Luv Ur Hood

Twas the 25th of September. Yeah homie I still rememba twas not dat long ago. 4 weeks back we had the 2^nd quarterly Luv Ur Hood hip hop session. Was a banger of an event if I must say. Shit, the movement began last year August and it seems to be goin on strong given dat more emcees r showin up to flex their skills. Beautiful youth of Shatale came through in their masses and showed us their love.

Held @ Ga- Kabila car wash Shatale, da session saw a few new emcees breakin their virginity in Shatale. We had these 2 cats that came as far as G-town (Graskop) throwing Swag type rhymes. So much love from the G-twn yung uns. We had our regular emcees rippin the MIC; Masta H lepulana as usual started of the show with his laid back Anthem. We had da conceptual Mr A from Majembeni hit us with his hard rhymes before Vulga G n his Crew serenaded the crowd with their Swati infused songs. Mad work from the brothers.

De ever magnificent Mr Do let the ppl know dat Bushbuckridge is his turf as he hit the masses with freestyle after freestyle before he calmed us down with his “re thoma go yekwa.” Skill in abundance from this young man also hailing from Majembeni, sadly not every ear gets to hear the stories told by these Ghetto fellows.  We had our resident dancers (Grand Hustlers 4rm Shatale) still craving for a battle. The B-Boys 4rm Majembeni tried their luck in challenging the Shatale crew. It was sad how the B-Boyz were slayed, but so-so it was worth a try.  As the day progressed we had H-lay flowing effortlessly on a random beat, as well as Kfbee who is a Shatale native. Black Pearl the only female emcees we have at these sessions also entered the stage to the excitement of the ladies who came in support.

Afta having had an article published on Hype magazine, a crew 4rm Nelspruit (One room Entertainment) read a bit about our movement and they decided dey wud also hit our stage. Sadly due to distance they only managed to get through to da sessions late. The climax of the day was when a random (wana try my luck) emcee decided to battle Mr Do. The battle left everybody in jitters as Mr do ripped the random emcee.

Twas a lovely day overall masked by a few glitches there n ther, The sound has been giving us problems ever since day 1, hoping to better it next time. Till the next session all we gota say is Luv Ur Hood G.

TEN REASONS Y U SHUD PAY ATTENTION 2 MZANSI HIP HOP

a. Da diversity & the authenticity of our diff language makes it all original, unique and 100% Mzansi stylee

b. We’ve got a rich political history and deep cultural background to draw inspiration from.

c. Like our 16yrs democracy, we still new in the game but we making mad waves like tsunami is back again

d. Our country, nation, economy, sports is as developing as the culture of our music and the world eyez are on us

e. We’ve got lyricist dat makes the content and the poetry in the music as pure, original and rich, which makes it hard for the world to ignore

f. We are the ultimate prodigal son behind kwaito and bubble gum

g. This Hip Hop got hammered, beefed and slaughtered form parents, pastors and kwaito fanatics but cats stood their ground until they made the circle bigger

h. It is the next element to the black empowerment strategy without government or Cosatu’s back up

i. Remember Bob & Doc’s ‘get funky’, dats how far we came

j. …and the tenth reason y u shud pay attention to Mzansi Hip Hop is bcuz we(theplatform2.blogspot.com) in it

The Super Women

(The story of National Women’s day and Hip Hop’s own lady Lee Kasumba)

The year was 1956 when Lilian Ngoyi nd Helen Joseph 2gether with other women activist including Albertina Sisulu, from diff races mobilised al women of Mzansi for a march dat will c to change the face history in politics South Africa. It was the courage of these women dat stood nd fought tyrant laws of the prime minister J G Strijdom. More than 20 000 women marched to the Union Building in the capital PTA in protest to an amended Urban Areas Act known as the ‘pass law’. It was a law that required women and men of SA 2 carry the pass (special identification document book) with them always, any where in the country. The petitions left @ the Building signed by more than 10 000 women nd the legendary ‘Wathintabafazi Wathinta imbokodo’ can only mean one thing, women r nd always been the corner stone of our nation, civilisation, freedom nd politics.

It’s been 53 years and yes, its 9th Aug 2010 we are commemorating the day wen our moms, sistas, aunts and grand mothers took to the street in a true soldier style to voice out their state of mind. Theplatform2 is applauding to the struggles dat these women went through to give us such a day to remind us where we coming from as nation and where we going 2 as fathers, mothers, women, children nd future kidz….the Late Mariam Makeba puts bluntly in a song ‘aluta continua’

…and the struggle does continue and one of the women whom I feel honestly she’s carrying the womenship flag very boldly is Lee Kasumba. This young woman, originally frm Uganda is talented, humble, intelligent, outspoken, a Hip Hop fanatic nd she has been @ the fore-front of African Hip Hop for more than a decade now, she’s wat I cal the epitome of modern age female species. Leslie Kasumba, although sometimes I think she’s underrated, makes a day(9th August) like these special, wen I think abt contributors like her in da society, it makes me wanna write, it makes me wanna rap, blog or shout. I wish I was graced with an opportunity 2 interview her. But like they say ‘the route is not 2 the swift nor the battle 4 the strong but time nd chance is given 2 dem al’ so my chance is still coming. Beside her controversial exit frm Y-FM station which she worked for 4 8yrs, Lee has been one of the influential instrument in da media circle. She jumped ship frm working with Bad Boy-T on Harambe to gracing the pages of Y-Mag as an editor nd b’live me u she did an xtraordinary job. Well until the Mag was pulled off from the shelves. I paid my respect 2 Lee as a Hip Hop supporter wen she was on Y station, her knowledge of the musical history and the culture surprised me. Well I guess I wasn’t the only observer cuz she was chosen amongst many to host Channel O’s Sprite Emcee Africa, a programme dat searched and chronicled the best of African Mc’s.4 two seasons she travelled Africa from Niga, to Tanzania to Malawi, Botswana n Uganda listening 2 the best nd worst of Africa’s fine craft of Hip Hop. I envied her job, I marvelled @ her talent, I followed her through the competition xpecially the 1st season. Miss Lee has made a lot of guest appearances in local music vids nd hosted a lot of sessions, events and TV programmes. Did I mention she had work done for the United Nation and also interviewed heavyweights like Dead prez and Mos Def; it’s a pity Y station lost such a young vibrant talent. As someone who embraces da culture of hustling and acknowledges the Hip Hop in us, I say more deservedly, Lee u represent the women in our society, women of da 21st century, u epitomise the ‘u strike a woman u strike a rock mantra’

In respect 2 al the women of this world on this day I say Happy Woman’s day

TUMI – WHOLE WORLDS

1st let me say I respect this nigga, Tumi from the V, is a rapper, he’s not taking chances. The boy is a lyricist, the dude has been rocking the MIC since his days as a spoken word poet, he brazes our stage nd gave us a beautiful album with the rock band the Volume then he took the world on his shoulders as a solo artist. He got me on board, even his critics were silenced. He now collaborates with artist like Shakira n he travels the world showcasing his art. I respect this joint Whole Worlds, it is brewed with consciousness but it came out as commercial project; perfect. It is like brown bread with peanut butter, its not brown bread anymore its peanut butter sandwich. I neva write abt this but ja I guess 2day I will, the cats who did the cover page 2 page u niggas r gud, I give u a round of applause, dat graphic design shit is too dope. 2gether with the contents on the CD it makes the album one of my favourite 2 cum out of Mzansi. Tumi has featured music heavyweights on this one the likes of Brigado, MXO, Tracy Lee, the soulful Sibongile Khumalo and Pebbles. I was disappointed dat the album came with only ten songs 2 listen to excluding the intro but on second thoughts I understood dat it is futile 2 fill a joint with empty tracks nd only have one hit, so Tumi well done buti.

Like I said the album has only ten banging tracks, tumi’s music is futuristic, its consciousness, poetic, commercial and educative. Wat I lyk abt him is he touches almost every element of social responsibilities nd social ills, in his own words he says “we have a responsibility, a social responsibility”. The two first singles that r already enjoying a major airplay r Bambezala Ft Bricks nd Family Plan Ft MXO, these r killer joints, especially Brigado, he really makes his voice 2 felt on Bambezela. Then cuns Let it Burn nd Stage Lights Ft Masauko nd Sibongile Khumalo which is one of my favourite tracks, the lyrics cum from the heart and Tumi rhymes beautifully with his high pitched tone and the harmonising of the legendary Sibongile, u gotcha luv it. There are five traxx be4 Whole World, which can take u form one mood 2 another depending on how, where, what is yr game @ the time n moment but b’live me the songs r gud. The title traxk ‘Whole Worlds’ is a favourite of mine on the whole of the album, im not ganna say anything more but get this album nd realise how far we came 2 b as country, as artist, as a Hip Hop nation, as people.

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We are ALIVE with possibilities

It has been concurred, after 31 dayz of thrilling football tournament, by the Pres. of FIFA Sepp Blatter and his associates, by Pres. Zuma and his cabinent and by the organising committee who marvelled @ da beauty of their dreams dat Mzansi is alive with possibilities. With hosting such a magnitude of an event, silenced ur critics, it changed da mind set of fellow Africans, it gave hope 2 people like us but of course we knw from the moment Madiba walked out from that cave, Robben Island, dat our history is abt 2 b written. The xtement and the atmosphere of the tournament reminded us where we cuming frm as a nation, beside the early exit of our national squad, it ignited the fire in us. Like the Japanese said after the attack on Pearl Harbour, “we have just awakened the sleeping giant”. That’s it homeboy, we r da giants nd its abt time the world realize how mighty, strong, intelligent, fierce and educated we are. It is still sixteen yrs of ur rainbow nation nd we r making it rain, well, not really rain but we do make the rain clouds gather. We’ve seen real transformaxion in its might, abo-guluva ba se kasi becoming designer’s nd business men, the story of Loxion Kulca (Wandi and Sechaba collabo). The story has life nd possibilities written al over it

Mzansi, has thousand of these encouraging tales nd they r al translated in our works, in our values like Ubuntu, in our music, in our magazines, in our smiles nd enthusiasm. The stories of the ordinary Vuvuzela, becoming a sensational accessory out of the Fifa World Cup. These r our stories we own them, we tell them in Hip Hop, we translate them in rhymes, we r the generation dat is making the circle bigger. We r da Ama kip-kip generation nd we are pimpin’ up yr shoes. Proverb prophesised on the action like these in his 2006 album, wen he raped “together we stand/ divided we fall/da better we can/ provided we ball/ we played the background long enuf / we neva back down rap’s now strong enuf /…nd we r free @ last.” He had a dream, which we r almost living now. The pimping of tattered All-Star tekkie 2 an ice-cream-fashionable shoe is the examples of possibilities of wat we have as a nation(Pimp my shoes enterprise by Katsuko). The truth is me, u nd the rest of Hip Hop nation r the future after we were given 9/10 ratio for a successful World Cup. Danny Jordan nd them niggas gave us the dream just like Madiba did, but we made it possible. Together with headz, producers, emcees, beat-makers, graffiti artist, b-boyz, break-dancers, poets, bo-mrapper, honeys, hustlers and gang-stars, theplatform2 is holding the flag quite high 4 the possibilities of hustling 2 b possible. We r the platform 2 this thrilling era of Pisces, our vision r aligned with yours, we want 2 make the world stand nd listen without the Vuvuzela. We want the world 2 listen without bombs and Xenophobia 2 ur colourfull stories, nd we have planted in us to do that!

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RHYME CHAMBER - Dynamic

Meadowlands native, Dynamic is trully a hard workin cat in the industry right now. I actually bought this album from his stand at the Back 2 da City gig. Mad huslter ryt there. Rhyme Chamber . First thing fdat struck me bout this album was the packaging. This kid went all out to make this album eye friendly, it is beutifully packaged.
I did not know exacltly watr id find by buying this album, in dat I heard never heard this dude;s music at all. I foyund out bout obn facebook a she pushing the huslte lyk real hard. Hittng me with messages n all bout this n dat. I thought, Oh well support those who r persistant. ( Like we suppoert Coca – Cola, just because they in ur face all da tym). Rhyme Chamber.
This is a load with 23 tracks which starts of with a beutifully crafted intro n follows with 4 tracksdone by Dynamic only. I would say those first 4 tracks r the low point of the album. Dynamic is really a good producer, but as for rapping he comes of short. He feautures a couple of cats on the album. The federation lend a helping hand on the track “Rapper Maniacs” n give a beat to for the track “Stand with Us” which is one of the track dats stands out.” Finally here” is one odf those boom bap trap tracks n the dilevery of the cats on this 1 is on point. Planet Universe did a beautiful job on the track “Landing on the Moon,” but u gosta get ur Vocab on check in otder to hear wat this dudes say. Oristocratic produced a nolstagic beat for the track “Fortune Cookie” n Living Proof give sound rhymes to make u think beyond the average.
A track dat is fresh in dat it sways from the rest is Choose the Bride, it aint necessarily a beautiful track but it give sdat comic tone to the album. "History in the Making" with Dark Spark is a another 1 of those u wnt b tired of listening to. The dude ‘s delivery is fresh n it sounds hungry, other tracks dat stand out are Hip Hop, Street Niggerz n a select other few. Like I said this is a Moderate album, the production n sound quality is on point, but some of the other Emcees fall short.

MAROPE REYA MAJA HIP HOP SESSION

Yeah, twas a day full of fun, joys n laughter. U wud no doubt have laughed as our Comic Emcees blast. U wud felt the joy as they rapped bout their heritage. Fun always incoporates hip hop. Marope ReYa Maja no doubt. Shit, wat beta way to encapsulate Bushbuckridge than to name a Hip Hop session after 1 of its most loved dilicacies. Yeah Nigga 4 de ppl of bushbuckridge dat shit is a dilicacy, Found no where else apart 4rm our beloved Mapulaneng place.
The 1st in the Marope Ra Maja installments was a blast. Yo, we had like six Hip Hop session’s last year. Da most number of Emcees we have had has been like 8, cum this past session n we went up to 23 Emcees. Year boy, Bushbuckridge heads came through to strut their words.
Street Beatz hailin 4rm Acornhoek came through 2 show their luv. A crew made up of 10 cats including 1 lady. dey introduced themselves with their track “we here” as the masses were flockin in. Seems we be stuck on the same ol’ bullshit of ppl cumin through late. Y is it dat we say we begin at 1pm n ppl wana b there @ 3pm n when we supposed 2 end dey say its early. Now how does 1 run a successful show when every 1 wants things 2 b done their way! Damn man! But anyhow the show went on .
All the emcess hit the stage n gave n introduction through freestyles. We had Cats from BushBuckRidge, Dwaarsloop, Mbombela, Majembeni, Casteel, Shatale. U name a Taal n I bet I wud have pulled out some1 4rm the Emcees 2 spit in dat taal. H our resident Emcee did his track “ Luv ur Hood Anthem” n the ppl were Mesmerized by his articulacy in Sepulana. Math who is part of “Street Beatz” perfomed two tracks n got the other emcees 2 pull up their socks.
The Shy but potent Slow Poison lambasted with 1 track n got mad applause. It was fulfilling to see him comin out of his cocoon. As the Grand Huslters took to the stage n battled the B-Boyz the crowd went crazy as this session was reaching a high note. It was pure luv homie all through. Vulga G did his bit on the 1 2’s but due to time most cats had to spit like 1 track. When the Comical Mr Doo took to the stage the masses were berzerk with Joy n Fun. He neva disappoints as always, whether he be on a Freestyle tip or Scriptin u bound to listen.
It was a day worth noting. The youth of Shatale showed their support for LUV UR HOOD 1 more tym. Its a simlpe concept, jst luv the place u live at n it will luv u back. With dat in mind we on a mission to bring Hip Hop to the homelands Nigga. LUV UR HOOD n Recogniz when its all Gud