DJ Sliqe – Mercy ft. Riky Rick, Kwesta, Reason, Thaiwanda
by twoSeats
It seems that every few months Sliqe turns up with a new posse cut heater.
"When you Kobe Bryant, everybody hate ya. Ain't no science to it, that's just human nature"
This one is no different in comparison to his previous offerings in that he manages to get some of the biggest acts together on a gets them to tear the beat up; in this case, until it begs for mercy. Thaiwanda provides the glue in the form the hook and the Zimbabwean delivers in spades giving a great feel to the track that the featured rappers run all over. RikyRick, Reason & Kwesta bring the heat with impressive deliveries & bars to be found throughout the track.
GZE – Vavhurirei Mukova Featuring Sister Flame
by Phil Chard
When it comes to storytelling on songs in Shona, GZE occupies rare air. His ability to paint detailed and emotionally engaging stories while simultaneously riding the beat is truly impressive. On his new song Vavhurirei Mukova featuring the vocals of Sister Flame he tells a series of detailed about the loved ones he has lost and how he hopes that those watching over us allow them into the next life.
@resilience_gze
Review | EyeAmI – Y, Songs About You
by Phil Chard
I decided to title my new project Y, Songs About You after going through some extensive soul searching. I was born in the early 90’s, so I identify best with “Generation Y”. For a while, I was in a space where I was trying to figure out why my first project did not do as well as I’d hoped and what direction I was going to take as an artist. My intention was to write stories from the perspectives of other people. I believed that if I sought to first understand others, I will learn how to make them understand me. So I started with the generation I best identify with - Generation Y, the 90’s kids. The more I wrote the verses for these songs, the more I understood about my myself - why I was making music and the legacy I would like to leave behind.
Zimbabwean born, Toronto based artist EyeAmI (formerly known as Lewis The Artist) has just release his new 5 track EP title Y, Song About You. The project is a brief glimpse into the EyeAmI’s growth as an artist and his currently mentality. When comparing it to his last release Far From Home I noticed how his sound, delivery, and even rapping voice have changed as Lewis becomes more ingratiated in the culture of his newly adopted home.
Upon first listen I struggled to find the anchor of this project and EyeAmI as the reborn artist that he is. But on second listen, once I began to notice the small touches and the fusion of “African” sounds and those of his new home, Toronto shine through. The drums on Uber and Africa. Far From Home, the Afrobeat like Saxophone on Wagadugu and the small inflections and adlibs peppered on the songs all point to this growth. Lewis also credits this melting pot of sounds to a new genre that he hopes to pioneer called AfroBounce.
I am not particularly fond the of flow and delivery adopted by Eye on the project’s first two tracks, I have always felt that he would be better served as a rapper adopting a slower and more deliberate cadence. On Wagadugu (not the capital of Burkina Faso, the word seems to be euphemism for sex) which was actually originally a song I had sent to EyeAmI two years ago for this blog’s project with Rymez. Since then Eye has reworked the song and added that distinct saxophone to the beat.
It is the LP’s third song – Uber ,that I truly feel EyeAmI hits a home run. I have never been the biggest fan of rappers with limited vocal ranges attempting to sing. Especially the type of singing spearheaded by a certain rapper who also hails from Toronto, but it is on song where Eye truly shines. From the catchy and repetitive hook filled with emotion as his voice cracks and breaks to emphasize his words, to the excellent production and the perfect backing vocals from Sydne Barnes.
Y, Songs about you COVERThe song Mary which has also been a long time in the making, (I received rough draft of this track about a year ago) tells an abstract tale that likens the experiences of a promiscuous woman to marijuana over a chopped and screwed beat meant to signify the state of being high which switches as Eye’s lyrics become more “conscious”.
The closing track Africa. Far From Home is another great piece of production that features a marriage bongo and electronic drums with chants and passionate lyrics from EyeAmI
"Whats a child without a family to go and love him, what's a soldier without an army to go and cover for him?”
With Y, Songs About You I feel that EyeAmI is still finding his musical identity. The time and effort that went into a 5 track offering is evidence of that. There is certainly a great deal of potential in him as an artist, provided he sticks to his strengths and addresses up his weaknesses ad song writer. Sonically I can see where he is going and the sound of Afrobounce looks and sounds promising,.
Submission | Cagey – Don’t Forget The Dash
by Phil Chard
New submission from 23 year old Mafikeng transplant now in Cape Town going by the name of Cagey. The song Don't Forget The Dash is yet another trap joint that gives us a glimpse into what a night out with Cagey is like.
Submission | Lil Trix – LIFE
by Phil Chard
South African rapper Lil Trix just dropped his new single title Life, which he also produced. The song contains vocal samples of Daft Punk's "The Prime Time of Your Life" and the Mortal Kombat theme by The Immortals. The song and beat have had a long and interesting journey which Lil Trix delves into in his teaser video which you can view below. There are also uncredited vocals from Versa-Tyle, Erin Botes, and DJ, BASMNT.
District XIII – In The Midst Of It All
by Phil Chard
South Africa's District XIII remade Tom Mish's In the Midst of It All to produce a truly beautiful song about love and intimacy . I am just so happy we received submission that wasn't trap and had a men exploring emotions beyond basic sexual attraction.
Psyc’ – 5AM Feat. CAMO, J1TheGod, Simmysimmynya
by Phil Chard
Sudanese born producer Psyc' who now based in Cape Town has just dropped his debut single as an artist titled 5AM . The song features Camo (5th floor), Uno July (ill Skillz), j1TheGod and Simmysimmynya
Short Bio: Psyc' also known as 'A.K' was born in Khartoum,Sudan. Grew up in midrand,johannesburg then after he moved to cape town .He works predominantly in the medium of music production and music engineering ,he is a qualified Mix & Master engineer .Psyc' has studied a degree in sound engineering .He has worked with notable south african artists from all over the country And has Also shared stages with some of South Africa's biggest hip hop acts such as Cassper Nyovest - Patty Monroe - Tumi Molekane - Black Motion - Reason ,ect... Social Media Details : Twitter : @Psychedelic_AK instagram : Psychedelic_AK
Submission | VituXArcade – This Time Time Next Week (Prod By. ThatStonerNext2You)
by Phil Chard
1/3 of the Arcade Music group - Vitu has released the song This Time Next Week produced by TheStonerNext2You. According to Vitu "This Time Next Week is a jazz influenced Hip Hop experimental project that samples Jazz musicians who have had an influence in my life, in my music and in shaping the way I think as an artist. This song samples South African Jazz Musician Hotep Idris Galeta."
Submission | Jovislash – Jikeleza
by Phil Chard
South Africa's Jovislash just dropped his follow up to the very catchy release Mamcane which we covered here. His new single single Jikeleza translates to "turn around" and has Jovi merging 808 bass lines with traditional beat patterns and instrumentation.
Submission | ClassMatesMusic Featuring KeiM, Bucci, Skid, & Charley – Ka Dance
by Phil Chard
New Submission via Malawian collective ClassMatesMusic and their song featuring KeiM, Bucci, Skid, & Charley titled Ka Dance.
Bio: ClassMatesMusic is an urban music group from Malawi. Established in 2014, The group collective comprises of rappers, producers, singers, djs and promoters. The collective comprises of: (1) KeiM (Producer/Rapper) (2) Charley (Rapper) (3) Flo Dee (Rapper) (4) Royce (Music Promoter/Publisher) (5) Skid (Rapper) (6) Bucci (Singer/Producer) (7) Nathan Tunes (DJ) (8) Tall Bouy (Rapper) (9) Teddy (Singer) (10) Sam_Sparkling Sam (Photographer) Often regarded as a super group, the Classmates describe their artistry and sound as ‘being of the same class’ as the group’s name implies. Talented, diverse, and extraordinary are some of the words that have been used by their already fast growing fan base to describe Classmates. The Malawian music industry has regarded the group as an outfit ‘to watch'. The Classmates have once shared the stage with both international and local acts such as Cassper Nyovest, Toya Delazy, Uhuru, Chimzy Kay, Theo Thomson, Tay Grin and the list goes on. With the passion to make a different type of sound the Classmates have recorded songs like "We The Classmates", Goods Tender "Greedy Me", "Ka Dance", "Woop'd", and "Mystery", just to mention a few. With their creative minds the Classmates are able to do any type of genre. OTHER VENTURES Clothing Line The Classmates Music clothing line was established in 2015, When the members wanted to expand their production and give out more to the people and not only music.
Album Submission |KrossWord – Memoirs Of A K-ster
by Phil Chard
New album submission from Kimberley based Krossword. Memoirs of A K-Ster is Krossword's seventh full length release. The 14 track album features some of the best and most cohesive production on a project that I have heard in awhile - featuring deep 808s and big room instrumentation this project was meant to be played at full volume as you drive around the block with the windows out. The album boasts a couple of features from artists like Keodireleng, Louis M Songz, Rythmik, Noni and Kabomo (yes that Kabomo)
Standout tracks: Hulana, Relentless, Cold World and Changes
KrossWord, christened Tsepo Mtwana, is an independent hip-hop artist signed to his own company Blkbuoy Entertainment and is managed by his business partner Thabiso B. Mathibedi. Born in King Williams Town, his family moved to Kimberley when he was 8 years old and has called the diamond city Home ever since. He has been recording and releasing music since the age of 16 in 2006, he has since released 7 bodies of work including this one, In 2015 he recorded and released this album, sold physical copies out the boot and digital copies on iTunes. The album is now available for streaming on Soundcloud. "This album was made with the sole purpose of telling stories from my city, for my city. For the first time I decided to step out of my comfort zone and just made music without trying to sound "dope", I just wrote what was real to me and the people around me. This is my 7th body of work, originally released on iTunes on 1 August 2015, I have decided to let my fans and people around the world stream it for free
Review| Revivolution – Kotas N’ Caviar
by Phil Chard
Johannesburg's 6 man rap crew Revivolution dropped their debut mixtape Kotas N' Caviar last week. A Major and VezFullstop handle the production duty as FuSion, Tommy ills, Illy Amin, Tony Dangler, Impropoe and Inferno Williams trade the responsibilities of dropping these bars on the project, while Horus Tha God (fka Jonny Joburg) and Youngsta hop on as the mixtape's only guests. We reviewed the full project on twitter and these are our thoughts.
Kotas & Caviar - Curated tweets by AfricanHHB
Boogey – Show You Something
by Phil Chard
Nigerian rapper Boogey channels Slick Rick and Native Tongue’s acts like A Tribe Called Quest on his new single Show You Something.
The Black Intelligence song pays homage to the classic story telling of the music from the early 90s and Boogey relates a day in his life.
@BoogeyThat
Introducing Royal Suave
by Phil Chard
A new artist has just appeared on our radar. Going by the name of Royal Suave and hailing from South Africa’s Eastern Cape the rapper sports a nifty high-top fade and an impressive delivery. Royal Suave recently signed to Dr. Malinga’s recently formed imprint and has released two singles to date. The first release was Awazi Fokol which featured AB Crazy and the Doc himself.
His second release is the introspective True Story. There is definitely a lot o=in the small sample size I have heard from Suave and I will be keen to see how Dr. Malinga helps this Hip Hop artist negotiate the music industry.
@RoyalSuaveSA
Chron Burgundy – SlumLxrd
by Phil Chard
I’m so vain I pinch nerves and stink of green
South African rapper Chron Burgundy is prepping for the release if his upcoming EP New Rap City with HuckFinn.
SlumLxrd is a slow tempered song where Chron delivers some impressive rhyme multi syllabic schemes that also include the use and perfect pronunciation of “cabinet sauvignon” before he confidently brags “I don’t need to spread my wings I’m already fly” on the hook.
@chronburgundy
Watch Priddy Ugly’s New Video For Hunnids And Stream His Album
by Phil Chard
Despite our numerous accolades (no humble brag) we are not an infallible entity, and there have been times when we have literally been caught sleeping on some incredibly talented artists.
Without question an artist who should be a regular on our site is South Africa's Priddy Ugly. Despite us being aware of and being impressed by some of his high profile collaborations , we have inexplicably been caught napping on his solo work. I was privileged enough to see Priddy perform at Back To The City during my last trip to South Africa, after witnessing his set up close, I can indeed say that young man has the juice. The combination of his stage presence, energy, and chiselled features had the crowd (particularly the ladies) in a tiff.
Boasting a solid catalogue to his name and having just released two versions of his You Don't Know My Name album Priddy certainly has the talent and drive that could translate into success if he remains consistent.
He has also been releasing a solid set of visuals to accompany his songs for some time now. His new video for Hunnids is no different. The Nkululeko Lebambo directed video makes excellent use of tracking and lens zooming effects to tell a story cantering around store fronts and what nefarious activities may go on in the back
The Wichi 1080 song is available on Priddy's YDKMNY project.
Stream | Assesa – Music
by Phil Chard
When it comes to the debate of who one of the best spitters in South Africa is, there are a number of names that are always annoyingly left out of the mainstream conversation. One of those individuals is Assessa. I am not talking about the somewhat exclusionary “Best Women in Rap” discussions, I mean amongst everyone!
I personally witnessed Assessa rip the souls out of her competition at Back To the City two years ago in a series of rap battles that left her opponents dumbfounded. Her 2015 offering Yim Lo was also a massively impressive offering that displayed her lyrical dexterity and ability as a song writer (a skill many battle rappers fail to possess).
If it were not for the fact that she was up against Nasty C’s astoundingly polished Price City mixtape I am more than certain that Assessa would have walked away with the Best Freshman Award to couple her Best Female Award at the 2015 SA Hip Hop Awards.
Assessa has now released a new single titled Music that is the perfect aural representation of what she embodies as an artist. With a hard hitting and technically complex delivery that merges elements of traditional and modern music this song is everything I love her music.
Stream King Dizo’s TwentyFourSeven Mixtape
by Phil Chard
South Africa's King Dizo just dropped his 24 mixtape. The 17 track offering boasts features from Tony Dangler , Londi and Toya Delazy's Klutch Kollective. On first listen this project is definitely worth your megabytes. Despite adopting a perplexing faux American accent Dizo delivers a great set of songs that display his skills as a lyricists and hook writer who find a way to effortlessly merge vernacular and English raps.
Standout track : We Go Hard
Stream H3nry’s – W.T.F EP & His Video For Manasseh
by Phil Chard
Zimbabwean artist H3nry has released his second solo effort title W.T.F. The 5 track EP starts off a little cold and picks up the pace in a big way towards the end. The last two songs- You Want It and Sally ar are by far the standout offerings. The former features a sample of KC & The Sunshine Band's "That's The Way I Like It" that is chopped and screwed as H3nry delivers an impressive verse. On Sally the 20 year old ZImbabwean delves into the topic of mental trauma and sexual assault on a well produced tracks assisted by the vocals of Yoza Mnyanda.
You can also stream H3nry new video for Manasseh directed by Thandi Gula-Ndebele
About the Artist: Henry Masekesa better known by his stage name H3nry, is a Zimbabwean multi genre recording artist based in Cape Town and Zimbabwe. He is an independant artist spearheading the roster for his recently established record label IV-FOUR-VI International Records. He is also the founder of the creative collective '446', which includes frequent collaborator The Don as well as filmmaker Thandi Gula-Ndebele. H3nry began his music career three years ago after having recorded music and played instruments throughout his childhood. His passion for people, art and music led him to pursue a career in music while studying at the University of Cape Town which he then left after deciding to pursue music exclusively. H3nry released his debut single 'Secrets' in 2014, which featured Hillzy, another local artist, good friend and family member. A year after its successful release , H3nry released another offering, his debut mixtape, T.U.T.O.R , a collaborative hip-hop and R&B piece with Hillzy. The mixtape was well received across platforms on the internet and broadcast on Zimbabwean Radio stations with its leading single 'Paranoid' reaching the number 3 spot on Star FM this year. Following the success of his debut mixtape, h3nry began working on singles as well performances in Cape Town, with a stand out show at The Waiting room where he and good friend/collaborator Simmysimmynya shared the stage. He also went on to produce and mastered for South African rap newcomer Simmysimmynya's debut mixtape. H3nry released a second mixtape EP 'Expressions' in October 2015, the thought and emotion provoking piece received positive and raving reviews from local blogs and peers. It caught the attention of international artists and producers such as K.E On the Track and Profit who he went on to work with. 2016 saw the release of h3nry's second music video Manasseh which had great reception across all platforms and featured on a local blog while the single received the number 1 spot on the Stir Up radio show in South Africa. In May he went on to release another well received EP titled 'W.T.F'. H3nry has been working on his third mixtape which he hopes will inspire people and give his fans and others a better idea of who he is while showcasing his undeniable musical talent, the tape will be out in July.
Submission | Project-Kay – The Dark Ages Featuring Soulbass
by Phil Chard
Durban based artist Project-Kay has dropped a song titled The Dark Ages featuring SoulBass. The song has a very reflective and dark theme that is set by the haunting instrumental made up of piano keys, mellow violin strings and soft pads. On the song Kay discusses a dark and depressing time in his life where he contemplated taking his own life.
This song was written during the most difficult and darkest periods in his life and its’ lyrics draw straight from his soul which is exactly how the song was titled The Dark Ages. The courage he had to acquire in order to get through these delicate times is the very reason he wrote this tell-all song, but is also the reason he became the triumphant proud father he is today. He hopes this song will touch others faced with similar struggles and help them by assuring them that with God by your side, you can face anything and come out of it even stronger.
Kundai (Project-Kay) Vera is a music producer, rapper, Award winning film director and VFX artist who was born on the 8th March 1988 in Harare. In 1995 his missionary parents moved the family to South Africa when he was seven years old. By the age of eight, he began playing the keyboard in church which is where he discovered his love for music. He has also directed numerous music videos for Connecting Stars, Quest, and several other television Commercials. He is currently working on his studio album (the Dark Knight Villain) and is his EP "The dark Ages" is available on iTunes. The leading track "What I Want", is produced, engineered and recorded by himself, and features Durban rappers Flowsik, Ushe-S and Clara-T. This body of work along with everything he has done is meant to show case his producing and directing abilities to the world. Other musicians he has collaborated with that are not in the Hip-Hop world per say are the likes of Tresor. Who is an African Pop artist, who Kundai played keyboards and piano on the 2015 studio album "VII" including the hit single "Mount Everest" which also features South African Rap artist AKA. The goal now is to grow into a better well rounded artist and filmmaker and help put Durban and Africa as whole on the global map and become one of the people helping make it a serious contender in both industries.