The Beat Of SoundCloud Mixtape Vol. IV
by Phil Chard
Every week we comb through Soundcloud’s massive catalogue of new music to find you the best African Hip Hop available, which we then package into an easy to consume Soundcloud Mixtape. Think of it as a modern revamp of the mixtapes from the good old days, just without the illegal bootlegging, the annoying DJ shouting over your music and a CD that would no doubt be stolen from your car before you had a chance to enjoy it.
This week we have music from M.anifest, Zakwe, YCEE, Tekno, DJ Towers, FRATPACK, BigStar Johnson and many more.
M.anifest - 100% Feat. Worlasi
Zakwe & Skye Wanda – Only
YCEE — CONDO (remix) feat. Patoranking, Khuli Chana and KiD X
Brian G - Maria Musande Featuring. Guluva 7
Truey Donatello - Pleasure And Pain Feat. Fredd Nicee
PdotO - This Can't Be Life Feat Kimosabe
Tekno - Pana
Imanse Feat. Falz - Gbona Remix
PdotO - This Can't Be Life Feat. Kimosabe
DJ towers Feat. Simba Tagz, Marcques, Tinashe Makura - Mablesser
FRATPACK – 32 Special
Die – Salwing - Hulle Loer Ja (Explicit)
Dex Kwasi – Bass
BigStar Johnson – Understand
Sarkodie – Sarkoholics
Twizz Alpha – Cloud Above
Guluva 7 – City Of Kings
Truey Donatello – No Favours
Vol IV
Genii Blakk – Kaba
by Phil Chard
Kaba is a new offering from Malawian rapper Genii Blakk produced by fellow Malawian producer DMG. Over the hard hitting beat Genii recruits the chants of 2 year old children as they recite the chorus akuchera kaba as the beat drops. The song is set to appear on Genii’ upcoming effort The Music Man which will drop in November.
GZE – Love Song Featuring Flame
At a time when Zimbabwe is experiencing a great deal of political and social conflict, the response from Hip Hop artists at large has from my point of view, been disappointing. Outside of a few songs from a handful of artists, the majority of the Zimbabwean Hip Hop fraternity have decided shy away from the contentious topic.
by Phil Chard
At a time when Zimbabwe is experiencing a great deal of political and social conflict, the response from Hip Hop artists at large has from my point of view, been disappointing. Outside of a few songs from a handful of artists, the majority of the Zimbabwean Hip Hop fraternity have decided shy away from the contentious topic.
Enter GZE; the Harare rapper has just released a video titled Love Song featuring Flame where the Southerton artists discusses the recent riots and flare ups of violence and his desire to find a solution through dialogue while also tackling how the economic decay in the country has turned Zimbabweans into refugees both inside and outside their own borders.
Korra Obidi – KILIBE featuring Mzkiss
by Phil Chard
Nigerian Korra Obidi is known of her vocal abilities and musical releases that don't necessarily lend the,selves to the Rap arena. However on KILIBE the multitalented artist recruits Mzkiss. as the two women deliver a hard set of lyrics on a trap beat.
DreamTeam – Ubumnandi
by Phil Chard
With recent developments you would be forgiven for thinking that Durban's Dreamteam had placed their rap careers on the backseat in the pursuit of careers in front of the camera. With Dash hosting Vuzu's Daily Entertainment news show and Trey being the frontman of Coke Studio South Africa, the grind of making music could easily be relegated in their priority lists. However the trio are back with their first release in 2 years that does not appear on their album Dream Never Die
The feel good song titled Ubumnandi was produced by Mzwakhe Khumalo and is a timely release detailing the high and lows of a night out with friends
All Hail The Cameo King: Sean Pages
by Phil Chard
Sean Pages is many things. A rapper, a celebrated producer, an SA Hip Hop icon and founding member of Glitz Gang. But possibly his greatest and most consistent achievement has been his ability to be the true King of Hip Hop video cameos. In his almost decade long career, Mr. Pages has managed to cement his relevance in the culture by continuously appearing in the videos of his compadres and delivering his signature slow motion mean mug, mischievous smile or a dramatic expression befitting a classic thespian. Of course his career has also been assisted by his numerous production credits and features but they don’t make gifs for beats bro.
To honour Sean Pages following the release of his highly anticipated and loooooooong overdue album From Alex With Love, I listed some of my favourite Sean Pages video cameos of all time.
DJ Vigilante (Feat. L-Tido, KiD X, Maggz & Yanga) - Sorry Makhe
Some leaders lead with their words, others lead by example. At the 2:50 mark in DJ Vigilante's star studded video for Sorry Makhe, Sean showed us he was the latter.
L-Tido Feat. KO - We Rollin
As Tido digs into into his verse and the camera pans to the parking lot scene we see Sean and Morale flanked by 2 Range Rovers behind them as the two Glitz Gang members provide us with a much needed visual aid to support L-Tido’s “Flow so steady, epilepsy couldn't shake the guy” line.
L-Tido Feat. Banky W - It Ain't My Fault
In a video filled with cameos from young versions of Anatii, The Major League Twins , Maggz and a bevvy of light skinned women there is only one cameo that stood out. At the 2:22 mark. As Mr Pages took a break from the partying to help us remember the words to the chorus.
N'veigh Featuring Maggz - Awung'yeke
While N’Veigh and Maggz are distracted trying to pop wheelies on their 4 speeds , Sean Pages is setting the tone as the camera cuts to him dropping some of his signature lines on a young lady at a Tuck Shop. A true savage and leader.
N'veigh Feat. Bk & Blaklez - Not Leaving
After being shocked and dazzled by some mind bending moves in a game of street soccer Sean displays his dramatic range with an Oscar worthy display of surprise that the camera manages to catch as just at the right moment (around the 1:12 mark) .
PdotO- Move Over Remix Feat Dj Capital, N'veigh, Buks, GingerTrill, Blaklez, Kwesta
As we have clearly established throughout this post, Sean Pages is the King of Cameos and all that cameoing can get draining , so it is important to stay nourished. Delivering mean mugs is hard work not to be taken lightly. So at the 1:48 mark as PDotO delivers his verse while doing an awkward squat walk, the camera pans back to introduce the first of several Sean Pages snack time cameos in the video. Nom Nom Nom.
L-Tido - Dlala Ka Yona
In a video with jaw dropping scenes of strippers thicker than than the Joburg phone book and Pulane looking good enough to break the internet for a second time, it takes a special scene to upstage them all. But that is just what Pages managed to do at the 2:13 mark as he sent us a powerful subliminal message. Keep everything in perspective despite the distractions that life may throw at you, no matter how amazing their asses look. #StayWoke.
L-Tido - Steve Kekana
Not only is Sean a capable cameo connoisseur, but is also always willing to lend a helping hand to a Glitz Gang member. His selflessness was very evident at the 2:26 mark of L-Tido’s Steve Kekana video as Sean drove Tido through the streets of Alex in a droptop 3 series while 11 kids ran after the car wishing to just lay a hand upon Tido’s fresh garments.
L-Tido Feat. WTF. Oh No
L-Tido’s video for Oh No was filled with many visual talking points, the beautiful women, the BMW i8, the women and at the 3:13 mark - Sean Pages.
Be sure to check out Sean’s new album From Alex With Love and the new video for Mzala below, where Sean’s Hip Hop friends- PdotO and N’Veigh return the cameo favour in a big way.
KP Illest – Bad One Featuring AliThatDude
by Phil Chard
The Namibian duo of KP Illest and AliThatDude link up on the part cautionary tale part song of adoration titled Bad One. The song is the lead single off Kp's Price of Ambition tape set to drop later in the year.
KP Illest elicits some witty wordplay as he raps about the dangers presented by a “Bad One”.
N Jay-Oh – Dzikama & Noble Stlyz
by Phil Chard
Clive Njobo aka N jay-Oh is an new rapper on the Zimbabwean Hip Hop scene who just linked up with Noble Stylz on the Fun_F produced song Dzikama. On the turn up cautionary tale the two rappers hop a beat that fuses the sounds of Hip Hop, Afro Jazz and electric guitar licks provided by Congolese Pitchu Rashid Bolombo.
Worlasi – Unlooking Remix Featuring Wanlov
by Phil Chard
Since I was first introduced to the talent that is Worlasi via his release Nusԑ, the young Ghanaian artist has continued to impress me and go from strength to strength, culminating in him appearing on three songs with M.anifest - 2 of which appeared M dots latest album Nowhere Cool.
To mark a year since the release of Nusԑ, Worlasi has linked up with Wanlov The Kubolor on the remix of Unlooking (not be confused with Milli's song of the same name). On the track the two artists go into great details as they describe the feature they love the most on women.
DJ Mac Breezy Featuring Yung Tyran – Like To Party
by Phil Chard
The South African duo of DJ Mac Breezy and Yung Tyran just kinked up to release the Hip Hop ode to old School Party House Anthems in the form of Like To Party. The Firstclass produced song manages to capture the essence and deep bass tones that accentuated parties if the 90s while merging the sound perfectly with current trends in Hip Hop. (read Trap).
AKA – Special Fi Mi Featuring Patoranking
by Phil Chard
In the latest episode of Coke Studio South Africa, the Super Mega AKA Linked up with Nigerian Dancehall star Patoranking on a song titled Special Fi Mi. The Gospel produced song fuses Dancehall with Trap and Juju / Museve guitar elements.
On the song AKA continues to venture down the path to fusion as he sings most of his verses. The actual debate around how AKA would deliver his verse on the song makes for incredibly entertaining television as the headstrong rapper argues with Patoranking and Gospel about the final mix of the song. The debates culminated in my favourite part of the episode, at the 30:06 mark Patoranking exclaims "AKA is crazy" with a forlorn and exhausted look on his face.
KLY – Too Much Featuring Riky Rick
by Phil Chard
South African Trap&B artist KLY impressed us immensely with the release of his debut project KLYMAX when it dropped a few months ago.
KLY recently dropped a new single titled Too Much featuring Ricky Rick, a song that KLY describes as “a song about the different types of problems people have and when that shit gets too much to bear]”
Riding over the signature trap style beat from Wichi1080 KLY deliberately slurs his delivery as Ricky lends a well suited verse to the song as he addresses some of the current stories about him in the news.
36Swagga – Loss Daai Dang Feat Devious Dee & Kay-E
by Phil Chard
The South African trio of 36Swagga, Devious and Kay-E have linked up on the tongue in cheek and easy listening Loss Daai Dang - a song that looks to advocate a less violent way to enjoy the Summer's festivities. Apparently there is also a verse from Griffy Griff or this track floating around somewhere on the interwebs.
Four Hip Hop Tracks Straight Outta Botswana
by Mayuyuka
Despite having a national population smaller than most African Capital cities, Botswana has always proven to be one of Africa's cultural gems. (no pun) Checkout these four dope tracks from a new generation of Hip Hop artists in Botswana. In their own ways, all these artists continue to carry the torch from local legends like Stagga, 3rd Mind, Zeus, Kast and Scar amongst others.
VEEZO - AMAZING
K-WILLIE FT YANNICK - ONE HUNNID
BAN T FT FADED GANG - WHY SO FADED
LUZKAT FT EDISON MATHEWS - TILL I REST
MayjC – Lost In Your Music Featuring Kid Tini
by Phil Chard
Jermaine George aka MayjC is a name i had only come across once before- on V-Way's ode to Queen Twerk (which I loved). After hearing his debut single as a performing artist Lost In Your Music which features Kid Tini, I hit up his team to get more details on him. It turns out that I am more familiar with work that I thought, MayjC has been working as a producer for quote sometime, responsible for Kid Tini's Shay'weyi and One In A Milli as well as the production credits for artists like J. Smallz.
The song Lost IN Your Music is slow tempo seductive offering that sees MayJC switching between silky R&B vocals and rap lines that are complemented by Kid Tini's impressive verse.
Jermaine George, stage name MayjC, is something our generation hardly comes across. With an ear for music, and an acute in-depth knowledge of his craft, he is highly skilled in various aspects of
writing, producing and providing insight in to both film and music realms. His ability to also play the piano comes handy for both vocal consultations and productions his involved in. Not only is he skilled
in the music making, but in various aspects of the pre and post production process as well as an acute ear for mastering and shaping any kind of audio.
Growing up as a visually impaired child, Jermaine had to shape the world around him as he grew in order to make sense of what he could not see. It is this very circumstance that lead him towards his
calling, music. He used technology to innovate and create inventive ways of breaking boundaries between the visually impaired and sighted world. His goal is to have blind or partially sighted individuals have equal opportunities on a level playing field with the rest of the world through the use of both physical and technological advancements in the music industry.
Some works MayjC has been involved in
Production:
Coming From the 90’s
Shay’wei - Kid Tini
Inferno - J.Smallz (production assistance)
One in a Milli - Kid Tini
MayjC ft Kid Tini - Lost in her music
Watch Fifi Cooper & Riky Rick on The Season Premiere Of Coke Studio Africa
by Phil Chard
Coke Studio South Africa is back for its second season and the show that focuses on bridging the gap between genres and forcing unlikely collaborations that go from conceptualisation to performance and live recording all in just two days.
In the first episode of the show Fifi Cooper and Riky Rick appeared to produce some truly impressive Hip Hop /Pop fusion tracks. Fifi Cooper linked up with vocalist Ryki on a track titled Stop that sees Fifi opening up about her relationship with the father of her child and Riky Rick collaborated with Sketchy Bongo and Scales with the uptempo quasi rap ballad Sunday.
Shout out to Trey from Dreamteam who is now hosting the show with the recently married Nandi Madida (fka Mngoma).
New Rap City – New Jack City featuring Delite
by Phil Chard
South African rappers Chron Burgundy and Huck Finn have decided to join forces on a collaborative project and group both named New Rap City. The full EP which is set to drop before the end of 2016 will feature 9 original tracks that will reference movies form the early to late 90s.
The EP's production was handled by OB-1, except for the bonus track New Jack City - also the EP’s lead single, which was handled by Lenin. In their press release the group tries to position Lenin as some mystical new and unknown beat smith. My guess is he a new pseudonym for one of the group members.
Jaywo – Memories Featuring Ninja Lipsy
by Phil Chard
Jaywo is a Zimbabwean rapper currently based in South Africa. The young artiste just linked up with Dancehall songstress Ninja Lipsy on the reflective and acoustic song titled Memories. As the title suggests it is a nostalgic trip down Jaywo’s Memories as he reflects on growing up in Zim and the early influences music had on his life.
GZE – Boyz DzeTonaz
by Phil Chard
Zimbabwe's GZE has been upping his work rate in a major way this year as he preps for the release of his upcoming Hustlemania album scheduled for release before the end of the year. When I interviewed him last month GZE spoke of his plans to release a single titled Boyz DzeTonaz. Now as August draws to an end the Take 5 single has arrived and features the raspy voiced Harare rapper detailing the lives of unemployed hustlers who roam the streets of Zimbabwe's capital city looking to make money any way possible.
GZE also released the video for his single Imhandu earlier in the month , the video also follows a similar hustler theme with a slight twist.
Let’s Meet | Yeoville Radio
by Tseliso Monaheng
“Yeoville Radio is Kwela and his imaginary pirate radio station that plays whatever music we wanna play. On the real though, it’s Kwela and whoever is keen to work and make boundary breaking music”
Kwelagobe Sekele hits up my Facebook inbox a few hours after I'd sent him an e-mail. He wants to know whether I've received the reply, which I have, but have yet to acknowledge receipt. He's fresh off a weekend performance at the Soweto Theatre, which saw him collaborate with former Sankomota drummer Sello Montwedi. It was also a mini-reunion of Kwani Experience, the influential band he fronted throughout the 2000s. The gig turned out amazing, if the photos and video evidence are to be trusted.
Kwela's been involved in other projects since Kwani went on hiatus -- because friends who make music together don't really split up. The last one was the PO Box Project's Maru EP. "The title is also an indirect homage to Bessie Head who wrote a book by the same title. This is my little 7 chapter book," he'd said, shortly after the project was released.
Kwela had been PO Box since his Kwani days, so maybe he thought to switch it up altogether. Address him as Yeoville Radio henceforth.
How would he describe this new project, I ask via e-mail.
"Yeoville Radio is Kwela and his imaginary pirate radio station that plays whatever music we wanna play. On the real though, it's Kwela and whoever is keen to work and make boundary breaking music," he says in response. A few months earlier, we'd kicked it on some lo-fi tip one off-beat day in Jozi. He'd broken it down to me like this: He was tired of the city; of Joburg. He sought to be elsewhere, some place where he could practice his art freely. Or maybe he'd said he needed to breathe, I can't exactly recall.
Whatever the case, Kwela -- or Yeoville Radio -- is now stationed in-between North America ("Mostly in Canada, to be precise") and Mzansi Afrika. He's a traveller at heart, and Mzansi's quick to renege on its promises to honour its heroes. It forget its travellers.
Kwani Experience, the 8-member outfit which consisted of did a lot for the brown band scene in Joburg and its surrounds during their run. They -- alongside bands like UJU, Blk Jks, Tumi & The Volume, early BCUC and Impande Core, and others -- carved a space in South African music, then dominated by Kwaito, and by House music. Their space was pan-African, and militant, and filled to the brim with pride. Their live shows were righteous riots.
Kwani was also hip to their forebearers, the likes of Sankomota, Harari, Batsumi. When Pops Mohammed wanted to do electronic music (he produces under the name The Fucharist), he reached out to the band. This was around 2007. Kwani's debut album The Birth Of Mudaland Funk (Sheer, 2005) had fucked with the brains of a youth craving for something that wasn't speaking down to them, for one, and wasn't Kwaito or House music either -- though elements of the two could be infused in the resulting experience, to stretch the pun.
The sophomore Live After Birth followed in 2007, but not after a lineup change which saw a radical shift in the band's direction.
A shit-load of dope things have happened since then. Through it all, Kwela hasn't lost the militancy, the urgency of Kwani Experience. And his politics have percolated, too. Following a recording session he organised to respond to the 2015 xenophobic attacks, he said the following: "I feel like it's more Afrophobia, because whatever happens -- all the attacks and all the violence --is directed at Somalis, Zimbabweans, Zambians, and other people from the continent. This song is the voice, and it's the voices of all those migrants experiencing that Afrophobia in a city that was built by migrants; in a city full of immigrants."
Besides travelling and creating anew, Yeoville Radio's been awarded a grant by the live music development initiative Concerts SA's Mobility Fund programme, "a touring platform funded and administered by Concerts SA which offers opportunities for South African musicians to undertake live music tours" according to their website, Says Yeoville Radio of the grant: "A program like this needs to be sustained because it benefits our SADEC live music circuit and develops future audiences."
He's also currently promoting the project's first single Pfukani, an homage to "the nine-to-fivers, the Afroprepreneurs, and the low-wage earners working to earn their bread in a continent of stark disparities."
Going back deeper in our Facebook interactions, I find a gem of an unpublished interview excerpt where Kwela shares his Jozi rap story.
When did you fall in love with rap music? What ended the relationship? What's the current status of that affair?
I discovered rap music in the 1900s. Mid-90s, listening to Snoop Doggy Dogg etc and watching BOP TV. It was only later around '97 that I fell in love with rap and rapping when a high school friend who was older than me handed me a copy of KRS One's 'I Got Next'. I wish I had discovered KRS earlier though but the township happened to me. My first rhymes were for a rap battle, which I won. Silly, huh?! The relationship never really ended. I still appreciate rap although personally as a musician, rapping is a chore I like to avoid as I feel like we've outrapped ourselves. I'm more interested in music, being a vocalist and exploring infinite possibilities with the voice. And I just keep going in deeper and deeper, like my name Kwelagobe.
And emceeing: besides the need to sharpen your English language skills, what drove the passion to spit? Who were you bumping? Who were the 'influential' names in and around Jozi rap circles then? Did you ever attend the Le Club sessions? And what about the ciphers at Ghandi?
The concept of rap, the idea of rapping, had me hooked from day one. I was like, "I can do this". I attended Le Club, then Metropolis, a lot. Wrote a lot, smoked Mandrax, drank Crystal & Black Label, kissed girls, smoked weed and discovered Biddies, many talented rappers and hated fancy rappers like Jub Jub and Infinity Players. Was at Van Der Bijl Square (Ghandi Square) every other Friday with Osmic, Cybernetic, Movice, Asylum Trybe etc. Also Kine Centre on Commissioner, back when Mak Manaka was Slow Poison. Used to look up to Robo, because he's one of the leading cats who gave me attention, back when Pro Kid didn't lift weights. Hung out with Asylum Trybe and my crew then, U.R.O (Unidentifired Rhyming Objects) and used to admire Skwatta Kamp (when Slikour was Phantom Slick), Victim (Vikinduku), Slingshot, Dot Com (the real Dot Com), Shugsmakx Smaxx, Young Weapon (Waddy/Ninja aka "I was born in the year 2000 and 6"), DJ Bionic, DJ Blaze, Snazz The Dictator, DataBase (with Tumi playing FatBoy). All these cats were influential in some way. Pre that, I was bumping Bophuthatswana (BOP) TV at home and they had Das Efx, WuTang, Craig Mac, Tupac. I was listening to Snoop before a high school friend came to me and said, "You are listening to crap" and gave me KRS. That period was the foundation. It's all in the past now.