authentically local voice. And while shit talking is central, the show is also deeply informative, offering insightful opinions on the latest trends in music and fashion. Rare & Sudden is addictive because it warmly pokes fun at a culture the host’s are deeply invested in.

  • The Big Hash dropped out of High School to Chase His Rap Dream

    The Big Hash dropped out of High School to Chase His Rap Dream

    When you quit high school to pursue your rap career, you sure as fuck better make it. If you don’t, your parents and classmates will never let you hear the end of it. Not that having a Matric guarantees any kind of success, but such are societal pressures. The Big Hash calls himself a professional dropout, and while he looks moody in all off his Instagram photos, things seem to be going pretty good for the 17 year old rapper from Pretoria who has been racking up the plays on Soundcloud.

    According to his raps he’s making a couple grand a show, which isn’t too shabby and not exactly a brag compared to other cats who lie about stacking racks, so I think it’s probably accurate. His single Exes on the Weekend has racked up over 41k plays and every song on the Life + Times of a Teenage Influence EP has amassed more than 10k plays, which indicates that The Big Hash does indeed have some influence, and it’s likely to grow. He has an easy listening sound that has you imagining that your run down Golf is a Bentley as you roll down the streets.

    Lyrically there isn’t much new being said and, personally, I don’t want to hear anyone rapping about guns unless they’re actually strapped. But the package is slick and The Big Hash does the job he needs to do to get his point across over punchy 808s and dreamy keys floating throughout the 6 tracks. Modern rap is all about the hook and that is evident throughout the young rapper’s catalogue.

    I’d like to see The Big Hash experiment a bit more in future releases, but for now the 17 year old is making better songs than many artists who have a few years on him, and I have a feeling we’ll be hearing plenty from him over the next few years.

  • The Sounds of Nigerian Pop

    The Sounds of Nigerian Pop

    While West African pop has come to be dominated by the sounds of Afrobeat, it is more of a catch-all term for the variety of West African pop sounds that are emerging from the region. Arguably, it is Fela Kuti who laid the foundation by fusing Western sounds taken from jazz and funk with West African sounds to create Afrobeat in the 70s. A similar sonic melting pot is present today, with their EDM, house, pop, dancehall, R&B, hip hop and trap coming across as a combination of contemporary Western sounds infused with West African rhythms and melodies.

    West African pop has now crossed borders, transported by the internet and the diaspora to places such as the UK and USA. The growing popularity of the sound in these places has led to an explosion in popularity of the practitioners and sees them increasingly crossing-over and collaborating with other pop stars such as Drake, Snoop Dogg, Wyclef Jean, Skepta and Rae Sremmurd.

    Below are four Nigerian artists who are fusing West African and Western sounds to create their own brand of Nigerian pop.

    Small Doctor – This Year 

    Featuring an infectious rhythm and the ever popular autotuned vocals, ‘This Year’ is Small Doctor’s latest single. Shot in the desert, the colourful, dance-heavy music video is reminiscent of scenes from Mad Max, although with a much more upbeat soundtrack. Hailing from Ondo State in Nigeria, Temitope Adekunle aka Small Doctor broke onto the scene in 2012, releasing mixtapes and freestyles. Singing primarily in the Nigerian language Yoruba, he rose to prominence in 2015 with the release of the singles ‘Gbagaun’, ‘Anobi’ & ‘Mosquito Killer’, produced by Dre Sean. His music is a combination of pop with Fuji music, a popular Nigerian genre which arose from the improvisational Ajisari/Were music tradition, which is a kind of music performed to wake Muslim people before dawn during the Ramadan fasting season.

    Kiss Daniel – No Do

    Sensuous and simple, ‘No Do’ is a ballad and Kiss Daniel’s first single of 2018. Shot in Lagos the video follows Kiss Daniel as he strolls through the streets and encounters everyday life in the area he calls home. Kiss Daniel was born in Ogun State. He is best known for his single ‘Woyu’ released in 2014 which was nominated for Best Pop Single at the 2015 Headies, as well as Hottest Single of The Year at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. The single also received a remix featuring Tiwa Savage and Davido. Kiss Daniel showed interested in music from an early age, receiving support from his father and was signed to G-Worldwide Entertainment in 2014. His debut album ‘New Era’ was released in 2016 which saw him winning Album Of The Year and Best R&B/Pop album at the Headies in 2017.

    Reekado Banks – Like Ft. Tiwa Savage and Fiokee

    Featuring label-mate and multi-talent Tiwa Savage as well as Fiokee, ‘Like’ is the latest single from Reekado Banks. Dedicated to the ladies, like so many pop songs, the video takes on a cinematic quality with scenes straight form Noire films and flourishes of 80s neon. Lagos born Ayoleyi Solomon aka Reekado Banks fka as Spicy, has been active as an artist since 2008, although he gained notoriety in 2014 with his Rookie of the Year win at The Headies. Released in 2016, his debut album, Spotlight, was released in 2016 and debuted at number 10 on the Billboard World Album Music Chart. Signed to Mavin Records, he has worked with the likes of  Don Jazzy, Korede Bello, Di’Ja, Dr SID and D’Prince.

    Glenn Mena – Sound it (Freestyle)

    Shot on Lagos Island, ‘Sound it’ showcases Glenn’s skill as a rapper. With a strong dancehall feel, the  track is all about the rhythm and witty verses. Afropolitan model, pianist and recording artist, Glenn Mena had been making music since 2010, however it was with the release of his single ‘Movement’ in 2012 that he his career really took off. Releasing a number of singles between then and 2017, his debut EP ‘Mask&Music’ was released on his own imprint of the same name. Not tying himself to a specific genre, his sound evolves as he grows and learns as an artists.

  • Move with Batuk’s Latest Single

    Move with Batuk’s Latest Single

    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.

  • Umlilo and Whyt Lyon – Glory Bois

    One of the most visually opulent artists working today, Umlilo has been winning ears and hearts with their bold fusion of kwaito, rap and bubblegum pop. Since their debut EP in 2013, Umlilo’s project has been exploring the tragedies and triumphs of life in a world of repressive gender politics. Their artistic comrades in the struggle is the Johannesburg electro-rap Stash Crew. Frustrated by the erasure of LGBTQ identity in mainstream culture, they combined their talents in 2016 with the “Queer Galactic Alliance” world tour, thrilling audiences with raucous live shows in Brazil and Germany. Their aim was to attack the Death Star of toxic conservatism, promoting “glitter anarchy” on the streets.

    The performance collaboration has extended into the new DL Boi a song and video featuring Umlilo and Stash Crew rapper Whyt Lyon. The music video is an extravaganza of fashion and movement. Filmed in Melville’s Glory nightclub, it intercuts grainy, VHS-style scenes of nightlife with crystal clear choreography, conceptualised to show off “Joburg’s fiercest queer talent”. Directed by Jono Kay, its choreography scenes focus on internationally renowned performers Henk Opperman and Lllewellyn Lulubelle Mnguni. The intensive costuming was provided by designer Caroline Olavarrieta, with makeup by Orli Meiri and Dylosaurus Rex creating a world of glamorous retrofuturism.

    The lushness of the images complements the driving simplicity of the song itself. DL Boi is a massive-sounding pop song, with a relentless beat throbbing like strobe lights under a chorus hook of “If you want me let you know”. It sounds instantly classic, like hearing a forgotten house anthem from the early ’90s. The song’s title references a ‘down low brother’, a closeted gay man trying to secretly hook up with gay men. In the hands of Umlilo and Whyt Lyon, this scenario becomes a tale of brash self-assertion, delivered with utterly compelling visual and musical flair.

  • Champagne69 // personifying Joburg’s rhythmic energy

    Since bursting onto the scene in 2016 with their single ‘Booty Sweat’, which blew up the internet, the Joburg based rap duo known as Champagne69 has been releasing a number of follow up singles and honing their sound. While they’re embracing their relative success, they hadn’t actually planned on getting into the rap game. “It started off as a joke to be honest. Because we were considered the ‘Braam Kids’ so we wanted to make a parody of that. We wanted to make a song and a show about it. We recorded our first song with our friend PatrickxxLee. Even the first song’s name is ‘Booty Sweat’ so it was a joke for us,” explains William.

    Having met at the National School of the Arts, William ‘Willestillios’ Nkuna and Siyanda ‘Siyangena69’ Mdlele bonded over their common passion for art. “William was doing 3D and I was doing visual art. It just became a thing of hanging together in the art sense,” remembers Siyanda. From there their friendship circle would grow to include a variety of like-minded people that would lead to the formation of the Onyx parties. “We found that when we go to parties they play the same stuff and nothing really was connecting with the youth. So we had a party that had what we wanted from a party. We threw a lot of parties, alternative parties and ragers and a whole lot of stuff where people can feel free,” says William.

    In their raps they examine the world around them and their experiences in it. On ‘Booty Sweat’ and ‘Wrong One’ they explore relationships and teenage experiments. “At the time we were going through some sort of relationship experiences and just being teenagers and experimenting. Growing pains. So we were going through a whole lot of stories of us being at parties and us being with girls and just going and learning,” explains Siyanda. On tracks like ‘Senzu Bean’ the retell their lived experiences of night times and parties.

    Having worked with producers such as PatrickxxLee and Urban Lunatic, the duo is still very much defining their own sound. “We’re usually working with a lot of synths and heavy 808s with a few instruments that carry a repetitive melody. We’re still finding our sound. Obviously what we work on becomes us but we’re still finding our way through music. Music is always a journey,“ remarks Siyanda. They are working on a project although are tight on details. “We’ve got a couple of tunes together, it’s just a matter of timing to put it out,” explains Siyanda.

    Their aim is to reach a global audience with their music and not just be restricted within local borders. “Music is not an isolated thing. That’s the one thing that every part of the world has in common is that we all share music. We all share the enjoyment of sound. The idea is to create something that we can share with people, not just in Joburg or South Africa but the rest of the world,” says Siyanda.

    With a keen understanding of the importance of aesthetics, they’re style is influenced by anything and everything. “Anything we find cool. We’re trying to be avant-garde street cats. We’re not trying to be normal street guys,” explains William

    While they may have started as a parody, Champagne69 is out to prove that they’re serious about their music. “When things started to pick up so fast you had to adapt to the moment. Now it’s become a thing of if we don’t take this thing seriously it’ll be basically disrespecting the art if we don’t. If you as a listener, you go home, you going to try listen to something and the person that you’re listening to doesn’t take the music seriously how is that going to work for them?” asks Siyanda.

    Photography and Styling: Jamal Nxedlana

    Makeup: Orli Meiri

    Photography and Styling Assistant: Lebogang Ramfate

  • Swedish Rapper Lilla Namo Tells Donald Trump to Shut Up with Håll Käften

    I both love and hate using cliches. Cliches are usually true and there’s a familiarity to them that resonates but they’re also lazy and unimaginative, which makes the ego in a writer go “I’m better than this.” That being said, there really is something to them. Like “Music transcends language.” It’s something that we all tend to agree with and understand. Regardless of the language someone is singing in, we can connect with the song as a whole regardless of whether or not we understand the words. I mean, look at La Macerena, Asereje aka “The Ketchup Song”, or Gangam Style… Ok, I’m joking, but also I’m not. We know those songs are about having a good time (Also, they all came with simple dances so white people can dance to them at weddings). We know Rammstein’s music means “The world sucks and we should burn it all down”. And we get that Cypress Hill’s Spanish songs are mostly about smoking weed and doing gangster shit, although you probably figured that out from their English stuff.

    Anyway, I bring this all up because today we’re introducing you to a Swedish rapper by the name of Lilla Namo. Lilla recently put out an uptempo pop song telling Donald Trump to shut up, which I’m pretty sure is something we can all relate to. “Håll Käften” has had me dancing around my bedroom singing into a hairbrush, which is awkward ‘cause I don’t really know the words – yet. But hey, music transcends language so I’m not going to feel too bad about it.

    I got to have a brief email chat with Lilla about telling the POTUS to shut up, Swedish politics, and using humour and satire in her music. You can give it a read it below whilst you give Håll Käften a listen and then check out her Youtube page for some dope music videos (Forlat is particularly great)

    From what I understand “Håll Käften” means “Shut Up” and is aimed at President of the United States, Donald Trump (still feels weird to type). I take it your news media and news feeds are as congested with news about the troll as ours is?

    It is somehow absurd, but I was not at all shocked, that Trump won the election. If we can learn something from history is that all things move in cycles (As long as we don’t break patterns it’s gonna continue to happen. That goes for both micro AND macro level). The song really started like a shut up to all the bullshit that comes out from his mouth. People laughed, created memes and his popularity increased. Donald Trump is like an evil character from a Disney Movie, but he is also real and now one of the most powerful people in the world. The shut up was just me being tired of hearing his name and his capitalist, sexist, racist etc. statements wherever I logged on or went. It was also a shut up to people around me that had disappointed me in life. So I merged the two into a person, like I usually do in my texts and created this song called Shut Up (Håll Käften in Swedish). So when you listen to it you would think it’s about a relationship between two people. And really when it comes down to what the World is, it’s all about relationships and connections between people.

    What made you write a song about a foreign politician? Is Sweden’s political climate that great or is American politics just that invasive?

    The Swedish climate is fucked up as well. However, the welfare-state that was built up in Sweden has laid a strong foundation for the country as a whole. But today, the Swedish Welfare is nothing but a myth. Most important functions in society are privatized or semi-private which we can see bad results from today. A lot of my music is about the issues we have in Sweden but from a more everyday-life perspective. Writing about Trump was also fun because it becomes fictitious. So answering your question, both Sweden and America are invasive but in different ways. Everything is relative to the context. I love Sweden and can’t even imagine how it is to live in the States with a carrot as a president. Basically he is a vegetable….

    In South Africa, a lot of rappers used to rap in English with an American accent, but nowadays there’s a focus on rapping in local languages and creating art that relates locally more than globally. Through that, a few have found international success because what they’re doing sounds unique and interesting. I bring this up because you rap in Swedish and I wanted to know if you ever considered rapping in English to appeal to a broader audience, or is relating to your local audience more important?

    I think rapping in Swedish just makes it feel so much more real for me. I don’t master the English language in the way I do Swedish. Swedish is a simple language even when we write music, it is more about the metaphors and how we phrase things that makes the music interesting. How we chose to build up sentences or play with slang. That I can’t do with English. With that said, I’ve tried to write in English and I guess if I would be a nerd about it I would learn to master it…maybe in the future. I usually just go with the flow (no pun intended…)

    I know “Music transcends language” is a cliche, but cliches are often true. Do you think it is true, and if so, how does it do so for you?

    I listen to a lot of French rap and I understand zero. Music is really more about a feeling than anything else. Some notes just makes me cry and I can’t explain why. Some force you to dance and you can’t control it. Everyone knows this and I guess that’s why it’s a cliche.

    Your song “Haffa Guzz” is a satirical look at how you’d spend your time if you were a guy and “Håll Käften” seems to also take a lighthearted approach (I couldn’t find translated lyrics but the song feels fun and upbeat). Do you find humour and coating things in sugar helps deliver your message, or is it just fun to do? Maybe both?

    I’ve always had self distance. So I guess my music reflects my personality. I can’t take my self or life too serious at all times. I find the approach I use as a challenge when writing, it’s a smart way of explaining how things are fucked up…haha. If I would have written too literal, the essence would disappear. It’s to easy to write a song and say: FUCK DONALD TRUMP, because everyone (or obviously not everyone but most) would agree. It’s too boring for me. I don’t want the cheers of the mass. I’ve always taken the difficult paths because I know the shortcuts are not long term decision, maybe sometime I’m too complicated and I don’t even make sense to people. But that’s me. Take it or leave it.

  • How PatricKxxLee burnt his life down

    Zambian born PatricKxxLee describes his music as a dark cloud and atmospheric. His lyrics touch on human topics such as hedonism, pain, love, anger, sadness and heartbreak. “I just like to make music about people’s inner voices. Your conscience. Guilty conscience. It plays a huge role in my music.”

    As a child, Patrick was surrounded by music thanks to his father. “My dad used to play music all day long. He studied in London and he brought ‘Jungle’ back to Zambia.” It was through his older cousin, whose music collection included 50 Cent, Nelly, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo & Mace, that Patrick discovered rap. “It’s quite a funny story how that happened. It was back in Zambia one day when my parents had left him in charge to babysit me, but he had to ditch to go somewhere, so he locked me inside his room and all there was this small stereo and a pile of CDs. I turned it on and out came G-Unit. I had nothing else to do and several hours to kill, so I just sat there and memorised all the lyrics, from first to last track.”

    With 50 Cent and G-Unit counting as early influences, Patrick was also inspired by Linkin Park and Mike Shinoda’s rap project Fort Minor. However, he listened to a variety of music. “I used to listen to a lot of weird shit, like fucking Enrique Iglesias even, so there was a whole bunch of different sounds I was exposed to.”

    Although Patrick started rapping in Grade 4 (when he was 9), it wasn’t until Grade 6 that he started wondering where beats came from and who produced them. His questions were answered when he found out about Fruity Loops through another cousin. “I downloaded it on Limewire and then I started making music everyday after that. I just fell in love with making my own beats from the moment I opened the program. It was my daily escape from lots of shit that was going on around me.”

    PatricKxxLee’s upcoming debut album ‘Diary of an Arsonist’ tells the story of how some of the independent (and hedonistic) decisions he’s taken over the past few years have gotten him into trouble, with close friends, parents, girls and lost loves. “The album is about how I set my own life on fire all around me. A fire is uncontrollable, uncontainable, it just burns everything in its path but it also clears the ground for new things to grow. I feel like that’s the route my life took when I decided to rebel against the path my parents set out for me, leave college and focus on music instead. That was the day I set my life on fire, it was a trigger of sorts, and everything that followed is somehow connected, whether directly or indirectly.  All the bad decisions, and all the right ones, and everything in between that turned into a mess for one reason or another is what I wanted to bring to life in ‘Diary of an Arsonist’. I believe everyone goes through the process of breaking out of the mold at a certain time in their lives, but my own experience was pretty fucking lit.”

    Looking to release ‘Diary of an Arsonist’ at the end of June, PatricKxxLee will be taking the album on tour and is eager to have his sound heard. “I obviously want to tour South Africa, but I’m also going to go to Europe again this year and hopefully to America too. I love being on stage and live through all the emotions that went into making each song all over again.” With honest lyrics and a polished sound it’s only a matter of time before more ears listen.

  • Go with Flohio

    UK MCs are straight up killing the game at the moment. Literally everyone has heard of Skepta and the Boys Better Know crew, Stormzy’s ‘Big For Your Boots’ just hit 23 million views in under 3 months, and for those of you who have been sleeping, we recently introduced you to Lady Leshurr. Whilst their American counterparts are mumbling through hooks, Brits are bringing the fear back to rap with grit, grime and in the case of Flohio, ‘Dirt’.

    ‘Dirt’ is the latest single from the 22-year-old rapper representing south London’s TruLuvCru. It’s a menacing yet uplifting track from a woman who sounds like she could mug you, but instead actually works as a graphic designer when she’s not rapping. Originally from Nigeria, Flohio found her love for rapping when her family moved to south-east London. Judging from the chorus, ‘Dirt’ is an ode to growing up in the south and the spirit of those streets instilled in her. “You can tell by the way that I get back up// Been pushed down but I never got stuck // Dropped out of class, still classy” she spits with conviction over a minimalist industrial type beat that Kanye would be into.

    At the end of the day, the song is about rising above your circumstances. Something many rappers have touched on over the years, but Flohio does it with a lot more conviction than most. She’s a straight-talker and there’s a ferocity to the way she raps that makes me believe her. While south London is half a world away from South Africa, there’s a relatability to ‘Dirt’ that almost anyone will get. I mean, who hasn’t fallen and gotten back up? If you’re currently down in the doldrums, and you need a little help, maybe ‘Dirt’ could be your Rocky montage music out of it?

    Check out her powerful live performance of ‘Dirt’ for Noisey’s “The New Breed”.

    And here’s the studio version.