Soweto-born, but raised in South Africa’s oldest township, Alexandra, the young rapper known as Richi Rich has been active as a rapper since 2010 when he was part of YunGunz crew alongside Suup Zulu and Hip Nautic Sean. “We all were different, so we all chose to go our individual ways and do different stuff, but we were still going to support each other,” explains Richi Rich.
As a solo artist Richi Rich has released three mixtapes and an EP, most recently dropping the ‘NORTHGOMORA MIXTAPE’. With Alexandra, or Alex as it’s called, on the border of ‘the North’ aka Sandton, the title alludes to the two worlds which Richi occupies. “I’ve been to the North, I’ve been to Alex. I’m where the suburbs and the hood meet.”
Having found hip-hop at an early age, Richi Rich describes himself as an influencer in his circle of friends, introducing them to sounds such as G-Unit when it first came out. In terms of influences on his sound he holds The Notorious B.I.G. and Okmalumkoolkat in high regard. “When I saw Okmalumkoolkat and the ‘Sebenza’ song that changed the whole perspective of music for me. (To) actually create South African hip-hop. People in America don’t want to hear what they do. They want to hear something new, something from South Africa, something from Africa. So I feel like we should push that.”
For Richi Rich creating something new isn’t just about the music he makes but everything that surrounds it too, from the fashion to the slang. It’s a lifestyle. “We’ve created something new. It’s not like we took something from someone and just carried on doing it. Everything is new. Because we’re young people. We’re trying to grow into becoming superstars, we’ve evolved like crazy.”
While Richi Rich is focused on originality, he acknowledges the influence Alex has had on him and his aesthetic. “The influence comes from Alex. What we say, how we live, what we do and how we dress, most of the influence comes from where we come from. Being in the hood you learn a whole lot of stuff. Life lessons. People giving you advice.”
Ultimately, Richi Rich is trying to show people a side of Alex they might not be familiar with. “I feel like that’s what makes me special. I don’t believe in everybody sounding the same. Like Youngsta, you can tell that he’s from Cape Town. That makes him special. It makes him more interesting; you want to listen to him more, you want to learn more about Cape Town, where he comes from. So I feel like it does make me special. Me being from Alex and bringing Alex to the world.”
Richi Rich hopes that people enjoy his music, but also learn something from it too. “When you listen to my music I want you to learn something. Not just come out of it like that’s good. When you’re finished with my mixtape I want it to be that you’ve learnt something from Richi. I want you to take knowledge from me, what I’ve learnt in the hood.”
While South African hip-hop today is dominated by artists based primarily in Johannesburg, the roots of local hip-hop can be traced back to pioneering Cape Flats acts such Prophets of da City, Brasse Vannie Kaap and Black Noise. Exploring topics such as social issues and everyday Cape Flats life, these groups would lay the foundation not only for hip-hop in South Africa, but through the use of Afrikaans, and Cape Flats slang, pioneered a brand new form of hip-hop. “They came with the realness and talking about the struggles. And that’s what attracted me to keep that alive and talk about the truth” says Wesbank-based rapper Niko10Long of his predecessors.
Originally from Kleinvlei in the Cape Flats, it was his move to Wesbank which led to the birth of Niko10Long (Nicotine Lung) the artist and a move away from a negative past. “I was still a rude boy [gangster] when I moved there. 2002 is when I encountered rastas and that’s where everything changed. That’s when I realised that I can write music and that I can take hip-hop even further.”
Photography by Brandon Hiemand
Rapping in his mother-tongue, Kaapse (Cape Flats) Afrikaans, Niko10Long explores the realities of living in a poverty stricken township that is rife with unemployment which feeds drug abuse and gangsterism, while still focusing on the positive human stories that exist around him. “Love, gangsterism, domestic violence, most of all the people, the beautiful struggles, change and freedom. All of that stuff is important to me to talk about.”
This realness is evident on tracks such as ‘VaderViguur’ in which he shares the realities of an unemployed father raising his daughter or 2016’s ‘Politrix’ which deals with the attempted evictions of shack dwellers in Hangberg, Cape Town.
Photography by SIEP
Attributing both the lessons learnt from rastafari and hip-hop to his own growth, Niko10Long hopes that his music exposes his listeners to good energy, consciousness and reality and to encourage them to stand up for themselves. “That I’m willing to speak out and stand for my own; I want them to see that and it must encourage them to also big up themselves.”
Currently in studio working on a 7-track EP with his producer SIEP entitled ‘7ewe’, Niko10Long is also working on his second album, DubbeleLONGonsteken, to be released in time for the Rasta New Year.
Get Niko10Long’s music and gig info at www.illmajormovement.co.za
As I walked in the room I could hear Moozlie‘s voice bubbling in the air. We sat down together to have a conversation about her career and her latest project VERSUS which will be dropping on Friday. The slight raspy texture to her voice adds a subtle sexiness that even my recorder couldn’t help but obsess over. After a few introductory giggles, Moozlie began telling me about how the desire she had to be on TV from a young age began to unfold.
“I always used to present [YOTV’s] Wildroom in my bedroom,” she says, “Even in class. My friend and I always used to do it during lunch time. Just growing up seeing CeeCee, Sifo and all those presenters made me really want to get on TV. I never really thought about myself being a musician. That’s something that just came up in the last couple of years.”
Being part of what she describes as the “slash generation”, Moozlie manages to juggle her emceeing, presenting and music career like a pro. While she is a veteran at hosting events and presenting on TV, she expresses that she has moved at a slower pace with her music. She has made sure to take the time to learn and experiment more with her music.
Curious about how she transitioned to the South African hip hop scene, I asked Moozlie how she imagined herself in that space. “I used to host a lot of parties and events. I think after a while a lot of people started t notice how really into the music I was and how when I was on stage it was like I was performing my own songs. So I think in 2014 or 2015 in the SA hip hop scene really blew up CashTime was looking to sign a female artist.” Looking beyond the musical talent, CashTime was also interested in someone who could grab an audience with her presence. And who better than Moozlie. She confesses that music was not something that she had always envisioned as part of her path, but when the opportunity came knocking, she was ready to let it into her life. “And that’s where it started,” she continues, “It started really slow. I spent more time around musicians than I did actually making music. It was a cool way for me to learn about the music industry and what it means to be an artist.”
Reflecting on the time she spent with these artists, being able to grow a thick skin as well as understanding the need to be patient are two of the biggest lessons she has learnt. “You get a lot of big ideas in your head but it takes a lot to actually bring those ideas to life,” Moozlie expresses.
Although her work is always about being true to herself, she does not mind sharing the limelight with her two alter egos, Griselda Blanco and Young Mma Br. Griselda is “an absolute mob boss. She was one of the most renowned women in the Miami drug trade, although I do not condone drugs. I think she just had like a kill or be killed mentality,” Moozlie explains. Channeling one of her childhood icons, Young Mma Br helped Moolzie to find her place among the well-known, established artists part of Cash Time.
Continuing with this train of thought, Moolzie emphasized that being a woman in a male-dominated industry should not be looked at in a negative light. “You should use it as a super power because there are so many female stories that have not been told yet. I think that female artists are incredible, not just in rap but all around. I don’t think young girls who want to be part of the industry should feel intimidated.” For her this super power allows women to translate the fact that women and women’s work is the backbone of society. By working towards changing the narrative of women in this industry as survivors to the view that they are conquerors, Moozlie is hoping that her super power will be able to translate that women lay the foundation into the arts.
This attitude can be seen with her upcoming project, VERSUS. “A lot of people wanted me to drop an album but I think because I went to the top of the hip hop game and worked with such big artists, I definitely feel like I missed a few stages. So with VERSUS I just wanted to go back a little bit and work with some of the producers I met along the way.” Through these ten tracks Moozlie has tapped into different aspects of her personality. It is a combination of trap, rap, reggae and hip hop, making VERSUS a reflection of the slash generation. “You are going to be dancing, bobbing your head, turning up and chilling in your car. And that makes sense because we live in the slash generation. Although you maybe have particular musical preferences, there are other songs from other genres that many appeal to you too,” Moozlie explains.
Be sure to check out Moozlie on Instagram to be one of the first to listen to VERSUS!
While he is best known for his integral part in the production trio Ivy League that created tracks for the likes of PRO, Khuli Chana, AKA, Tuks, Solo, Teargas & Prokid, Buks’ music career started in high school when he was a rapper in the group Entity alongside school mate AKA. With a musical background that includes piano, saxophone and clarinet it wasn’t until he discovered hip hop via his older cousins that his interest in expressing himself through music was piqued. With his parents strongly opposing his pursuit of a music career Buks left the limelight of rapping in Entity and started producing after a friend from his boarding school introduced him to the production software Fruity Loops. “Making beats was my way of staying in the music side. I couldn’t really be in the forefront because then my folks would know that I’m still in the group,” Buks recalls.
Although Buks was producing with Ivy League while still studying he decided not to pursue rapping until he had completed his degree. Then he could focus on bringing his songwriting to the same level has his production. “I needed to get the varsity stuff out of the way. As soon as I finished then I was like, let me get back into writing. But obviously I had been producing for a very long time at quite a high level and I hadn’t been writing for a number of years. For me it was about getting my writing back to a level where I’m comfortable enough putting out music and at a very high level,” Buks says.
On Buks’ debut album ‘Pegasus’ he explores the theme of conscience. “I think a lot about the polar opposites of things. How we navigate through life is how we negotiate in terms of good and evil. If your conscience is clear in whatever decision you make I think that’s what makes the difference in life. For me a lot of the songs come out in that way,” Buks muses.
Producing and mixing the album himself, Buks found the biggest difference in producing for himself was the continuation of the musical journey. “When you produce for someone else it ends once you’ve made the beat. Whereas producing for myself it’s everything from start to finish. I take care of every little bit of detail,” Buks notes. The lead single “Don’t Need Stress” is an upbeat ode to surrounding yourself with positivity. The last track he completed for the album, it speaks to not being questioned with regards to the direction he’s taken with his music as well as “[reaching] this point of “zen” where I feel extremely comfortable where I’m at in my life so I don’t need negative energy coming into my space,” Buks says.
3 years in the making, Buks is intensely proud of “Pegasus”. “I’ve worked on this project for so long and I’m just really excited for people to hear it. I really do feel like it’s an important album in terms of this current climate that we’re in. I think a lot of the hip hop generally is sounding the same. I think the messages get lost. It’s one of those albums where you sit and you listen and you start to understand over time some of the different concepts and the different sounds.”
Tell our readers more about you and your journey as a rapper?
I was born and bred in Gugulethu township, Cape Town.
What you need to know mainly is that Ill Skillz is my foundation, the inception of Ill Skillz became a catapult for everything that has shaped up for me as an artist to this day. My partner-in-rhymes Jimmy Flexx and I formed Ill Skillz in 2005 in the Gugulethu, through consistency and perseverance we grew our brand from strength-to-strength. Our main highlights being the execution of the 24 Hour Project both in Cape Town and London Red Bull Studios in consecutive years, and also getting an opportunity to perform at the CT International Jazz Fest in 2012. Our catalogue totaled up to 7 projects in a span of 10 years.
Early 2015, we decided to take a break which became the initiation of my solo career. Today as a soloist, I’ve accomplished 3 projects and 4 videos, garnered tons of PR coverage and gig appearances.
You describe your video as reflecting the essence of classic hip hop and celebrating music for what it is. Would you like to elaborate on this?
Nowadays when you look at how hip hop music is generally portrayed it is glamourised or it displays all kinds of generic shit. Not that I’m against whoever decides to represent that generic image, but for me I always feel the urge to standout differently. I recall during the early days of my career with my producer by the name of Planet Earth, where we used to go crate-digging at the very same record store on the video searching for soul/funk/jazz samples to chop for our beats. In essence I decided to take that reflective approach to preserve my originality, hence the use of a old-school soul sample on the song also.
Elaborate on the sound you created for this track?
Having substance in my music has always been mandatory, in addition to the soulful sample that was incorporated on the production what really enhanced the song was the trap-influenced drum pattern which Desert Head the producer executed so well. In essence the sound is bridged between 2 generations, to top it all it has the 2 best lyricists from Cape Town, YoungstaCPT playing an exceptional guest role. Instinctively, I also felt that it needed a catchy hook that had an impact to complete it, with relatable quotes within the verses to complement.
Tell our readers about the thinking behind the name of the track, “Native Yards 57” and the video’s dedication to township kids?
The title derives from the naming of Gugulethu streets whereby each name begins with “NY” then followed by a number/code e.g. NY1, NY2, NY3… NY55, NY56, etc. This naming structure originates from the apartheid era as the “NY” stands for Native Yards, which obviously highlights a negative connotation, so I often tend to rub it in the face either way the same way African-Americans used the word “Nigger” in an endearing manner.
As you may also see, there are young kids featured on the video who are from my NY57. Growing up there I understand the challenges of being raised under volatile circumstances especially when the area is well-known for its history in gang culture. My aim was to revive some hope and excitement in their daily lives hoping that they discover beauty in their struggles and find things that can take them off that path.
Tell our readers about your mantra “What Up Township”?
Haha. Funny enough this came about during the Ill Skillz-era as an inside joke involving Dudley Perkins whose an artist from Stonesthrow Records in Los Angeles. He came to perform here in Cape Town along with his partner Georgia-Anne-Muldrow around 2010 or -11, he became annoyed of the fact that the architecture style of the Cape Town buildings resonated so much with the European’s kind. So we had promised him mid-week that we would go visit the townships since he was performing there over the weekend anyway, the “Township” became the centre of our topic throughout and it eventually stuck until he said “What Up Township” on stage. It just sounded funny if you had to hear it from an American accent, but we eventually put it into good use by using it to embrace our identity and where we come from.
Tell us about deciding to collaborate with YoungstaCPT?
Since I became soloist, YoungstaCPT and I have been always talking about a collaboration we both aim could have a major impact for our city. Now during the time I was finishing off the Uno ‘n Only Tape I got this beat from Desert Head when he came to visit me and Kay Faith in studio. I wrote the chorus as soon as I heard it, recorded the rest of the song and sent it to Youngsta there afterwards since he was based in JHB. I could feel his excitement as well because he didn’t take long to complete it all.
Tell us about what you think about the SA hip hop scene in general and the new wave of Cape Town rap that you and Youngsta are part of with regards to breaking down barriers in the SA hip hop industry?
The SA hip hop scene is definitely at its all time high especially when we speak of its lucrativeness and its support has grown exponentially. Meanwhile in Cape Town, we possess a different vibe and energy which I feel is highly-necessary. Only thing it lacks evidently is the media infrastructure to match the amount of talent that already exists. YoungstaCPT and I relentlessly happen to be the bold ones to ever challenge the status quo nationally and its proven today in terms of where we are currently positioned as vanguards in the game. It had to go without even saying that lyrically and musically we stand for authenticity on incomparable levels.
Anything else that you would like to mention in regards to the video and the track?
The video represents authenticity at its best, which often isn’t what the general public accepts especially if it’s on mainstream platforms. So instead of targeting those platforms first I bravely decided to build its hype from the ground up by introducing it to the core fan base on the internet initially, then gradually move up. As we are speaking its currently shaping that way. I only hope for the best, just to make my hometown proud and especially those who support me.
