Storytelling is undoubtedly one of the pillars and important of rap lyricism, veterans like Slick Rick and the Notorious B.I.G built enviable legacies for themselves using their storytelling prowess, and a lot of the most respected hip hop figureheads past and present are storytelling Wizards. Fans of SA hip hop have recently crowned Angola-born SA rapper Ricardo Moloi popularly known as Priddy Ugly the best storyteller in SA hip hop, alongside Matatiele-born emcee Emtee.
“Give @emteerecords his flowers bafwethu. Lomjita uyahlanya with the pen. I reckon him and @ItsPriddyUgly are the best storytellers in the country,” Twitted a fan on the bird app and Priddy Ugly wasted no time in giving Emte his flowers by quoting the tweet.
“Emtee is a great talent, loves his family & is definitely one of the best songwriters of our time – how can anyone not want to see him win, he should definitely get his flowers,” tweeted Priddy Ugly.
While Priddy Ugly has shown his storytelling prowess on several songs over the years including songs like ”30 Minutes To Soweto,” ‘1632‘ to name a few, Emtee has one record that clearly highlights his storytelling abilities and that is the title track from his 2017 sophomore album ‘Manando’ A song about his mentor in high school who gruesomely lost his life to gun violence, the same friend taught Emte how to play the Marimba.
Emtee is preparing to release the third installment of his ‘DIY‘ mixtape series, there is no definite news of when the album is coming, so for now, go back in time and listen to ‘Manando.’
Lucas Henshaw is a versatile writer and music blogger who has written countless reviews and blog posts for several big brands. Follow his work @Lucas Henshaw on Facebook, @lucas_9ja on Twitter and @Lucas Henshaw on Linkedin.
