If one thing Pen manufacturing companies should give Rapper Touchline(Thabo Mahlwele) an endorsement with the way he inks lines. The rapper lays it bare in new EP Before I Say More. He had initially released the song & visuals for The Calling. We take a dive into The Calling
Preamble has a soft tone melody which then transcends into the chorus with the rapper sharing his experiences
“Midnight comes again, I’ll be back om my lonely bed
Sleep peacefully knowin’ today I gave my very best“
The rapper then talks about how his music and he cannot be appealing to everyone
“Regardless of the rejection
Some say I make them sick, some say I heal them
It’s like the Johnson & Johnson injection”
Reference to to the J&J Covid -19 vaccine which faced backlash from the masses with reports of reactions and sickness in some people
He goes on to talk about a misconception especially around social media where people only eat what they are fed
“You don’t even read, you get your info from Musa Khawula”
Musa Khawula is a popular south African celebrity blogger who is well known for giving out exclusive gossip and news. Line comes in connection with the issue he was addressing of the new age twitter users who are rather focused on the bird app than they are with what’s really happening
He talks about the struggles he Faces as an artist such as securing the paid with the common “promoter dashes with the money ” issue. He also talks about how the public expectations rise with your rise in stardom
“Wear the same outfit on different pictures, they label you ‘broke’
These promoters always book you quick but the payment is slow
Kanti am I not the reason all these kids came to the show?”
Touchline goes on to talk about the late legendary rapper Prokid. He has often talked about how the rapper influenced him in some of his songs. On Dreamer’s freestyle he talks about the late star
“Where does he get those hot flows?”
My H-E-R-O was the late P-R-O
Why he’s not here today?
Nami angikeni, God knows
The pain is a lot more severe
When everyone is in your ear
Like you the next him
Correction, I could never live up to that level of perfection”
On the calling this is what he had to say
“Critics say “That flow is a lot like Pro’s, isn’t it?’
Of course, that’s the goat’s influence
And I put my soul into it”
He then starts talking about hustling parents working hard to see paid just so that their kids are well fed regardless of how they go about it
“I don’t judge her even though she works a 9 to 5 by day and winding her hips in the evening
As long as her kids will be eating”
A concept he’s also talked about on the song I’ll always have me from his album released earlier on this year S.O.O.N 2
“And I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel
Girls on Instagram are never real when they post a reel
You earn a salary, baby, we understand
Why compete with a honey that gets her money from her man
Know you study and you work and you polishing the plan
But some nights you gotta dance with origin in your hand”
You can listen to the EP by clicking the link below
https://go.slikouronlife.co.za/BeforeISayMore
The visuals are out on YouTube
