King Lutendo- Electric Jungles Review
by Mayuyuka
I don't know how to describe this. I play the track back and push my earphones in to catch the line I missed. As I watch the train majestically glide by, I'm simultaneously enticed and disoriented. This project feels precisely like a train ride actually, it's got stealth and motions steadily... then jumps at you in sudden clunks of unexpected musical trickery! This only serves to keep you in suspense through the silence between each track though: not knowing exactly what the next cut offers. It's much of the same feeling between each of King Lutendo's projects. Sifting through his music reveals the artists knack for exploration, in the eclectic sounds found on Melancholy, Genesis Of Seeking and his Soda EP. For now, we're jamming to Electric Jungles.
It's a ten track offering by the Venda rapper who spreads his time between Venda, Cape Town and Joburg. It's a weirdly engrossing journey with no clear destination; but that's a huge part of the appeal. I love the fact that this offering has me engaging with it intensely! I hate the fact that I don't think I get it though. It's like bumping into an old friend you've never met: it's progressive yet has all the qualities I'm nostalgic for.
“The versatility here is reflective of a multi-faceted artist who is unafraid of experimentation.”
From the traditional instrumentation infused on Room For Angels, to the garage Hip Hop of Line One... this EP wraps the best of him into one.It's easy to get into Electric Jungles for it's audacity to stand out. It flies in the face of any trends you might have been exposed to yet. In fact, the title is exactly what the sound represents: an immersive experience with equal parts “how did I get here?” and “I'm glad I got lost in this”. It fits that the artist asks you to “leave anything beneath you... in the lair of his new jungle”. It's definitely left of field, boasting the palpable strains of electronic music working in tandem with the punch of raw Hip Hop.
Apart from maintaining a steady output of music, King Lutendo oozes originality in spades. A combination of trippy beats, progressive melodies and an unpredictable flow separate him from the rest of the pack. Oh, and I'm a sucker for imaginative basslines; you get that too here... particularly on the Rabbit Hole Interlude! The stand-out joint has got to be Gasps though; so dope... the hook, the off-beatness of it, the vibe! The versatility here is reflective of a multi-faceted artist who is unafraid of experimentation. That's precisely why this EP resists description, and I don't know if that's for everyone. It's a perfect soundtrack, perhaps, for the wayfaring stranger who's “been lost for a while now” as expressed In The Forest Part 2.
lutendoTowards the close still bewildered and barely escaping my trance-like state, his lyrics on the more heartfelt Winter 010 ring in my ear “hope you find somebody, deep down I wish you don't... I really hope you forget me, deep down I wish you won't”. Well, musically it's a memorable effort from an artist so comfortable in their uniqueness. Although I don't know if I'll find myself back here particularly, I'll definitely be looking out from now on... so wish granted! In the meantime explore the Electric Jungles for yourself and find out what King Lutendo had to say when we caught up with him.
“I like for the overall sound to be as expressive as possible, almost like the music version of Basquiat.”
AHHB: Who's King Lutendo and what does he represent?
King Lutendo: I'm a 23 year old custodian for the arts. I'm a rapper, producer, illustrator and designer. I was born into a musical family so I was taught from a young age to stand for expression and creativity... that has always influenced my approach to life and music
How's the music industry for Venda artists, especially in Hip Hop?
KL: When I had initially started around 2005/6 there was pretty much no platform for us rappers from Venda, but as soon as I started getting national radio play it not only helped create a mark for Venda hip hop but also inspired a lot of younger artists too.
How would you describe your sound?
KL: Well I approach the way I make music the exact same way I paint, I like for the overall sound (and not just the lyrics) to be as expressive as possible, almost like the music version of Basquiat. If I had to put it into a word I would describe the sound as cinematic. I like to imagine I'm creating art film soundtracks when I make music, with the story already told in the lyrics.
Your ear for beats is petty unique, what do you look for specifically?
KL: I produce all of my own beats from scratch, that may explain why the sound on a lyrical basis and on a instrumental basis are almost synchronized. There are two things that are my personal favorites when making music: synth keyboards as well as drums. I also like having beats that switch in between if I feel like the song can carry more than one story under the same theme.
You put out a lot, I mean.... a lot of music. Is it easy for you to be so expressive?
KL: I spent so much time in my younger days at cyphers, freestyling and battling. I worked so hard at that skill that writing lyrics and songs has become just a slightly more structured form of freestyling. I literally discover a new sound every other day, so that way I'm able to put out a lot of music. I find that the less afraid you are to run out of ideas... the more you can do.kl
In one of your lines you say you're “time traveling in a DeLorean”. Do you think you might be ahead of your time in relation to the sounds in the Hip Hop scene at the moment?
KL: I definitely think so... I'd rather contribute to the movement of the culture as a whole, than the culture of the current trend. I'm making music that people will still be able to jam to even after the trap wave has passed. So when I get into the studio I make sure I have no mental reference to any songs out there; so whatever ideas I come up with are completely new. Also I feel like most artists and producers are playing by a guideline that is too safe... it makes for good music but nothing memorable! I like to make music that might not even fit this year or the next, maybe the year after that.
Do you think people vibe with your unique sound?
KL: Yes they do, at first when I started I was always worried about whether people would vibe to the sound based on how different it is to everything else, but I learnt later in my life that all art has fans. As long as you make the art... people will want to see it. Also people have always respected how versatile my style is as every project sounds like a completely different version of me.
Local musicians are often described as sounding 'international'. Do you get that often... like your style might fit better overseas?
KL: Yeah I get that a lot, I mean when people make descriptions of things they've never heard or seen they reach for the closest reference to compare it to, even if it's not similar. I think based on the fact that the genre itself is western that makes people automatically make the link. Even though this has been said about me, I know for certain the sound is different to any sound even out there. Just based on the fact that people out there are more accommodating to new sounds; it may fit better there... but I feel like such a lane can be created even locally.
Lastly, is making or listening to music more important to you. What do you listen to?
KL: I'd say listening is more important, I learnt a lot of the technical side of music production just by listening to how international artists arrange their instruments. I'm a big fan of synth-based alternative rock bands like Miami Horror and MGMT. As far as rap, I listen to a lot of Aesop Rock, Kanye West, Childish Gambino and Big Boi from Outkast. Basically the guys who are never scared to push the envelope!
Submission | PG18 – Dhamiri
by Phil Chard
PG18 is a Tanzanian duo comprising of George Gavin and FreshLikeUhhh. The two rappers have just dropped a song titled Dhamiri that matches their band name perfectly . On the slow tempo song produced by Kenya's P+A the two use their lyrics to provide a detailed and graphic description of how they plan to pleasure a woman.
I was just listening like ....
Martin--Notes
Submission | TRAP$TARLORDI – SUPER
by Phil Chard
South African rapper TRAP$TARLORDI felt like showing off in a major way so he hopped into the studio and wrote a song in 10 minutes Surprisingly it is not Basura. Riding over a high energy trap beat TRAP delivers a set of verses that sot perfectly into the song's momentum.
Submission | Mohay10 – Four
by Phil Chard
Mohay10 is Cap City Records' newest signing and the husky voiced rapper just dropped a track titled Four. The uptempo, tounge in cheek jam features the synths and deep sounding digital samples of the early Kwaito sounds of South Africa.
Submission | EMz – African Roots
by Phil Chard
EMZ's African Roots will not be winning any lyrical awards this year. I am willing to stake my reputation on that. The sing is basically a repetitive ode to a shaking ass in the "jungle" where EMZ repeats the phrase "look at that bum go" at least 50 times. However, what it lacks in lyrical complexity it makes up for with an incredible instrumental that fuses tribal elements, progressive house and electro. As DJ Khaled says "its a vibe" . EMZ could have just hopped on this song and recited the 2016 Budget and the beat and hook would have made it bearable.
Submission | Zorch – Music
by Phil Chard
South Africa's Eastern Cape is where rapper and producer Mziwoxolo Linda aka Zorch calls home. The young rapper just sent in his new single Don't Know. The electronic/dance inspired instrumental instantly caught my ear and Zorch delivers a fairly capable set of rhymes. At times he does find himself going off beat or struggling with the flow as he delivers rhymes about his first forays into the music industry. He does however rescuer the song with a very decent chorus.
So which blogs aren't you "seeing eye to eye" with fam?
#SubmissionSunday | Chro’thaGnostic – The Omen
by Phil Chard
Seasoned South African battle MC Chro'thaGnostic believes that his reject tracks are better than the songs on your album. As the West Rand MC gears up for the release of his upcoming EP he will be dropping a number of singles that did not make the cut. The first of these is the lyrical song The Omen.
Tweet Review | PatrickxxLee – Disco Utopia
by Phil Chard
Zambian born producer PatricKxxLee just dropped a 6 track EP titled Disco Utopia. I decided to give the project a live review on Twitter and share my thoughts on the trap offering from the young producer and rapper. My feelings were very mixed, as Patrick's talent is evident but the direction seems a little misguided to me. Read my thoughts below.
*Editor's note: This is not PatricKxxLee's debut Ep , he also released an 8 rack project earlier this year titled Red Hallway
On the 6-track EP, the Johannesburg-raised PatricKxxLee does what most rappers seem to forget about these days: He’s got something to say. Whether reminiscing about raging nights with his homies from The Cabin that end in debauchery (“Dark Paradise”), sharing revengeful and reflective post-break up thoughts (“Vainglorious”), ranting about fake people and friends with wrong priorities (“Wax Face”), describing a seedy state of being and the desire for escapism (“Dirty Dancing”), or suffering from the restlessness that comes with wanting to leave familiar territory and everything else behind (“Anywhere But Here”), DISCO UTOPIA is first and foremost honest, and secondly damn wild. The EP ends with “April 5, 1994”, in which PatricKxxLee pays homage to Kurt Cobain, one of his oldest influences - not only in terms of sound.
Disco Utopia - Curated tweets by AfricanHHB
Sipho The Gift – Morning Cereal
by Phil Chard
South Africa's Sipho The Gift has been relatively quiet since releasing his massively impressive Coming Of Age album last year. The lack of music releases has not been missed by Sipho himself either, while frustrated about his lack of productivity , the Kimberly born rapper hopped on signature Freddie Joachim beat to rant about the industry and his ambitions on Morning Cereal.
Tweet Review | Lwansta – Your Absolutely Right
by Phil Chard
Durban based Lwansta dropped his 9 track EP titled Your Absolutely Right last week, we decided to give it the tweet review treatment. Check it out below.
#SubmissionSunday | Nash Da King – Umshini Wami
by Phil Chard
Zimbabwean rapper Nash Da King links up with the ZImbabwean Hip Hop duo known as The Hitmen on his new single Umshini Wami. Despite its cringe worthy intro the song utilises a Swing Jazz sound very unique to Hip Hop coming out of Zimbabwe.
#FreestyleFridays With Chanda Mbao, Teeklef, Tucker HD, King Sweetkid & Mith
by Phil Chard
#FreestyleFridsays is a weekly feature where we gather up some of the best remixes, covers and freestyles from across the continent and force them down your ear canal in this easy to digest blog capsule.
This week we have music form Chanda Mbao, Teeklef, Sweetkid and Tucker HD and Mith
Chanda Mbao Featuring Scott & Kaladoshis - Shabba Cover
The Zambian trio of Chanda Mbao, Scott and Kaladoshis rebuilt the beat for Wizkid's Shabba from scratch and re-imagine the song with their twist.
Teek - Timmy Turner Cover
Nigerian born artist Teeklef decided to hop on the Timmy Turner wave and delivered this version of the Desiigner freestyle that somehow morphed into a cult hit.
King SweetKid - DreamWork (Shuga Mix)
South African rapper King Sweetkid just hopped on AKA's Dreamwork beat to deliver an impressive freestyle of his own
Tucker HD & Mith - Back 2 Sleep (So UG Mx)
The Ugandan duo of Mith and Tucker HD hopped on Chris Brown's hit Back To Sleep to give their take on how they plan to cure a woman's insomnia
DJ Vigilante – Ayeye Featuring Cassper Nyovest & Carpo
by Phil Chard
Many moons ago DJ Vigilante and Cassper were were not seeing eye to eye . If my memory serves the beef was sparked by the 2014 MTV Base Hottest MC list when DJ Vigi commented that Cassper's album Tsholofelo was all over the place and as a result Cassper was given the number 2 spot , while DJ Vigi's label mate K.O was awarded the peak position. Cassper did not take too well to the perceived snub and went to twitter to vent . Things quickly devolved and a few weeks later a set of not so subtle jabs were thrown at the DJ on Cassper's song Beef.
Well now 2 years on, it looks like the 2 have buried the hatchet and are now working together. On the song Ayeye produced by Air-Dee and Gemini Major the song has the signature elements rooted in Kwaito and 90s House that Cashtime artists seem to favour. Cassper however is once again his growth as an artist with an impressive delivery that suits his style perfectly. This new Cassper is becoming a serious problem. cass
It's now or never time to put the test on the fundamentals
My own numbers got me under a lot of pressure
Mirror mirror tell me who the boss in this kind of setup setup
I remember,started with Gusheshes & Caravellas. Now these WRAPPERS is taking SWEET (shots) like its (Amaretto). Don't sleep on the word play
— FillUpOrlandoStadium (@CassperNyovest) August 12, 2016
Raiza Biza – Get By Featuring Bianca Paulus
by Phil Chard
Raiza Biza has been averaging at least 1.5 projects a year for the past 4 years. But since the release of his last project it seems that the New Zealand based rapper has taken his foot off the pedal to travel and rediscover his sound. Outside of his Bring It On Demo that dropped last month, the released from the artist have been few and far between in the last year.
Raiza Biza just dropped a new soulful single Get By , a song that has the signature sounds that he and his longtime producer Crime Heat have refined over the years. The song features Bianca Paulus who lends her vocals to the chorus. However Raiza promises that an EP is dropping at the end of the month
“all I can really tell you is that I'm in a really good space with music right now, and I have a lot I would like to share with you. And I will, starting with the EP I am dropping in less than a month. “ Raiza Biza
#SubmissionSunday | Bridge – They Don’t Know
by Phil Chard
After taking a break from music to focus on his education, nigerian rapper Bridge has announced his comeback with the bass heavy joint titled They Don't Know. On the track Bridhe effortlessly weaves in and out of English and Pidgin lyrics as he raps about his return.
Sarkodie – Eny3 De3 Ehia Ni Featuring Strongman
by Phil Chard
The Number one Obidi continues to release this music at an impressively consistent rate.. Earlier today Sarkodie linked up with fellow Ghanaian rapper Strongman on Eny3 De3 Ehia Ni - a fast paced Azonto centred song.
Earlier this week Sarkodie also released a dedication to his fans in the form of the Sarkoholics freestyle. A song he recorded after asking his fans to tweet him to get personalised shout outs on the song.
Studio now !!! Wanna drop your names in there 😊😊😊 tweet Now ... Freestyle going down
— KingSark (@sarkodie) August 2, 2016
The Swerve Remix Is Here & It Is Several Flame Emojis
by Phil Chard
One of the few pleasures of being a music blogger (and they are VERY VERY FEW) is when you come across a song from a relatively unknown artist that is so jaw droppingly good you wonder how they haven't blown up yet. Ricky Tyler’s Swerve is a song that definitely fits into that box. The smooth fusion of Hip Hop and R&B over a hypnotic beat that married piano, guitar riffs and 80s pop bass influences was an instant favourite with me.
SWERVE_REMIXSadly however, it seems like the song never really caught the attention of the mainstream. In a smart move Ricky and his people have decided to remix the song and they recruited the falsetto voiced Batswana crooner Tshego to do what the original failed to do. The Family Tree artist does a very capable job of adding his voice to the song without messing with the originals perfect formula. Hopefully his addition will help give this song a second lease I'd life. Lord knows it deserves it.
You Can Now Stream E.L’s ELOM ALbum For Free
by Phil Chard
While E.L preps for the release of BAR III and continues to slay his competition with his new releases, the BBNZ rapper has just uploaded his last album ELOM for free streaming on Soundcloud. If you have not sampled the album then you have no excuses. I personally liked the ELOM but our writer Sabz had a slightly different opinion. Read his review below.
Fela’s Eternal Youth
by Tseliso Monaheng
I'm surfing the net. This is the fastest the connection has been since the weekend. I download a couple of torrents of mostly rap music and leave them seeding overnight. There's an album called Expensive Shit by one Fela Kuti included. The next morning, a one-track-missing Expensive Shit folder is visible on the desktop.
I'd heard about Fela for so long that he'd become legend. He'd defected from active imagination and descended into an abyss of Afro-beaten reveries. Discovering Expensive Shit was the missing link. Suddenly, the legend assumed a tangible state. The title track, inspired by Fela’s stint in prison following one Simbiat Abiola's report that his stick-up kids had jacked her red car at gunpoint, amplified Fela's legend.
What was it about this man that left Obasanjo and his goons so shook?
A non-exhaustive rummage through the gophers of our catastrophe-prone present reveals the answer. More than 40 years after its release, Water still turns party-goers into itinerant militants on the dancefloor. Nineteen years after his passing, Fela's ideas are the fodder fuelling young people's fire across multiple disciplines on the African continent and throughout the diaspora. So, in the same way systems of governance in Nigeria sought to silence Fela, they’re silencing young, militant voices in Maseru; they’re policing Universities and enacting violence on students at Fort Hare; they lie in glass chambers while #discontent is the number one trending topic in Bulawayo.
And that’s just the tip.
For Brooklyn-based Ghanaian emcee Blitz the Ambassador, Fela inspired a specific sensibility: fuck the rules and just do the damn thing. Recently-returned from two performances on the Southern African festival circuit -- one at Bushfire in Swaziland and another at Zakifo, Durban -- he shares a story about how the song Free Your Mind off of the Native Sun album came about.
"[It's] probably one of the most complicated compositions that I made from scratch," he says, referring to the twenty or so parts to the song. He mouthed every part before giving it to his band, the delightful Mighty Embassy Ensemble, to play. "When I sing a part that I think is perfect for the trumpet, I'll end up [giving] that part instead to the bassline," he says.
It’s a technique Blitz often employs, "just to break out of what people [consciously] expect." In this way, he's challenging our thinking patterns as related to music have been constructed.
Elsewhere in his catalogue, Blitz recruits like-minded spirit Nneka for a collaboration. Whenever they link up, they discuss matters pertaining to the continent.
"We're talking about how do we go back home; how do we go back properly; how do we connect with the local [people who have] been building...and be able to merge what we've done internationally with what's happening locally," he says.
His statement brings to mind what a young Fela did following his return from #Brex…sorry, London. He went back to a nascent Lagos. He devised a form of music and pushed his own agenda.
Nneka took a leaf from Fela and has been making socially-conscious yet funky-as-fuck music for over a decade. Her ode V.I.P (Vagabonds In Power) is a Tony Allen-inspired drumline and a Spanish guitar sample -- music provided by longtime collaborator DJ Farhot. She delivers a new-age chant to the corrupt officials who still rule with an iron fist; whose tongues are laden with lies; who charm their way into the hearts of a leaderless continent with the empty rhetoric of 'a brighter future.'
Listening to Nneka is like witnessing a Fela Ransome-Kuti whose mind has been unshackled from the bonds of toxic masculinity.
"Dey rip my pride and dignity away," she sings on V.I.P, and then adds the refrain "dey make me dey suffer."
It’s a roll-call of violent empires instituted through oppressive means. It's a big up to ‘our’ women in Chibok; a dap to the 147 in Garissa; an air punch to the workers and students operating under the watchful eye of Big Brother at University campuses in Jozi.
Jozi offers fertile ground for the pan-Africanist ideals enshrined in Afro-beat. Kwelagobe Sekele is drawn by these and continues to apply them, to great effect, long after Kwani ceased being an Experience. "The music of Fela gets me. I resonate with the zero-fucks attitude and the coming together of different styles and sounds that make up Afrobeat. And it's big and bold and it's Black Consciousness," says Sekele.
Sekele's new project - Yeoville Radio - came about from imagining how a unifying voice in the boho suburb-turned-unofficial township that is Yeoville would sound. “That ship that it is carries all these African [nations],” he says.
Fela's deep. He's spiritual. He's also eternal youth, in the same way that mam'Sibongile Khumalo and bab'Sipho Mabuse are; in how Papa Ramps’ poetry fires on...
Fela's also inspired Nduduzo Makhathini, who took a page off of the originator's script to pen an homage called "King Fela" on his SAMA-nominated album Listening to the Ground. The music and the song comprise some of the most tripped-out Afro-Cubano lock-step harmonies this side of the KZN Midlands, from where the pianist, composer and producer originates. If Lagos were to take a boda-boda across these imaginary lines we term borders, passengers would hear this song playing at full volume on some border official's phone on the Mzansi side of Beit Bridge ,(assuming you have the dollars to bribe said officials at all the borders you would’ve had to cross).
TIA, and that’s just the way it goes.
Fela's deep. He's spiritual. He's also eternal youth, in the same way that mam'Sibongile Khumalo and bab'Sipho Mabuse are; in how Papa Ramps’ (Lesego Rampolokeng) poetry fires on despite an 18-25-obsessed marketing machine designed to put pressure on you to get your shit together before 30, because before you know it the half-a-century thing is happening and you don’t have kids and ermagerrrd it’s time to press the panic button!
Chill with these ideas of an expiring youth. Where there's Fela, there's no 18-25.
Patrobas – This World Featuring Ruyonga
by Phil Chard
The Ugandan duo of Patrobas and Ruyonga just linked up on This World, a song where they discuss some of the injustices occurring in Africa ands the world that are often ignored. “Now I can write you a combo about my bomb flow and tell you about the bombs going off in The Congo “ Ruyonga raps as he opens his verse.
Patrobas reflects on his verse about modern stay struggles that we all face “inequality and racism still alive, even slavery but some would say I'm telling lies “
Always great to hear rappers rapping lyrics and also remembering to package their message into a good and palatable song. Stay Woke!