Ko-Jo Cue – Oseikrom President
by Phil Chard
Ko-Jo Cue just dropped his new single Oseikrom President produced by Sam1. Oseikrom is the Ashanti region where Ko-Jo’s home city of Kumasi is located. Ko-Jo returns to his signature hard hitting lyrical style as he delivers impressive bars in a blend of English, pidgin and Twi.
Holstar – Spirit Of A Champion Featuring Rosah
by Phil Chard
Zambian Holstar just dropped the first single off the album Dreaming In High Definition titled Spirit Of A Champion. The song features the vocals of Rosah formerly known as Young N9ne on the hook. The song opens with the words of Maya Angelou’s poem from her book On The Pulse Of Morning which was made famous when she performed it at Bill Clinton’s inauguration ceremony. The song then closes with an excerpt from Kofi Anan’s exit speech as the UN Secretary General.
Sandwiched in-between the metaphorically rich clips Holstar rhymes raps about his ascendency and struggles over a string laden instrumental courtesy of Zimbabwean born Nigel.
Album Review: EL – E.L.O.M (Everybody Loves Original Music)
I’m a big EL fan. A new one (been hooked since 2014’s The B.A.R mixtape), but nevertheless a fan. I bought his latest album E.L.O.M (Everybody Loves Original Music), released towards the end of 2015, without even previewing it, his The B.A.R and The B.A.R II mixtapes were enough to convince me what a solid emcee he was.
“Kwame Nkrumah”, the opening track of E.L.O.M, convinced me the album was taking off where his mixtapes left. The song, which is not a song about the ex-Ghanaian president, sees El spit some heartfelt rhymes about his country and himself. It sets the tone, giving you a reminder of who the man is, where he comes from and where he’s going. He raps:
“A young black proud African nigga/ forget your collabo, man, I’m tryna be rapping with Jigga/ Please. I never said that I’m better than another man/ I tell’em I’m the best artistic product from The Motherland.”
At this moment I’m all smiles – I’m convinced E.L.O.M will be packed with bars and mid-tempo minimalistic production just like his last two tapes.
But El has a different plan. The second track, the lovey dovey pop-inspired “So Amazing”, sees El singing in autotune more than he raps. I dismiss it as one of those “radio songs” made by El the businessman, it’s also not a bad track anyway. But then the third track – “Watch The Way You Dey Waka” takes the same path. The fourth one, too.
At this moment I’m convinced this album is not made for me. It’s replete with flirtations with pop through excessive autotune singing and multi-layered high tempo beats. I’m asking myself, “Where are the raps?” “Don’t Let Me Burn” takes the same route but wait, it actually bangs! There’s no rapping on it, but it’s more dancehall than pop. I’m impressed by the simplicity in the lyrics. It’s simple yet moving. Like really, who makes a song about lying and it still sounds this dope? That bass guitar sound and that clean sound like something off a Bob Marley song and so is the poetic content. “My mama told me one lies is two lies and three lies is more lies/ If you lie, then you die then it’s bye-bye, oh boy, bye-bye,” he sings on the hook. My iTunes has made this song a favourite because after every listen, I press repeat. More than once.
I like the catchy “Mi Na Bo Po”, it makes me happy, even though I don’t understand much of the lyrics. The rest of the album, is just hit-and-miss for me. “Bolemor”, with another of my heroes Nigerian dancehall singer Patoranking, is another track I like, even though there’s little-to-no rapping. Even the song with Sarkodie and Dex Kwasi just doesn’t hit the spot – at least for a rap fan who expects bars back to back.
In short, E.L.O.M disappointed me a great deal. I want to believe that I don’t understand it – that it wasn’t made for me, than I want to believe it’s a bad album. Try it, you might get it. Sadly, after multiple listens, I just don’t.
Event News: 16 Bars Reloaded’s Music Unscripted
by Phil Chard
16 Bars Reloaded’s Music Unscripted returns for a third edition on Saturday, 30 April 2016, at 10am at the Museum Africa in Newtown, Johannesburg. Tickets are R50 and can be purchased via bookings on spokenpriestess@yahoo.com
The third edition includes a line-up of industry experts in their various fields who have been brought on to inspire and impart knowledge to those currently in the music industry or those wanting to get into the music industry in one form or another. The industry experts will also host a Q&A session after their talk where attendees will be able to engage with them and ask any questions they wished to be answers.
The line-up includes:
Refiloe Ramogase (@refiloer) - South African Music Awards (SAMA) Chair Person
Slikour Metane (@slikouron) - Music Entrepreneur and artist
DJ C-Live (@c_live) - DJ and Club 808 Content Producer
Monde Dube (@liljackhustler) - Music video producer
Julian Kubel (@ButanWear) - Clothing Entrepreneur (Designer and owner of local street-wear brand Butan Wear)image001
Sheila Afari (@sheilaafari) -PR Entrepreneur (MD and owner of Sheila Afari PR)
The Pitfalls of Social Media Marketing for Rappers on Twitter
by Mayuyuka
After Silas' exploration of Vic O as a branding genius, and TNG's informatve pieces on how to be a rapper from the ground up. I penned this piece as a fleshed-out rant regarding the risks associated when a hackneyed approach to once unique methods is employed by up and coming rappers. This is not a how-to though, it's a are-you-sure-you've-thought-this-through?
Guerilla marketing is a really creative way to reach new customers. It involves utilising unconventional ways of attracting the public's attention and offering the audience a unique experience along with that of the product or service. Without getting technical, let's consider an artist a brand and their music a product that entertains.
Enticing fans through airtime bundles, cash prizes, meet and greets or the sheer quality of your previous work as an artist are always viable options to get your name trending on social media. There are plenty of organic ways to go viral and generate interest in what you're offering.
Word of mouth still remains a very key aspect of extending an artists reach. Only now the power of the mouth is augmented by social media outlets like Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter. Force-feeding the twitter streets seems to be a really popular go-to nowadays and can come off as a little crass... especially if it's not part of a more nuanced marketing strategy.
Promo twitter is largely effective, if the right influencers are punting your song (and they should get theirs). But what happens when these influencers lose the audiences trust? What happens if promotion on twitter becomes the sole reserve of all those who couldn't trend organically? These are mostly rhetorical question to consider, with the general answer being: have a Plan B.
The area of who an artist is associated with on Twitter is murky. From fan accounts being able to peddle information despite not being official mouthpieces, to fans poking and prodding other artists in search of their next serving of beef... an artists name can get dragged through the most with or without their knowledge. In light of this, the next question to consider is whether this form of promotion is sustainable for your particular brand.
Your possible fans might feel the need to download your work out of curiosity, or a sense of FOMO, but... it this has to be backed up by you delivering on your promise. My belief in my trusted influencers doesn't reduce the need for a quality product from an artist. The ultimate moment of truth is when your prospective fans first listen to your song after reading how it's “a banger, a smash, lit AND being inundated by fire flame emojis on their TL. If the music doesn't add up to any of these adjectives... you could've possibly lost a potential fan and have gained a hater!
Although most rappers feel as though having haters is a sign of progress: there is now sufficient research in this field that suggests that even non-talented or unsuccessful people have haters too. It simply isn't a barometer for how well you're coming along.
The power of these haters though, is that if they feel duped, they will remember your brand as one that oversold and under-delivered. They will remember forever, and they will share this insight. And if Twitter has shown us anything... it's easier to trend when your ' haters' unite against you.
That is why it is essential that the product match the amount of effort made to push it. The music has to be good, even better than before Twitter; because next week I'll be fan-boying over a new track my favourite influencer is pushing. The fact is Promo Twitter is a nifty tool worth exploiting, and with the percentages of unemployed youth across the continent it provides artists and listeners tangible benefits... honestly anything that alleviates the youth's struggle is a bonus.
#RapShootr | Gettin’ Lost In The Music With Andiswa Mkosi
Words By Tseliso Monaheng
#Rapshootr's a series of interviews with photographers who engage different elements of hip hop culture throughout the African continent with their practice. Some already have their own platforms while others are igniting their own fire beneath the radar of an international gaze.
Andiswa Mkosi is one such and for our inaugural edition, the Cape Town-based cam handler told us about the first photograph she took as well as her thoughts about on-line mediums and the opportunities they present to artists such as herself.
How did photography find you?
I was supposed to study film but I landed up in a photography class and I just did not fight it.
What were your first experiments with the camera?
Pinhole photography. The first image I ever consciously made was with a pinhole camera we made with a box at Varsity as part of an assignment. I think I still have that picture somewhere at home.
What inspired the choice of the set of images you've shared with us?
I love photo graphing musicians while they are performing, generally because I am one myself so I am inspired to make images of them the way I would love to be photographed when I am performing.
What is your favourite subject to shoot? How did you stumble upon it, and why the subject specifically?
A number of them but at the moment, musicians/performers.
It strongly has to do with the fact that I love music a lot, so when photographing performances I get lost in the music and I focus on another level while making the images.
Why: There are special moments on stage, I live to anticipate these, finding the one thing an artist constantly does when performing and freezing that in a moment.
Do you have any people who've influenced your style of photography?
Various people but there is this guy called Nemesis. Ja neh. That guy, his photography, see for yourself.
Have on-line social portals helped you in your photography? How so?
Yes, a lot! Its easy nowadays to put together a body of work on Behance, share it a bit and the right people come across it with opportunity. I mean for me personally nothing major has happened yet but I mean in terms of places to host and present my work to the public a lot.
#FeatureFridays Interview with Kweiks
Words By Phil Chard
Last week Ghanaian artist Kweiks walked away from the 4 man battle royal to be the winner of our Twitter poll that secured him an interview on our #FFeatureFridays series. I called up the Accra based rapper to discuss his burgeoning career, recovering from a serious accident, working with Edem and how he manages to fuse 5 languages into into his music.
Who is Kweiks and when did he start making music?
Kwiks is one individual who works with one of the biggest youth creative agencies in Ghana right now, however I started doing music way back. I just had to pause at a point so I could be in school for a while and I just jumped back into the game. Kweiks is signed to Gab Music. I have a few singles out and I put the latest one out last week [Doto] and it's been making waves.
Who else is on Gabs Music besides you?
Currently it's me and another artist named Jackie Morris she is a very great singer. She’s amazing.
The first time I really got introduced to your music was Whisper In Your Ear with Wanlov. Had you been making for a long time before that release?
I have been making music for a long time, I have a number of stuff out. Officially this will be my fourth release. Prior to Whisper In Your Ear I had one high life release titled Ankwandobi after that came Whisper In Your Ear then Kweku Sekyi then this current one called Doto. The issue with the space between Kweku Sekyi and Whisper In Your Ear was that 4 hours after releasing Whisper In Your Ear I was involved in a car accident that took me out for a year, so Kweku Sekyi was my comeback single
How bad was this accident?
I suffered a left humeral fracture. I was in hospital for a while. I had to undergo a some surgery to fix the broken bones. I've been to and fro [from] therapy and it's been great so far.
We're glad you made it out. In terms of videos what can we expect from you? I’m pretty sure Doto is going to get a video since you are pushing it right now.
We have plans of shooting a video very soon [for doto]. Hopefully we might shoot the video in South Africa somewhere in October and September and hopefully we can shoot for all the videos for Doto, Kweku Sekyi and Whisper In Your Ear
What's the Hip Hop scene in Accra like right now?
For the past few weeks it has shot up drastically. It's Amazing how many people have gotten involved in the whole Hip Hop thing because there was a feud between the top artists like Sarkodie, M.anifest and E.L. It became the talk of town, they took to radio and TV and everyone was talking about them. It has actually brought some focus onto the Hip Hop scene because it was one genre that people really weren't paying attention to because they felt it's foreign. They would rather vibe to something they can dance to [rather] than a Hip hop tune. I think gradually everyone is just accepting it and it's a good feeling knowing that the work that we are putting in wouldn't go to waste. It's something we can be thankful for.
That's surprising considering what I've heard from other artists in Ghana. It's always interesting when you listen to another point of view. Are you planning on releasing a project anytime soon ?
I'm actually planning on releasing an EP titled Kweku Sekyi. It will probably have 10 to 12 or 14 new songs. I have a lot of songs lined up, I just needed to drop the singles to inform people that I have something really awesome for them. I chose that strategy because I need people to understand my versatility. So the first single was a high life song, the next was a slow tempo club tune, then I put out a Hip hop song.. I chose to do that so people can know that the package I'm bringing out isn't just like ordinary they've been listening to all the time. I fuse 4 different Ghanaian languages onto my songs in addition to the English that I do. I try to diversify what I do so every Ghanaian out there understand something in what I do.
@KweiksLive
AKA’s One Time Is Proof That He is Now South Africa’s Biggest Pop Star
Words By Phil Chard
After premiering One Time on Live Amp last month on a night when his significant other Bonang was hosting the show, AKA proceeded to sit on the single and teased fans about when it would finally be released . Of no real marketing or promotional effort AKA made the surprise announcement yesterday that the song would be premiered on DJ Edu’s Afro Boss show on BBC 1Xtra. The news of the exclusive was then disseminated on social media via an intense guerrilla marketing push by his team (also read as constantly tweeting about it).
Though the release was unconventional – just two days prior AKA had released the single Dreamwork featuring Yanga, it was also a massive achievement for South African Hip Hop. AKA’s previous two singles Baddest and All Eyes On Me had both been playlisted on BBC, but the exclusive premiere on arguable the biggest African Music platform was a first for a rapidly growing South African Hip Hop industry.
However the irony here is that with its heavy 80’s synth Pop & R&B, Disco and Rock influences, I have to ask if One Time is even a rap song? On the song AKA delivers his verses in an auto tune assisted singing voice reminiscent t of 80s R&B and Pop. With catchy one liners like “One time for the Blessers” and “One time for the old niggas who spend a little bankroll when you need a little extra” that tap into popular sentiment, One Time another product of AKA’s successful radio formula.
In 2015 we witnessed the culmination of a strategy AKA has been perfecting for some time now. He is not content with being South Africa’s biggest Hip Hop act; he is clearly trying to be the biggest Pop act. According Entertainment Monitoring South Africa (a company that monitors radio spins in South Africa) , AKA’s Baddest was the most played local song in the country. AKA beat out Mobi Dixon, Mi Casa and Dbn Nyts. According to the report, Black Motion (who came in second) was a full 920 plays behind. In mid-December AKA’as record label Vth Season released this statement.
AKA is officially the number #1 most played South African artist on all radio stations nationwide for 2015. AKA beats out the likes of Black Coffee, Micasa and KO locally, and internationally he beats the likes of Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Justin Bieber and The Weeknd by 2,880 plays; making AKA the King of South African radio airwaves.
Entertainment Monitoring Africa radio spin report for the period of November 2014 to November 2015
The other most played acts that feature in the Top 4 are Chris Brown, Taylor Swift and Rihanna. This is the second year in the row that AKA is in the Top 5. This year the #3RDWRLDBOSS has had heavy rotations with tracks like "All Eyes On Me" and "Sim Dope" from his Gold Selling album LEVELS from 2014, and the new Summer Smash hits "Composure" and "Baddest". AKA’s number #1 status is huge not only for any artist for the amount of great music that came out, but most importantly for an artist who didn't drop an album in 2015.
Though the statement is somewhat cryptic and cleverly uses marketing speak to obfuscate AKA’s actual position, what we can decipher is that AKA was one of the 5 most played artists on radio in 2015 , amongst local and international artists.
This is no small feat for any artist let alone a Hip Hop act. But this achievement was no fluke, when you listen to the songs AKA placed on Levels, the songs he chooses to feature on and the style he adopts, it is clear that AKA has found a formula to ensure his music not only receives spins on traditional Urban or Hip Hop radio but also Top 40 Pop stations. Songs like All Eyes On Me have an up-tempo house feel and a melody that has mass market appeal. Baddest is a song with a simple to remember hook , that somehow works both in the club and for easy listening. One Time is a Pop track masquerading as Hip Hop that will most likely enjoy the same amount of radio love.
What is more impressive is that AKA has somehow managed to juggle focusing on radio spins while improving his craft as an overall artist. As he has displayed on songs like Composure, YipikayYay, N Word Remix, Don’t Bother and Talk That Shit,AKA can eviscerate you on some rap shit if he has to.
AKA has also created a solid brand as one of the best live performers with a 4 piece band. AKA is so particular about his live offering that he often does events with his own microphone.
AKA started off as rapper and producer, but now he is one of South African radio’s biggest artists, he became the first South African musician to cross 1 million followers on Twitter, he has performed in over 10 countries in the last year and has a number of brand endorsements. That sounds like a Pop star to me.
@akaworldwide