Yanga – Not Enough
by Phil Chard
Sill counting my paycheques, y’all so impatient.
I mean if you did this would you get paid?
Last year I skipped Christmas and 2 birthdays.
My lil’ sis wants shoes all day,
And if this kills me who gonna pay?
I have been anxiously waiting for the release of Yanga’s Touch Is A Move EP like the second coming of Jesus. As it stands the project is 2 months overdue and Yanga seems to have been hard at work on finishing it or just adding more songs to it as he alluded to in this clip below.
If Not Enough serves as barometer for what the PE native will be delivering on his project I will gladly exercise a little more patience. On the high energy tracks Yanga delivers another incredibly catchy verse and series of bars that display just how far his rap skills have improved.
L-Tido – Oh No (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
L-Tido
L-Tido now also known as 16V, just dropped the video for his trap joint Oh No featuring Durban’s WTF (Witness The Funk) whose high pitched auto tuned vocals are laced on the chorus and a high energy second verse sandwiched in between Tido’s verses
In the Kyle White directed video Tido delivers a set of aesthetically pleasing yet highly predictable set of visuals.
Beautiful light skinned women
Expensive vehicle driving aimlessly in the desert
Party scene with obligatory sponsored placement of an alcohol brand
Slow motion cutaways
Sean Pages cameo
L-Tido – Oh No featuring WTF
Ko-Jo Cue & iPappi Beatz – Kumasi Freestyle
by Phil Chard
Ko-Jo Cue
Ghana's Ko-Jo Cue links up with producer iPappi Beatz on Kumasi Freestyle
Bizzy Salifu – Take U Feat. E.L & Bils Rayoe
by Phil Chard
@bizzysalifu @ELrepGH @BilsRayoe
Belgium based Ghanaian artist, Bizzy Salifu just dropped the Hip Hop – Electro fusion track Take U featuring E.L and Bils Rayoe.
Bizzy switches in between a delivery in English and French while E.L lends his auto tuned vocals to the chorus.
Ice Prince – Chike Feat Korede Bello
by Phil Chard
Ice Prince has been teasing and hyping the release of his new single Chike featuring Mavin Records artist Korede Bello. The C Kay produced song is a fast paced offering with live instrumentation and sees Ice Prince delivers a set of rapid verses in a monotonous 2 beat flow while Korede delivers his signature R&B – Pop vocals.
Are you Chike?
Falz Shares How He Broke Into Music in Interview On The Juice
by Phil Chard
@falzthebahdguy
The rise of Falz "The Bahd Guy" has been steady and impressive over the last few years but in the last 6 months his ascension and solidification into the Nigerian and African Hip Hop and Pop Culture lexicon has been nothing short of impressive. From the release of his impressive debut effort with a handful of breath taking videos, his popular skits on social media, a number of TV hosting gigs and now his budding acting career which helped him secure an AMVCA Trophy, Falz is quickly becoming one of Nigeria’s most popular and diverse entertainers.
On the season premiere of Season 3 The Juice, Ndani TV interviewed Falz for a candid and humorous chat. During the chat Falz shares that he was practicing as a lawyer before he decided to swap the courtroom for a studio. Contrary to popular belief Falz was recording music as far back as high school and recorded his first professional song in 2009 but his music career only began to take off after his antics on social media started going viral.
Zimbabwe Legit’s 2007 “House Of Stone” Album Just Landed On SoundCloud
by Sabelo Mkhabela
It was through Hype magazine in the mid-2000s that I learnt about two brothers, Akim and Dumisani Ndlovu, from Zimbabwe who rapped under the name Zimbabwe Legit. Their song “Doing Damage in my Native Tongue” was on one of the CDs that came with the magazine. An interview with the duo would follow on a later issue.
House Of Stone which I only got on my first years of varsity, around 2010, was a lot of things to me. It was, first of all, a great hip-hop album. Everything was on point; the lyrics spoke to me, the East Coast-style production was what I was into. But what House Of Stone did was instill some pride in me. It was my first time listening to a hip-hop album by Africans that was from outside of South Africa. And it was great. It made me want to dig more online for hip-hop from across the continent – leading to me discovering the likes of Modenine, Nazizi, and more.
The album also featured hip-hop legends like Stic.man (from Dead Prez) and Mike G (from The Jungle Brothers). Mike G appeared on the jazzy video single “Where I’m At”. The single was just a glimpse to what the album was – jazz samples, warm basslines and crispy snares – New York mid-90s type of stuff.
Maggz, one of my favourite rappers, also appeared on “All Over The Map” alongside other emcees from around the continent, and M.A. Double was smooth as he has always been.
House Of Stone is a timeless body of work. And I’m not just saying that to be politically correct. It still sounds as new as it did when I first heard it. And I’ve been following Dumi Right ever since. He has always been my favourite – his lyrics were easy to grasp, and his precise cadence and clear vocal projection made sure you heard each and every word. His Connect The Dots album (2012) is another collector’s item.
Stream House Of Stone below, and grab a copy on iTunes.
A.T.F. – EX All
by Phil Chard
A.T.F is the three man collective of AbNorm, TRK & FTR. The crew has planning their eventual release and possible world domination for close to two years now. The trio once recorded an incredible song for this blog that we might just release soon. But I digress, on Ex All the three lyricist hop on a trippy trap beat and lay waste to it with impressive deliveries and punchlines
Boolz – Mirror Mirror (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
New Visuals from Boolz off his Love Tha Hate LP. On Mirror Mirror , Boolz hops on a very unorthodox beat that samples 16 bit beeps, congas all placed atop a syncopated bassline. It is awfully reminiscent of the experimental sound and delivery that helped Dirty Paraffin capture the sub culture’s imagination.
The video for Mirror Mirror is just as left field as Leneave Hansen incorporates an aged sepia tone and a timestamp that reminds of old VHS home videos while editing in a mix of fast moving and static images.
Tio Freezy – Eu Sei Feat. Sodoma
by Phil Chard
The Mozambican duo of Tio Freezy and Sadomo hop the slow and emotional Eu Sei where they speak of the painful tale of a woman stuck in a loveless relationship.
Submission | Young Cardamom & HAB – Sidda Mukyaalo EP
by Phil Chard
Young Cardamom & HAB are a Ugandan rap duo based in Kampala, their music covers topical issues that resonate with Ugandan nationals while retaining influences from the sounds "of Atlanta, Juba and Lahore, among others." (That's what they typed) Sidda Mukyaalo is their debut EP and addresses a wide range of issues, from the deep roots of Uganda’s current political crisis to the place of South Asians in Uganda, with a rap battle along the way. My highlight from the project thus far is Askari with its uptempo beat and tag team raps on socially conscious issues.
QualiBeatz – Major + Mfan’a Limpopo (Prod. by QualiBeatz)
by Phil Chard
Polokwane based producer QualiBeatz submitted his new single Major featuring Slash & Syk. While I was going through his Soundcloud page I also came across Mfan'a Limpopo which has such a hard baseline I couldn't ignore it
PHFAT – The Whip Featuring Mikhaela Faye
by Phil Chard
Despite the split that resulted in Mike and Narch Beats going their separate ways. (Mike stayed on as the sole member of PHFAT) the Cape Town (now a 1 man outfit) PHFAT continue to explore and blur the line between hip hop , electro and alternative music as Mike delivers a hard and grimy set of bars on the new release The Whip. Mike’s dark lyrics are broken up by Mikheala Faye’s lyrics which act as the polar opposite to what was being delivered in the first half of the song in sound and sentiment.
The AHHB Podcast Featuring Blayze & The Ladies Night Review
by Phil Chard
In this week’s episode of the African Hip Hop Blog podcast I sit down with South African rapper Blayze, for a live review of his new offering The Ladies Night EP. We discuss what went into the making of the project, the emotional rollercoasters that inspired it, industry politics, and Caitlyn Jenner.
In the news rundown we also discuss Da L.E.S, Nasty C and our search for new members of the AHHB Team.
DreamTeam – Svunguvungu Featuring Abdus (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
The Durban trio more commonly known as DreamTeam released their debut effort Dreams Never Die almost a year ago now.
Though I enjoyed the project as a whole, the inconsistent raps from the group were its biggest let down. Their fourth single and video off that project, Svunguvungu, encapsulates my overall sentiments. With a hard hitting beat and piercing horns, the group delivers two solid verses and an infectious chorus, and then it falls off a cliff on the third verse.
Sipho The Gift – Asanda
by Phil Chard
After releasing one of the best Hip Hop offerings I have ever heard, Sipho The Gift has had a surprisingly quiet 2016 devoid of any more videos or promotion surrounding Coming Of Age. It would also seem that Sipho has already decided to move on from his last project, with the release of his new song Asanda.
The new song also marks a totally new, different and experimental style for Sipho as he hops on a trap beat rapping about the woman that left for Johannesburg , changed and broke his heart using on an auto tune assisted chorus.
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
This Is What I Learned When I Interviewed Da L.E.S.
by Phil Chard
I recently interviewed Da L.E.S for 2 Broke Twimbos in an incredibly informative and engaging interview. During the interview we discussed the North God’s ascension from his birth in Washington DC to moving to Houston and finally back to Johannesburg. We spoke about how he and Bongz first bonded over skating and music in Primary School and how that common interest would help reconnect them later tin life to form Jozi.
Da L.E.S also spoke very candidly about what led to the breakup of the group.
“I guess some individuals kinda felt like they weren’t eating enough… some individuals felt like 360 was a bit like weird, some individuals felt like we were being played”
In between the recording of Jozi’s first and second album Da L.E.S also went on to record his debut effort Fresh2Def , which, according to Les helped contribute to the demise of the group as jealousies began to form within the group. Coupled with all this Da L.E.S also shares some incredible stories about how he linked with one of my childhood friends TeqNiq, formerly known as TekNeek . Les also shares that Riky Rick was a prolific battle rapper back in the day who would go out and win R3,000 battling on a few occasions.
“I knew [Ricky Rick] & TekNeek was out there battling for cash… They were getting guap. Like putting up stacks… putting up 3K[R3,000] and come out with 6K [R6,000].
According to Les the Last Summer Tour (The joint mixtape he did with Riky Rick) was borne out of necessity when the two rappers found d themselves stranded in Cape Town after turning up a little too hard and Les being The North God that he is, refused to take the train home.
We also the construction of Les home studio, his subsequent albums, how he has manged to secure so many iconic collaborations and his extremely popular All White Party.
Without tooting my own horn this is one if the best interviews that I have ever conducted.
Watch the full interview to above and check out more 2 Broke Twimbos content here.
@2FreshLes
Viber Public Chat: How Artists Can Get Their Music On Radio
by Phil Chard
The African Hip Hop Blog was chosen as one of Viber’s launch partners when they launched their new Viber Public Chat feature a few months back. Since it began we have experienced tremendous growth and engagement on the platform. We use our Viber public chat as a forum to allow for discussion and debate cantered around the African music industry and the culture. We encourage anyone interested in getting the latest news and opinions from influential voices across the continent to follow along. If you would like to be part of the debates and contribute, please get hold of me on twitter @PhilChard.or the blog @africanhhb
Last week we got input from Live 91.9FM (Ghana) DJ Antoine Mensah and ZiFM (Zimbabwe) presenter Danis Dube on the mistakes artists make when submitting music to radio and how they can present their content. View the images below to see the full discussion.
@antoine_mensah @DannythatGuy
