Cassper Nyovest’s Tito Mboweni: An Effort To Recapture Lightning In A Bottle
Words by Phil Chard
I got a Bentley and a Bentley. Major League in this bitch
Cassper Nyovest's third album Thuto drops on the 7th of May and "Abuti Fill Up" dropped his first official single off the album titled Tito Mboweni - a song named after the South African reserve bank governor.
Upon first listen it feels like Cassper is trying to recapture the lightning in a bottle that created his epic rise to stardom. Much like his 2014 release Doc Shebeleza , the song is titled after a notable person in South African culture and the song also borrows heavily from American Trap influencers.
New Cassper drops on the 7th of May. Who is copping? pic.twitter.com/Nmr9SmHK8Y
— African Hip Hop Blog (@AfricanHHB) March 1, 2017
However unlike Doc Shebeleza I don't see this single capturing the zeitgeist of the South African Hip Hop audience the way the former release did. Firstly because the Gemini Major produced Tito Mboweni is a blatant copy and paste of the sound and delivery that Future has been pushing for over two years. From the beat to the cadence and delivery. Future's name is plastered all over this release.
Read Gemini Major Departs From Family Tree
It's not the first time that Cassper has borrowed elements from other rappers, but now it feels like he's gotten away with it so much he's pushing the envelope further and further. Cassper doesn't even try to hide where he got the inspiration for the song as he copies the hook from Future's and Drake's 2015 release Jumpman. The copy job continues on the last 4 bars of the song as Cassper adopts an inaudible rapid-fire flow reminiscent of previous Future releases.
Cassper is clearly an artist at a crossroads in his professional career. He's no longer the underdog. He's no longer trying to build a brand, he's now fighting to maintain it. It's a lot harder to replicate success when everyone is looking at you and you have to deliver. He's proven he can create a hit and deliver a hot verse. But producing a steady stream of (original) hit singles is still something he is yet to master.