I once heard the revolution will not be televised

We’ve been out of touch for long now, we’ve been out of the site, and out of Hip Hop happenings for long, it felt lyk a backsliding Christian. The best thing iz tha world doesn’t stop spinning, shit is happening whether we here, there or not. Since we’ve been hibernating, the Egyptian Mubarak has resigned after 30yrs in power, Tunisians citizens have manage to revolt against their own and got a bit of triumph; Mummar Gaddafi told his Libyan ppl dat he’s not moving an inch and he did just dat. As the world turns, the Ivory Coast nation have fought a bloody coupe against Laurent Gbagba while the world was watching; Indians see themselves as Cricket world champions while our Proteas boys came home again without a silver wear, but its al good cuz we are used to this. All these happening while me nd my bro were hibernating. It’s an interesting world out there and out here the ruling party has marked its territory b4 the municipal elections and they have proclaimed, ‘they are ruling until Christ comes’. We disappered for a sec we came back and Teargas have pushed boundiries and units and apparently certified gold, the beef between Aka and L Tido has been settled, as if we don't have enuf beef in Africa already.

As beautiful as our world is, we still see the heinousness of world leaders and smell the craziness of human species but Hip Hop will remain. Within these chaotic continuous happenings around the globe we are here again to share moments within moments in this history. We saw the revolutionary been televised and we are blogging abt it while, peeps and teens are twitting abt it. They say God works in mysterious way ask Zimbabwean ppl they’ll testify to it, even the Libyans believe Mummar Gaddafi was sent to them by God, except for the rebels of course and those who are after Gaddafi’s resources, but yes, if he does work in mysterious ways then my stint of hiding away from the blog is for a reason. To be realistic me nd you are watching as government mount each in greed, as African leaders walk this path without a back bone; we are watching as economy collapses and nobody dared to explain reasons, we are watching as commodities prices rises while employment declines. We are watching the revolution as humanity collapses. Luv ur Hood is back to comment abt the world and yes we are still talking Hip Hop Hooray!!!

Luv ur Hood nd recognize iz al gud

Kwesta – Special ReKwest

I have to admit or maybe is just me but rappers nowadayz are sounding the same and nothing they bring is shocking to our ears. Don’t want cats and the whole rap fanatics 2 get me wrong, Kwesta is talented cat but I think, again my opinion, as a writer I’m allowed 2 have dat kind freedom aren’t I? ok as I was saying, cats fall short on their music, on this particular one, Kwesta. Special Rekwest is his 1^st album from Bittabing Entertainment, a special one indeed cuz Kwesta since joining Slikour’s joint four yrs ago, he has created himself a fan base, I must admit the boy has a good following. Kwesta came out last yr Sept with a single ‘Stomp’ which rocked the GP air waves and TV screens, I was convinced until I heard the whole album this Jan. My opinion is, Battabing cud have gone with a diff joint as a 1^st single, but well I guess itz al marketing strategy. Kwesta is fresh right, but the album feels luk warm; all 14 tracks r well produced nd have the kind of sound that grabs yr attention, but fifteen min wthou dat sound u almost 4get wat have u been listening to. There r catchy tracks lyk ‘flash it’ my favorite on the album by the way, Babhemi ft Sandile Ziqubu and ‘Flava’. The second track on the joint, ‘Ekhonenei’ it feels like something Prokid will do but he actually did a gud job on it. With the likes of Proverb, N’ veigh, Red button and flabba which is an unlikely collabo the album gets some bit of a spark towards hip hop headz. Most of the songs are g2G( gud to great) but forgettable but for the die hard fans well,  this is it. I respect Bittabing Entertainment for what they did with ‘Mr Cool’ himself, b4 I forget there’s a track ft RJ, Junya Skills nd T’do it’s a keeper but I was disappointed by Mr Cool, lyrically on this song but its well produced joint. Kwesta says he’s not her for the fame but to give u music that u like, that’s wat he’s here for.

Luv uR Hood nd recognize its al gud       

N.A.S.A

Now and still after. Yo, 4rm dat title alone 1 shud be able to c the level of depth these emcees have come up with. Now and still after is a mixtape that has been in the market since mid 2008, fortunately I managed to get my hands this year after having asked around for sol long. Love gained from havin have attained this album, twas worth every cent my Nig.

Most songs are produced by Intro and Mo Catalyst, 2 Vaal natives. As matter of fact this is actually a Vaal Triangle project. Apart from a few tracks most songs are from cats from the Vaal. Beatiful music it is, from the intro done by simple humming 4rm Tshwarelo.  6Feet’s wake up is a track directed @ da true lovers of Hip Hop, sayin it right with lines lyk “ It’s about quitin school/ doin drugs, n admittin u lazy.” The Rhyme Slayer Mr Golden Shovel also has an appearance on this Mixtape with a track called “Divine Fury,” this rhymesmith is never short of punchlines.

A track dat also caught my attention was Poltageist’s “Live on stage,” whereby the dude just lays out the picture of being on stage and enjoyin the vibe (only emces wud truly kno da feeling). Having heard the crew Baleloko perform @ the One 2 album launch 1 was not impressed but I might have to change my views on the crew, maybe they had their bad days on dat day. Baleloko’s track “Baleloko” has an unexpected twist in the mid. What they hav done is not completely new to Hip Hop but I gosta say it was executed beautifully, with both emcees delivering perfectly.

Naked Eye the 1 half of One 2 gives us a beautifully constructed track with phase change alongside Tshwarelo. Truly his love for the art has increased a thousand fold as he asys in the track. The Germ to ther album has to be Tongogara a.k.a Battlecat’s speech. Nig be uttering truth as he tells us dat Love is the basis of all dat is, 4 Now And Still Afta.  Nthabi also lends a rap on the track “Life on the Coluorline” The last track on the album, Mothipa’s “cure for the pain” is a climax to an ever enticing album, n ya’ll know Mothipa for being the ever laid back hard spitter he is.

There are not a lot of disappointments on the album but for X-rate’s Mic Check, mediocre track 4rm the talented emcee and the track by the East Rand natives Sake of Skill. Other tracks dat stand out have to be Mo Catalyst’s “8 days in a week,” 6 Feet & Red Antz’s “finders of lost children,” and the combination of Reason, Golden Shovel  and Mo Catalyst’s on “The Streets” One other Killa track has to be Wizardry’s Celebration. Wizardry discusses the struggle apartheid and how the “now” rich politicians r 4getin dat the sacrifice was not by them only, sad realities. Buy this album. 

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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