One of the most respected emcees to come out of Cape Town, YoungstaCpt is back with a visual treatment for his latest release, the BOK Freestyle.
As Mass Country steadily approaches platinum status, having been certified gold over a month ago, the project continues to get recognition, most recently at the Metro FM Music Awards where the late AKA was honored with 4 out of 6 awards.
YoungstaCpt keeps the Supa Mega’s name and legacy alive with a remix of the already gold-certified Mbuzi Freestyle. While only released this past week, the BOK Freestyle has already set the streets ablaze and the Kaapstad Naaier returns with a music video to keep the fire burning.
Cpt raps in a pen surrounded by goats as he performs the song in honor of AKA.
The symbolism of the goats is synonymous with the words “Bok” and “Mbuzi” which mean “goat” in Afrikaans and isiZulu respectively. It also plays on the title of “greatest of all time,” which many people, YoungstaCpt included, believed AKA was and still is.
Sipho The Gift and Mark Akol recently teamed up to bring us a fiery EP titled Days Before The Heist.
Sitting at just 3 tracks long (or short if you’re like some of us who wanted more), the plot is set with Mayday where Mark and Sipho trade come-up stories while “on a mission to get a hundred bands.”
The songs are inspired by a robbery plot where the duo scheme to secure large sums of money and assassinate their adversaries before making a run for it.
The project transitions to Smoke, Mark and Sipho are more determined than ever to get what’s theirs and recruit Flow Jones Jr. to obliterate the so-called competition.
The scene ends with Bad Guy where the duo continues to rampage through the game, finessing the ladies while poking fun at their opponents. They call on Sandrahhh who does an impressive clean sweep before making their exit.
Global streaming platform Spotify recently released the list of Radar Africa artists class of 2023. The all-female list featured Kenya’s Xeniah Manasseh, a fast-rising rnb and hip-hop artist.
The programme intends to shine a spotlight on emerging artists on the continent.
This year’s lineup joins alumnae who include Ayra Starr, DBN Gogo, Black Sherif, Victony, BNXN and Buruklyn Boyz. The rising stars gained exposure to new audiences as a result of the programme.
The 26-year-old Kenyan singer Xenia Manasseh has an impressive track record. Some highlights are being credited for a Teyana Taylor song and singing backup for Gloria Estephan. She was also selected to be part of Mr Eazi’s emPawa music program.
Xeniah has been drawn to music from a young age. She fully committed to making music after joining the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Xeniah Manasseh performing on stage at different events.
The rising star finally moved to Kenya, storming the music scene. She has released a number of projects, including her debut EP Falling Apart. Her various dope collaborations of hit songs have made her presence felt on the scene.
A personal favourite is portion where the star collaborated with Ukweli and Hiribae. Her mellow vocals perfectly blend sonically to capture your attention instantly. Hiphop and Rnb primarily influence Xenia’s music and influences from Jazz and other musical genres.
Since its launch in 2020, Spotify’s Radar programme has continued to elevate artists. It helps rising talent at all stages of their development and strengthening their connection to audiences.
It features the best artists that the African continent has to offer.
Victor Okpala, Spotify’s Artist and Label Partnerships Manager in West Africa described the initiative with the following comments:
“As the music industry continues to evolve, it’s essential to find new ways to support emerging talent and offer them a fair chance at success both on and off the platform. So we are thrilled to welcome Xenia Manasseh, Bloody Civilian, Ria Sean, Tyla, and Baaba J to the RADAR programme.These artists represent the diversity and vibrancy of the African music scene and we are excited to support them as they continue to grow their careers,”
Check out the Radar Africa playlist above and let us know your favorite jams in the comments.
Zimbabwean rapper, Kay Flow, has just released a new single titled Sei Sei and is back with accompanying visuals.
Sei Sei follows his hit song, Mfana Wepa Jecha released a couple of months ago to positive reviews and is currently sitting on over 30 thousand YouTube views. It looks like his latest music video may just follow suit.
Directed by Blu Mordechai, Kay Flow performs his song in a dusty Zengeza neighborhood, where his team stands beside him and brings a vibrant energy to show their support.
The music video has garnered just over 14 thousand YouTube views post-release and Kay Flow’s listenership appears to be growing at a steady pace. Let’s keep it going!
Legendary Nigerian rapper Jude Abaga and his entrepreneur wife Eniola Mafe were recently hosted on the Aproko Doctor podcast, where the couple revealed that they have both been battling with ADHD. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects people’s behaviour. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating and may act on impulse.
Mafe said she was diagnosed at 19 and the medical condition affected her when she was in school.
She said, “It’s not this thing you can cut out. It’s actually who you are. It is actually how you think, accept the world, rejection, and everything.”
”It was for me realising that all the things that didn’t seem to make sense about me. It affected me in school. My inability to gather thoughts.”
“For me, my childhood was just that I loved music. It was tough for me to read in class, probably because I wasn’t paying attention. If I was really interested in something art, I will be excelling really well, while my school was suffering for it.” Said the multiple award-winning emcee.
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“By the time I went to college, I figured out that the ADHD thing was me and I still couldn’t connect the two dots together. I think the first time that I really got a sense of how much it can control a person was in our relationship, when Eni would explain, and I googled it and it was almost like a weight off my shoulder. I can look back at some of those things differently now that it was always going to be part of my journey in life.”
“To me, it’s both the thing that has given me so much, because it is where I go to like create and at the same time it’s the part of me that I want to understand the most,” he concluded.
Young and lyrically inclined Ghanaian rapper Chief Kellz is out with a new single and he calls this one Never Going Back.
Never Going Back is the background music to a young hustlers’ self elevation to success. When you come from where we came from and you make some change or try to change in your situation, the only thing ringing in your mind constantly is to never go back to how things use to be. This song was produced by PsykoWorldwide with guest verses from BLR flagship artiste “Chief Kellz” and the Critically Acclaimed Lyrical frontman “A-Clipse” .
The carefully put down lyrics shows you what these young rappers think about where they came from and as they focus on the good things the future holds they keep in mind to never regress. Young Nigga you may fall back like every soldier but you bounce back harder with more knowledge and experience. Listen to the single below
Follow the rapper for more @realchiefkellz on social media
South African R&B Prince Siyabonga Mkhize, popularly called KLY (formerly Klymax) has announced that he is the latest signee under independent music distribution company, Ingrooves Africa, and that his forthcoming album is set to be released under the distribution company.
The KwaZulu-Natal, Siyabonga and Midrand raised singer who was dubbed “the next Drake of South Africa,” by a TRUE Africa article in 2017 has not quite lived up to his initial potential and has only released two projects since gaining mainstream exposure on Shane Eagle’s “Need Me” in 2017.
Th two projects are ‘KLYMAXX EP’ in 2016 and ‘Keep Love Young’ in 2018 when he was still with Ambitiouz entertainment, fans are excited about the forthcoming album and wish him all the best in his new journey with Ingrooves.
“I know Kairo is the one but I need someone to expand my legacy, a son with you the icing on the cake.” The late Kiernan Forbes rapped those words on the song ‘Dangerous’ on his posthumously released last studio album ‘Mass Country.’ The lyrics admitted his desire to have a male child with then girlfriend Nadia Nakai, to be the heir to the Supa Mega empire (IV League, Vth Season, Beam Group etc.)
Unfortunately AKA died before that could happen and that leaves Kairo Forbes, his eight year old daughter as the only surviving heir to his empire. Meet Kairo Owethu Forbes, she is from SA Music royalty; being DJ Zinhle and AKA’s daughter, even her godmother is hip hop royalty, Nadia Nakai.
Recently, on the night of Sunday, 7th May, she went on stage with her grandparents, Tony and Lynn Forbes to receive three awards at the Metro FM Music Awards on her late father’s behalf.
Kairo performed a bit of her father’s smash hit ‘Lemons (Lemonade) with the attending crowd, as the song won the Award for Best Collaboration.
Kairo has had mentions in several AKA songs including on the line “it’s just me and Ta Ka Kairo” from ’10 Fingers’ and ‘f**k a fiancé, I got a lil kid” from “Composure,” just to name a few AKA was already preparing his little princess for a life in the entertainment industry as she had hinted at her desire to go into music and modelling, in the past.
“I am ready to let go of the past and step into a brighter future,” says Khayelitsha-born femcee Dee Koala about her upcoming single ‘Anazinto’ featuring L3eopretty, to be released this Friday, May 12, 2023. The single is already up for pre-save on streaming platforms.
The South African rapper who was thrust into national limelight on Yanga Chief’s star studded posse cut ‘Utatakho remix’ with Boity and the late great Riky Rick, is also known for her smash hit ‘Spaz’ with K.Kidd and Blxckie and ‘4 the Khaltsha’ with Lookatups.
Koala is one of the brightest young emcees in SA hip hop to look out for. Pre-save ‘Anazinto’ here.
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Apple Music has kicked off her celebration of 50 years of hip-hop with the 20 episode audio series Hip-Hop DNA, hosted by Ebro ‘Old Man Ebro’ Darden, Apple Music’s global editorial head of hip-hop and R&B, and explores this chain of influence through four distinct lenses. The series flips through the crates of the genre’s rich catalogue a, tracing the artistic evolution back of today’s biggest stars to the art form’s beginnings. The platform will spotlight Hip-Hop’s influence over the decades through a series of audio specials, DJ mixes, classic records and must-hear playlists. Launched Monday, May 8, Apple Music kicks off ‘Origins’ with 9 episodes released throughout the month of May.
Dedicated to unearthing the storylines that define hip-hop’s most prominent regions (East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, and South). The audio series has kicked off with five episodes subtitled “Origins.”
The first episode, “The Intro” focuses on how rap stars learn from the greats before them. “Bronx Tale” tells the story of the legendary borough and major acts that came from it, such as Cardi B, French Montana, and KRS-One.
Then there’s “Just Wanna Rock,” titled after Lil Uzi Vert’s smash hit. That episode focuses on the relationship between rap and rock dating back to the ’80s with Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys. “NY State Of Mind” covers those who were born where the culture was birthed, namely Rakim and A$AP Rocky.
Finally, “It’s A Queens Thing, Baby” episode spotlights on the artists from the NYC borough, namely Roxane Shante, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, and Nicki Minaj. After ‘Origins,’ Episodes 10-20 will feature explorations of the crafts of MCing, production, and DJing.
Hip-Hop DNA is designed to educate and inform listeners of every era, exposing them to connections within music that many fans never take the time to consider.
‘Hip Hop DNA,’ is just one of the numerous events that make up Apple music’s 50 year anniversary celebration of hip hop. Check out the ‘Hip Hop DNA’ series below.
50 years of shifting culture. 50 years of spine-chilling bars. 50 years of hip-hop!
