It has been said dat Hip Hop is dead, well dats was a statement consciously uttered by Nas and got critisized for it. In Mzansi the suspicion was that Kwaito is evaporating into thin air in the rise of Hip Hop and the ever so popular dance music which we call House. Kwaito, the music dat has been the evolution of Mzansi black pop culture since the then bubble gum. It rose from the townships, Mandela got freed, then it spread like a virus into the urban 2 the surrounding neighbours, before we knew it, everyone was jamming to the sounds of New School, Mashamplani, Aba Shante, Alaska, Trompies, B.O.P, Athur Mafokate, Boom Shaka, Ma-Wallies, Chiskop, Thebe, TKzee, Mdu, Skeem and Makhendlas. @ the same time of that Kwaito euphoria, there was a small portion of Mzansi reballattis listing 2 the mixture of revolution underground and gangster Hip Hop coming from overseas and I was part of that minority. The likes of Public Enemy, NWA and WuTang Clang; they were making more sense 2 us than a pair of All-Star sneakers, sporty nd a pair of khaki Dickies. The culture of kwaito came to its climax in the late 90s, early ‘00 when Mandoza did the cross over version there was a swamp of kwaito artist, it was called the new era of kwaito, the likes of Zola, Mzambiya, Mshoza, Mapaputsi, Bricks, Brown Dash etc. The vibe of Manyisa and Twalatza deteriorated @ the time when minority of Hip Hop listeners decided 2 build an industry out of wat they luv. Kwaito was dying, the artist where no longer cracking it though, they wanted 2 build their careers on drug using reputation, while only DJ’s where selling gold, platinum and so fourth.
Kabelo aka Buga Luv aka the Preacher denied the fact that kwaito was on the verge of survival, just like Nas, he tried to resurrect it with his consistent 'dubula, dubula' hits, which I applaud but the new genre of Mzansi Hip hop was making it hard for artist 2 sell their units in thousand. As part of this Hip Hop evolution, I got 2 take off my hat at the resilience and the hard work of my fellow Mzasi cats. I mean, Hip hop came out and it was criticised like Manto-Msimang’s Aids speech abt beetroot and African potatoes, but these cats meant biznis, they defied the power of gravity. Dankie son! Now why Hip Hop vs. Kwaito? Simple, summer is here, ‘Hello December’, Tkzee declared in confirmation that summer was a period of hits 2 b made and millions 2 b made. In 2009, Hip hop cats hav now joined the band wagon in releasing their hit single during summer; this is a trend in Mzansi which was dominated by the likes of Mzekezeke, Arthur, Mdu & TKzee in their prime but im proud to say that the revolution has just begun. Teargas, Mr Selwyn, Porverb, Jozi, L’Tido, Prokid, 5th floor, Skwata Kamp, JR etc. they’ve all released hit joints which r getting enormous airplay on national radios and the videos circulating our screens . This does not only mean dat Hip Hop its writing its history but they r changing the target market. This is a strategy dat even great kwaito moguls didn’t anticipate; rap is somehow stealing their customers. All these cums in with the much anticipated Hype Hip Hop awards around the corner The competition has just become tighter than our politics, when the police r changing clause and laws we r changing lanes from two way route 2 a freeway.
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I’m gonna say it here, right here on Hip-Hop platform, Mzasi Hip-Hop is the most original, truthful, good-to-the-bone lyrics and creative genre compared to that of the world. Proverb, the kid from Kimberly is back, he’s a father and husband now, proudly South African 16 joints put beautifully together in album called Write Of Passage. The nigga’s not letting go of the mic, the focus, the determination, the zeal is very evident from the quality of production behind every single joint. Proverb is de master of professionalism, he’s hustling like a true hustler, that’s de message u get frm the intro track where he’s pimping himself like a drug dealer to potential buyers. The Write of passage has bn toned down from de Mc level we knw proverb from but still gud, I knw dat lot of bo-mrapper will be a bit disappointed cuz a nigga’s on another tip. But 4 a third album Pro is doing better than gud, consistent and relevant to us like he did on the manuscripts.
The bitch
I listened to 2pac ten years ago when he talked to niggas abt putting on a little smile, it sounded a bit like Dr Phil of the ghetto. “ there’s gonna be some staff u ganna c, dat will make it hard for u to smile in the future, but do whatever it takes, through all the rain nd the pain, got keep your sense of humor, got be able to smile through all the bullshit.”