Check Out Our Playlist of The Best Back To The City Performances
by Phil Chard
Back To the City was two weeks ago and it was undoubtedly one of the biggest Hip Hop festival events we have ever witnessed. Mary Fitzgerald seemed a lot smaller than usual as 25,000 fans crammed their way into the event to enjoy the show that featured three stages, a basketball court, a mini trampoline sports set up, stalls, skateboarding, and a lot of great of music.
Check out our YouTube playlist featuring some of the best performances on the night from Reason, Kwesta and Nasty C
@BacktothecitySA @ReasonHD @Nasty_CSA @KwestaDaKAR
I Spoke To DJ Capital, This Is What I Learned
by Phil Chard
AB Crazy, Reason & DJ Capital performing Hell Of A Life at Kool Out
I recently sat down with South Africa’s DJ Capital to discuss his entry into the music industry and his new single Hell Of A Life featuring Reason and AB Crazy.
During out interview Capital shared that his forays into the music industry came about when he would promote and host parties in University and he was forced into becoming an impromptu DJ when one of the acts he had booked didn’t pitch. Capital also revealed that he writes the hooks for his songs before sharing the process that went into making Hell Of A Life.
You can watch the full interview above and the video for Hell Of A Life below.
@DJCapital90
Phyno – Fada Fada Featuring Olamide (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Nigerian artist Phyno follows in the Afro Pop footsteps of his last single Connect on his new joint featuring Olamide titled Fada Fada . On Fada Fada however Phyno takes the religious route to give praise for all his blessings.
Miss Pru Dj – Ameni Feat eMTee, Saudi, Sjava, Fifi Cooper, A-Reece & B3nchMarQ
by Phil Chard
Ambitiouz Entertainment have bulldozed their way into the South African Hip Hop scene and climbed their way to the top in a way I haven't seen since Ghetto Ruff's and Native Rhythms dominance at the turn of the millennium. In 18 months the label has gone from relative obscurity to having their two marque acts - Fifi Cooper and eMTee dominating radio and award show nominations.
Not content with relying on the success of its two young front line acts the label has also signed a number of new acts such as Miss Pru DJ, Saudi, Sjava, B3nchMarQ and somehow also managing to scoop up A-Reece who was formally signed to PH's Raw X imprint.
The ever growing clique link up on Ameni, directed by Uncle Scrooch in a video inspired by supernatural powers and spirituality as the Ambitiouz crew fights off a group of evil spirits intent on capturing a spirit in a gold leotard ? That each member of the label is tasked with protecting.
Youngsta – Top Ten List (Official Music Video)
by Phil Chard
With the gory visuals on the video for Top 10 List, Youngsta is making a statement. He is killing all those who stand in his way ad he is done chasing mainstream recognition.
Donning a Jason hockey mask and brandishing an axe, Youngsta, Take Zito (Video dorector) and his manager Lee-Roy Davids craft a 4 minute (PG-13) slasher flick that sees the Cape Town laying waste to a series of victims who are later bagged in black plastic and hung from the beam of an unfinished building.
On a song that is essentially a massive middle finger to the mainstream that has ignored Youngsta’s talents, the video takes the message even further by producing a 4 minute visual offering that will probably never see the light of day on television outside of an “uncensored” programme or with the aid of copious blurring that will essentially mask the message. If anything I respect Youngsta even more for having testicular fortitude to produce such a piece of art and effectively limiting its appeal to only those that truly care about his work.
We spoke to Youngsta a few months back about Top Ten List.
Boolz – Ekasi (Official Video) + Album Stream
by Phil Chard
Cape Town rapper Boolz just dropped the Leneave Hansen directed video for Ekasi and as the title suggests he takes us on an audio visual tour of the hood, Langa to be exact. The song appear on Boolz latest project Love Tha Hate which can be streamed below.
YCEE – Su Mi (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Nigerian rapper YCEE and his unique delivery and sound made an almost immediate impact on the West African music scene when he broke onto the scene last year. Riding off the success of joints like Jagaban and Condo – YCEE was crowned the Rookie Of The Year at the 2015 Headies Awards.
On his new joint Su Mi YCEE reminds us that ‘he goes way harder than hard” and "body bags all that he leaves in the booth"
DJ Big N – Erima Feat. Dr. Sid & Wizkid ( Official music video )
by Phil Chard
Mavin Records’ DJ Big N linked up with label mate Dr. Sid and WizKid on the new club centred Erima.
This song is will undoubtedly be getting a lot of spins this winter. The video for the P Winxton produced track was directed by Paul Gambit.
Ma-E – Lie 2 Me Featuring AKA (Official Music Video)
by Phil Chard
Ma-E just dropped the video for his fifth single off his debut solo album Township Counsellor. The song Lie To Me features AKA trading bars with the Soweto born rapper as AKA lends his auto-tuned voice to the chorus.
The song which features a slower tempo trap sound was produced by the Zimbabwean duo of Brian Soko & Mr. Kamera.
Directed by Ma-E himself and Uprooted Media the video makes for interesting viewing with clever use of sets, props and lighting.
M.anifest – W’ani Aba Featuring. Bisa Kdei (Official Music)
by Phil Chard
Few African artist continue to find new and inventive to push not only their music but their visual offerings forward quite like M.anifest.
In his new video for Wani Aba featuring Bisa Kidei, M.anifest and director Garth Von Glen (Flourish And Multiply) link up with Afr futuristic artist Serge Attukwei Clottey to tell an incredible visual story.
In the video M.anifest plays an Afrofuturistic creator who uses glasses (designed by Serge) to help ordinary people see themselves in alternate reality.
Once again M.anifest has delivered an incredibly powerful piece of imagery.
Jesse Jagz – Nigerian Gangster (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Chocolate City’s Jesse Jagz flexes his lyrical prowess on his new release Nigerian Gangster. Featuring the perfect horn samples Jesse adopts a lyrical delivery akin to the American detective movies of the 40s and 50s to tell a tale of a series of Nigerian Gangstars – fictional and otherwise.
After David Cameron’s recent remarks about Nigeria, Jesse’s use of except of an interview of Minister Farakhan on 60 Minutes, defending corruption accusations made by Mike Wallace.
PdotO – Forgive ‘Em (Official Video) Featruring BlakLez & Percy Mthunzi
by Phil Chard
Cap City’s PDot O recruits label mate Blaklez, and Percy Mthunzi on the video for Forgive Em. The Kyle White directed video takes the obvious route mapped out by the song’s lyrics by skirting around the topics of religion, sin and abuse.
@PdotO_SA @Blaklez
Klutch Kollective – Back to the Roots (Official Music Video)
by Phil Chard
A week after Toya Delazy announced her departure from Sony Music Africa to launch her own imprint - Delazy Entertainment. The South African artist has released visuals from her label’s first signing - the all women rap ensemble titled Klutch Kollective.
Consisting of Genius, Fiah, DK and Toya Delazy herself, the crew just dropped the video for their debut single, Back to the Roots. Though the song’s chorus grates my eardrums it does feature solid verses from the “Kollective. With an impressive video directed Youri Litch the song signals a possible shift in how Toya approaches her music and career going forward. Less Pop, more Hip Hop perhaps?
MI Just Dropped a Video For Everything and I Couldn’t Talk About It Before Giving Illegal Music III The Praise It Deserves
by Phil Chard
While I was enduring my unwanted and ill-timed Internet hiatus Nigeria's MI was out here collecting bodies. Literally. Two months ago MI released the third and final instalment of his Illegal Music series subtitled The Finale.
Despite my inability to cover the release during its release I could not speak on anything on Illegal Music in good conscience without explaining how incredible it is. As with previous Illegal Music releases MI utilises the instrumentals, melodies, and hooks of existing songs to create his own unique renditions. What is new however with this release is how polished the reworks and mash-ups are. We are treated to blends of Jay Z's La Familia and Kanye West's Never Let Me Down on Head Of The Family and the seamless transition on NotJustOK-Savage which incorporates AKA's Composure before switching to Rihanna's Needed Me while also splicing in Greg Hardy's infamous interview after a Dallas Cowboys loss, all while MI raps about his ChocNation empire. Illegal-Music-III-Art
“At this stage in my career and life, finding the time to record another Illegal Music was purely a labor of love. I hope that Nigerian HipHop will rise and claim its place at the table on Hip-Hop’s mount Olympus. I would like to see a lot of rappers remix and recreate the song ‘The Box‘. The team was GPLUS, Ckay and I. And I want to appreciate them for their love in making this ‘FREE’ project. LOL. To the fans.. I love you #LoveYours.”
MI is undoubtedly one for the continent's most skilled wordsmiths and Illegal Music III is a boisterous and triumphant reminder that Jude Abaga still wants to be considered as one of the finest. Throughout the project and in its footnotes MI declares that he no longer wants to be considered one of Nigeria's or Africa's finest rappers. But one of the world's best. As he states "at the Hip Hop Vatican I'm seated right next to Hov ".
Illegal Music also provides MI the platform to address the controversial NotJustOK Hottest rapper list that I ranted about last year while also addressing the Headies and his disdain for unqualified opinions on his music.
Ultimately, Illegal Music III is an exhibition match that allows MI the opportunity to flex on us all and remind those who ever questioned his ability as an artist and leader not to make that mistake again. His lyrical prowess and use of various sound clips and songs to narrate a very clear story makes for an impressive offering that will have you hitting repeat repeatedly.
MI also just dropped the visuals for Everything - the introspective song about his career and his untimely sabbatical from music. Produced by Capital Dreams Pictures the song utilises stop motion animation, cutaways and slow pan shots in a single set to narrate MI's message.
Scientific – Rotate Featuring Quincy B
by Phil Chard
Liberian rapper Scientific has just released the visuals for his dancefloor focused song Rotate that features his long-time collaborator Quincy B. The song is mesh of Afrobeat and electro dance that invites listeners of the female persuasion to contort themselves on the dancefloor.
Shot by Brian Ohene at a Liberian resort the video features the two artists enjoying the company of a bevy of women who took up the challenge I highlighted in the last paragraph.
Simba Tagz – Zvakanaka Feat XQ & Ba Shupi
by Phil Chard
Zimbabwean Simba Tagz continues his dalliance with his newly adopted Afrobeat/Pop sound on his new single Zvakanaka. The song feature Urban Grooves star ExQ and the yodel gawd Ba Shupi. Produced by DJ Tamuka who was responsible for several massive hits over the last year it is clear Tagz is positioning this release towards mainstream and radio play. Ironically however, Tamuka produces a song that sounds like something Tagz would make for himself with the strings, beat patterns and pads that we have grown accustomed to hearing from him.
@SimbaTagz
Jakk Wonders – Kids Back Then Beat Tape
by Phil Chard
South African producer Jakk Wonders is back again with another free beat tape. On Kids Back Then Wonders utilises his signature sampling and cutting techniques on a new set of mostly soul music samples. Though his talent and work ethic are above reproach I would love to hear Jakk cutting up some African samples.