Rapfornication

Rapper Kendrick Lamar released the album DAMN. It was a radical shift from the pillar of the black community persona. This album spoke more to an individual experiences that many of his listeners who were drawn to Kendrick because he spoke on shared experiences and shared truth felt alienated by. Moshekwa Langa on the other hand is an artist whose impersonal works I have found to be irritatingly inaccessible. I could not understand the demand for what felt like blurry lines and colourful blotches of something on paper remains so high for an artist who in a sense gives so little of himself.

There is so much projecting onto the works of black artists that we do without thinking twice. We ask a question and give the answer to a work that hasn’t been given the space to say anything. “Is it a black artist? Yes okay good then”. We’ve already inferred on it the dominating narrative regardless if that what is there or not. The one about pain and suffering and poverty. The works that blur the line between personal and political. Yes that one narrative must be contained in the artwork somewhere so perhaps my initial frustration with Moshekwa’s Lame Lamb and this DAMN album is that none of what I was looking for was there, there wasn’t in either allowance to be dismissive. But maybe that’s exactly why I am so taken by both.

I feel that each time I’ve tried to read something into the painting, it has smiled back at me and told me “no”. It was only after reading a couple of his older interviews did I catch onto what the work in a sense serves the purpose of, which is to rebuff every meaning I try to infer on it. Lame Lamb is a beautiful painting because it’s a beautiful painting, plain and simple.

I’m not saying that both are meaningless. I’m not saying you can hear and look at each one and draw away with nothing. DAMN if I really want to read into it is reflection on fame and the somewhat hesitant almost pull away from the “Kendrick Lamar: Role Model” persona. And Lame Lamb can be understood in many ways too, sure. If we push we can make this about sexuality and racial relations. Reading into the sly triumphant smile on the female figure, maybe conjure up a narrative of the satisfaction of a conquest. The “conquest” could be the male figure. A figure whose expression speaks to a sense of not knowing. A sense of not being entirely there, a face unsure. It’s a painting that gives you the space to arrive at these conclusion if you really feel the need too. Being able to look at the painting without an answer in my head allows for the formal elements of the painting to be seen. I able to see subtle Moshekwa ‘signatures’ in the sort of incompleteness of the painting. The feeling that at some point Moshekwa had intended to paint in the female figure brown again. That the blur of the background with the green and blue and pink were going to become something. So many little “to be continued’s in this painting that normalize if not encourage longer engagements with it.

After nostalgia, ULTRA in 2011, came Channel Orange with a year's delay. An album that benchmarked rhythm and blues, even Chris Brown who falls short of the genre wanted to fight. What stood out were the black nouveau riche references, mentions of Ladera Heights being the peak.This was the mature stage in the life cycle of the elusive, but prodigious artist. Somewhat an account of lived and perceived experiences.

Endless starts off with a skit to ease the listener into gramophone and velvet loafers feels. The first track with Frank Ocean's vocals is a cover of a cover. It's Aaliyah covering the Isley Brothers. A loop of a loop. A copy of a copy. Endless, right? He digs deeper into an introspective abyss until he finds his childhood, as reflected on Alabama in which he recounts a teenage mom fighting a sister-in-law all laid over Sampha inspired piano pangs. It's returning to the rudimentary life experiences that helped formulate his character.

 It's going back to the earliest point in the life cycle of the artist. Some of the experiences reminded him of how socially, financially and sexually marginalised to the point he donned an invisibility cloak. The album comes off as a sonic rage against the loop he is stuck in, a static world which still maintains its hostility towards certain groups of people inhabiting it. For example, bisexuals. He is looking to break it through creating music. A quick cut to the visuals in which he is in a warehouse doing carpentry, it kind of resembles the amount of time he puts into his craft. Eventually he assembles a black spiral staircase, it's like he hopes his music will take him out of the current frame of mind he is in, the clatter audible on 'Mine' The end of the staircase is cut off, inferring he has made it out of his confines, link an article of his new economic freedom here and how that transcendence is endless, a continual input of patience and workmanship that gets one out of whatever constraints they may be in, just to face new hurdling instances. 

Intimacy sometimes feels like a battle.

Sometimes always feels like a battle.

 In a desensitised, violent and abrasive world, intimacy can feel like a straining reach, something almost impossible, intangible and conceptual and isolated away from the heaving, pushing thrust of life.

 Nudes on 3rd by Letters Fitzgerald offers an unexpected intimacy from the first beat all the way through to the enigmatic end — it is undoubtedly an invitation that is layered in the calm composure that threads its way through Boledi’s rhythmic voice, a summons into a world where the strain and tension exists surrounded by ease and honesty. With the intimacy comes a curious kind of peace, a soothing soul stroke that demands a moment to pause and truly listen, with every sense and accept the implicit healing in the connection between words and beat.

 I instinctively shy away from consigning Nudes to a genre. It doesn’t fit that neatly into anything because life doesn’t fit that neatly into anything and this work is nothing if not a reflection, an introspection, of life. Of love. Of sex and dreams. It is an official soundtrack and it has accompanied me for days as I move through the cycles of my own hours, doing the things I have always done: riding the bus to work; having a solitary cigarette late in the afternoon; wandering through the Civic Centre; walking up the stairs to my flat.

 Nudes on 3rd softens the world.

 Each track is redolent with its own wisdom and luxury — the whole album rolls with a sensuous tactility. It is not a word often used to refer to music, but Nudes inspires a deep longing for touch. From the electric, chilled hotness of silk doves and crimson bullets to the delicacy infused in the origins of the wind and the lush openness of dance of the delicate brujas. There are so many embraces to want when losing yourself in Nudes. The album is also playful, and bright, manifested in the lyrically enthralling eva and the compelling joy of ligera. It’s a sumptuous balance beautifully maintained by sleek, tranquil instrumentals that weave around words that are such gorgeous verse.

 One of the many things that give Nudes on 3rd its weight is how it occupies the world: as an open and exciting collaborative effort gifted to the public, with love, for nothing. There is extraordinary talent on Nudes: Mercy, Szah, Jeaux Slay Mourinho and Maks Moriatti all bring their own brand of brujeria to the music, working in an intricate, languorous framework shaped by Argentine Merseyside and Irrelevant Papi. To have that all at one’s fingertips is an incredible opportunity to experience work that exemplifies that kind of love we should feel in the things we create.

 From its moody cover art to the core message at its heart, Nudes on 3rd is a study in vulnerability and the sweet, sweet ache of humanity.

 I remember those moments when I was younger and tormented and music would emerge that felt as if the person singing had stared right into my head and into my heart. As I have grown older, those moments have become more and more rare. Sometimes, it feels like music skirts around the issues that fill up my experience and the experiences of my loved ones. Sometimes, you just want something that takes you a bit further than vague emotional stirrings in your chest.

A note from editor norm: writing what we feel and see and listen to is a great thing to be able to do. to articulate your thoughts that make sense to not just you but all of us is a fucking talent, pardon my french. But what we do with our written words is give voice to our thoughts on conversations that are being had or have happened. So this year every alternative week we here at RF base camp are going to put together some pieces from the internet that we read and thought would be cool to share from other sites and blogs that publish good content that made us stop and think. Because reading is the tits fam :)

1.How Freelancers Pay Rent: A Commoner’s Perspective by  Ngoan'a Nts'oana

https://ntsoana.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/iwrite-how-freelancers-pay-rent-a-commoners-perspective/

From inside: “Do Not Settle. Isn’t the desire to not lead a mediocre life why you chose this path initially? Act like it then. Stop saying yes to slavish working conditions and little pay. Voice your dissatisfaction well ahead of time. Ask questions, especially where money is involved because motherfuckers can get shadeee!”

Read this if: If you’re a young up and coming but not altogether sure of how person. If you feel that you’re close to cracking this life hack but also feel that there are far too many compromises to that you are making. These are some words that provide a bit of guidance to the often self-admitted ambitious but clueless folk.

2. Art as Resistance: Sadie Barnette Turns Father’s Black Panther FBI File into a Social Narrative. By Hannah Morris.

http://saintheron.com/news/art-as-resistance-sadie-barnette-turns-fathers-black-panther-fbi-file-into-a-social-narrative/

From inside : “A perturbed family tree, these files allowed Sadie to build her own portrait of her father. “I’m so honored that my dad trusted me to tell this story. I was taught very early the significance of dedicating your life to something bigger than yourself. In one way, I feel this story does that.”

Read this if: If you’re interested about the intersection where art and black identity often meet when black artists have but themselves to bare. And if you’re interested in how the dialogue is continuously reshaping itself, not just about militancy but also about family, love and loss.

3. Meet Cool & Dre, The Miami Producers With The Keys To Longevity

http://www.thefader.com/2017/02/07/cool-and-dre-grammy-nomination-all-the-way-up-interview

From Inside: “Cool: One night, we were sitting in the parking lot of Taco Bell, and Dre was like, “Maybe it isn’t god’s plan for this group. Maybe the plan is for me and you to do this.” From that point on, we took the production seriously. We ended up moving back to Miami and diving into the production. It was 3 and 4 beats at a time, $200 here, $300 there, working with local artists in Miami and making a name for ourselves.”

Read this if: If you’re a fan of the stories that are often left unheard or that don’t carry as much rockstar glamour of the super stars.  This is the story about what of hip hop’s greatest partnerships. It not only is the story of them but also the story of how hip hop evolved through them. If you’re more into producers and their styles then this might be right up your alley.

4.  Migos' Wild World: One Night in the Studio With 'Bad and Boujee' Trio By Jonah Weiner

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/bad-and-boujee-inside-atlanta-rap-trio-migos-wild-world-w465205

From inside: “They spent much of their childhood in the same small house, raised in the northern Atlanta suburbs of Gwinnett County by Quavo's mother. "She was the father figure," says Offset. "She knew how to raise you as a man, tell you how niggas is. 'Homes right there is this.' 'This nigga right there is this – watch out.'" They all call her Mama and love her dearly. "She had a house full of niggas playing games, shoes off, eating all the food, and it's hard times – but she never complained," says Quavo.

Takeoff loved professional wrestling as a kid, and the three transformed a backyard trampoline into a makeshift ring. Quavo was alone in his love for "the National Geographic Channel," Offset recalls. "I used to cuss this nigga ass out 'cause he'd come into the room at 10:00 and wanted to watch the whales and the motherfucking ocean."

Read this if: If you’re interested in a very raw and intimate understanding not only of how Migos came to be but also what is it in totality that the trio come with. From their values, their faults, their creative process and their individuality. This is the feature that got the group in trouble for homophobic statements about iLoveMakonnen's sexual orientation, (which they have since made a public apology for, read here: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/migos-we-have-no-problem-with-anyones-sexual-preference-w465938)  

5. Separating the Artist From Their Art by by Mercia Tucker

http://theplugmag.co/2017/01/09/separating-the-artist-from-their-art/

From inside: “the process is so self-exploratory that it seems difficult to imagine that the words dancing on the pages, that took flight to a progression of keys or the thumping of 808s, aren’t a representation of the artist at his core. And because the art itself is so untarnished, so perfect in its presentation and interpretation, people often see it as an incarnation of the artist and project that same perfection onto him. How could such amazing work be the product of a broken person?”

Read this if: This particular ironic placing of this article aside, read this if as a listener you are conflicted where the line stands between an artist and the music they make is blurry for you. If you have been struggling to understand when and where is the correct place to have the moral highground comes in and read this if you feel some sort of guilt for enjoying a well put together album by an artist found guilty for charges related to sexual assault. It won’t give you an answer but it does ease you into that very uncomfortable conversation we all are stuck having right now.

6. Of Resistance and Romance | Jazz as Heritage by Vuyiswa Xekatwane

http://10and5.com/2017/02/08/of-resistence-and-romance-jazz-as-heritage/

From Inside: “South African jazz is a marvelous dichotomy, it is resistant and romantic, full of tension and full of freedom, intentional yet improvised…the centre and the edge, all at once. Beyond auditoriums and academia, jazz became a street thing, a Black thing. It was no longer a discovery, it was a recollection, a very real and integral part of my upbringing as kid who grew up in a township. Jazz is documentary, is guidance, is heritage”.

Read this if: You are in love with when writers personalize and share their love of music, inserting themselves in its narrative whilst not overpowering the topic at hand. Read this if you’re a jazz lover and are curious about the role that jazz played in the history of South Africa. Also read this if you want to brush up on your Jazz knowledge.

7. Atlanta's R&B Underground Is Pushing to Make a New Pop Sound in Trap’s Capital by Xavier BLK

https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/atlantas-randb-underground-is-pushing-to-make-a-new-pop-sound-in-traps-capital?utm_source=noiseytwitterus

From inside: “Yet while you may be hard pressed to find any new Atlanta-based R&B acts charting on Billboard, there are a select few finding grassroots success in the digital age. A new strand of Atlanta's R&B DNA has emerged. These artists are no longer are coming out of the industry's "How to Make an R&B star" manual. They are DIY rebels. They are punk skater kids with soul. They are shelved label signees who took matters into their own hands.”

2016, what a year. Included in this list are the emotions and memories that came with these songs. Here is a list that attempts to consolidate a most uniquely strange year .Fuck Donald Trump and enjoy the links to other pieces we thought you might enjoy too. And also fuck Donald Trump. 

Danny Brown – When It Rain 

Produced By Paul White Album: Atrocity Exhibition

One of the more left field songs that still somehow has an underlying jitty foot-light feel to it. It sounds like ‘Dip’ if it grew up in a dark basement and suffered from crippling anxiety. Danny Brown matches the atmosphere with some of his most vivid, impressive writing to date as he describes Detroit as a city that sees no change but gentrification, grannies getting robbed and more guns than necessary. Unforgettable.

Kendrick Lamar - untitled 02 | 06.23.2014.

Produced By Yung Exclusive & Cardo Album: untitled unmastered.

Cornrow Kenny brought out the circus tricks without losing his seriousness. The build-up is one captivating performance but once his voice swings into high pitched, the stunting and trumpets go into overdrive and you’re left pleasantly stunned. Get God on the phone.

Fat Joe & Remy Ma Feat. French Montana & Infa Red - All The Way Up

Produced By Cool & Dre & Edsclusive Album: Plata O Plomo

They say regionalism is dead but this all NY affair begs to differ. Cool and Dre provide the bass and unforgettable horns and the legends (plus Montana) rip it apart like a swaggier version of The Avengers. Remy Ma came back and ignited desperately needed fire.

Fat Joe & Remy Ma Feat. Infa-Red, Jay Z & French Montana -  All The Way Up (remix)

Produced By Cool & Dre & Edsclusive

 Lean Back left a lasting legacy, even for the millennials like my whack self who remembers slogans like Terror Squad, before Khaled was Billy Ocean, back when Fat Joe had the red parka in the video

"Lemonade is a popular drink and it still is". Lemonade the album that I still haven't listened to has just dropped and every beyhive fan on Twitter was up in arms mad that Jay Z was getting his lemonade from a woman named Becky -if you're into that kinda thing. And that’s all Hov was gonna do in terms of speaking on it. One more time, let it sink in. Lemonade is a popular drink and it still is. He pretty much ethered Beyoncé if you think about it.

Rihanna – Needed Me

Produced By Kuk Harrell & DJ Mustard Album: ANTI

For the first time in her long career, Rihanna sounded liberated. ‘Needed Me’ amplifies the dark, sexual charisma she always displayed in ways that feel less put-on (Rated-R, basically) and more like self-expression. A fantastic wonky Mustard beat gives her room to remind her past flame who really was doing who a favour. Savagery personified in one song. Oh, that shot of Robyn in a lacy blue dress, gun in hand, looking out to the beach? Iconic

BBNG Feat. Samuel T. Herring – Time Moves Slow

Produced By BADBADNOTGOOD Album: IV

It’s been great watching BBNG grow into their own. The legendary Sam Herring lends his heartfelt voice to this perfectly crafted number. Personally, it got me through a messy situationship. Unreciprocated love makes it feel like time is moving slow.

Kid Cudi Feat. Travis Scott - Baptized In Fire

Produced By Mike Dean & Plain Pat Album: Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'

This is the most Kid Cudi Kid Cudi has sounded for a long time. And it's scary to figure that your preference for an artist is derived in their articulation of their personal pain and struggles, I mean it's why we fuck with a Basquiat right? But here, here it's like Cudi just wanted to make his number one fan Travis Scott happy. The reserved role that La Flame takes in this feels like that, like he's soaking the moment in. The production overall sound is very reminiscent of Man On The Moon, if not a remake considering Plain motherfucking Pat, Mike Dean, La Flame and Cudder were all on this, SQUAD.

Schoolboy Q – JoHn Muir

Produced By Sounwave Album: Blank Face LP

Deadly basslines and triumphant horns score Q’s coming of age tale to churn out one of the best songs on ‘.Blankface’. Can’t help but poorly crip walk when this album cut comes on.

Kemba – Already

Produced By Frank Drake Album: Negus

Honestly, one could have chosen any song on Kemba’s often brilliant LP, ‘Negus’ but ‘Already’ takes the cake for two reasons: it’s Frank Duke’s hardest beat since ‘Fuckin’ Up The Count’ and the artist sounds angry, dissatisfied and wounded by the awful recurring problems surrounding race. Isn’t that how we all felt in this bizarre year?

Samiyam Feat. Earl Sweatshirt - Mirror

Produced By Samiyam Album: Animals Have Feelings

This song was supposed to come right after Faucet but looking in this in totality it's fitting that it only dropped in 2016, a year later. A resolute Earl spits his way through his insecurities and imperfections "despite how they praising your face I'mma make do!". Earl's raps are never really about us, mans just telling his story and again we find ourselves in it. Looking in the mirror, seeing the only the nigga we wanted to be. It's not angry, it's aggressively encouraging.

Isaiah Rashad – Park

Produced By Park Ave. & D. Sanders Album: The Sun's Tirade

Trying to follow the topics Rashad dives into is genuinely exciting. In lesser hands, it just wouldn’t work but he’s always saved by the mere fact that he’s a compelling writer. Over fluttering hi hats and knocking sparse bass, he compares himself to Nicki Minaj and Guwop, reveals sexual infidelity while denouncing his savagery and still sneaks in discerning bars about fatherhood and religion. What really trips one out is how effortless it all sounds.

Noname – Freedom Interlude

Produced By Phoelix & Saba Album: Telefone

Out the shadows, Noname took her spot as one the more talented rappers of her generation. ‘Freedom Interlude ‘  is all her strengths wrapped in one warm song. Her intricate soliloquies spill over some steady drums and calming chords as she wanders and aches about Bill Cosby, perception, motherhood, becoming and everything in between.

Jeff Chery – Salty

Produced By Stefan Green

The cliché goes: if you don’t have haters, you aren’t doing anything noteworthy. So, naturally, songs about them are probably my favourite. Nothing like glorious flexing as a defence mechanism to truly propel a song and Chery leans into his naysayers over woozy bass and autotune.

J. Cole – Neighbors

Produced By J. Cole Album: 4 Your Eyez Only

Certain people will always let prejudices rule their perception of others. As a young black man, the hurtful reminders creep up on you every time who walk pass a car and the white person inside frantically locks their door or when you call your friends for a get together and your racist nearby residents bring the police to your doorstep to break it up. Cole explores this reality in a way that’s both relatable and fittingly hopeless. No matter who or where you are, the burden of being black is sometimes too heavy.

DJ Khaled Feat. Drake - For Free

Produced By Jordan Ullman & Nineteen85 Album: Major Key

I didn't want Khaled and Drake to have another anthem so they made another anthem. And as audacious as Drizzy Drake Rogers might be, as irritating as his love "Serana, Rihanna and JLo in one year" life might be, this is a really nice song. Like those moments after when you're feeling yourself, appreciating your agility wanting to ask the person next to you “... Is this sex so good I shouldn't have to fuck for free?"

Ma-E & AKA – Lie 2 Me

Produced by: Brian Soko, Mr Kamera & Ma-E 

Ma- E is basically your uncle who tries way too hard to look/sound ‘hip’ but still somehow pulls it without coming off corny. This ‘Township Counsellor’ gem hides the lingering insecurity of being rich/famous and always wondering if people like you for you or what you offer. Roping in SA’s erratic egoistic makes perfect sense as the pair smash this one out the park.

Ka – Just

Produced By Ka Album: Honor Killed the Samurai

Gangster turned firefighter, Ka writes like how one would imagine if they found themselves in a ‘I Am Legend’ type world. Even the pragmatic, bare-knuckle beats can’t dull the emotionally profound bars about backstabbers, dead loved ones, poverty and unfulfilled potential. Guilt more than anything invades this samurais’ nightmares.

Lil Yachty - One Night (Extended) 

Produced by TheGoodPerry Album: Lil Boat

It's really the most pleasant mean way to tell a hoe she ain't no wifey, matter of fact to tell anyone she ain't no wifey. But the video is tight tho, very Odd Future 2011-esq and very much Lil Yachty's assertion that he's pretty much here to do whatever the fuck he wants with this hip hop thing, and even scarier is that you actually can't stop him. Hook hella catchy tho.

Cousin Stizz Feat. Larry June – Down Like That

Produced By Puff Daddy Album MONDA

Billed as a showcase of star potential, Stizzy breaks out of the seriousness that drives ‘MONDA’ for some old fashioned hijinks. But Larry June truly murks this sizzling beat with one of the verses of the year. Who else can deliberately rap off beat, admit and end the bar with cold ‘fuck rap’?

Belly Feat. 2 Chainz, The Weeknd & Yo Gotti - Might Not (Remix)  

Produced By Merlin Watts, DaHeala & Ben Billions

Between the time the original and now Belly had delivered consistently cold bars embodied in solid projects twice. And hip hops heavy hitters and OGs aren't asleep to this, Belly's signed to Roc Nation. Everyone on here does their part but it's 2 Chainz who steals the show with his playful but vicious flow with audacious lines like, "IF YOU LOVE ME TAT MY NAME ON YOUR UTERUS!". Belly comes through cold tapping into the drug taking, model fucking persona The Weeknd had before he went full pop on us. And while Yo Gotti's verse is otherwise forgettable, mans didn't go down without a fight. 

Young Thug - Digits/Swizz Beats

Produced By Wheezy Album: JEFFERY

Thug’s output makes it hard to pick a favourite but these two highlight why I love Slime’s style. He’s a unique, eccentric singular voice that constantly defies rap norms and conjures up memorable hooks with ease.

A$AP Mob Feat. A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ant, A$AP Ferg, A$AP Nast, A$AP Twelvyy & Juicy J  - Yamborghini High

Produced By Hector Delgado Album: Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends

First off, s/o and daps to A$AP Mob for executing skits on a tape the way we remember skits on a tape, niggas too fucking cozy. It's the type of contextualising taking us back to Pesos. A corner store in Harlem. Second, you gotta want to believe that Yams in heaven tripping the fuck out not only watching the most tumbler-esque video but fact that the whole tape is not only an ode to Yams but also the preservation of his legacy.

Denzel Curry – ULT

Produced By Finatik N Zac, Nick Leon & Ronny J Album Imperial

The most gifted pick on 2016’s XXL Freshmen List. ‘ULT’ is the perfect song if you’re unfamiliar with Curry’s work. It’s high tempo and ferocious coupled with unyielding intelligence. Denzel sounds unflinching in the face of racial profiling and police brutality as he basks in the idea of unity. The chorus carries its 2Pac influence proudly. Revolt music.

Chance The Rapper feat. Saba - Angels 

Produced By The Social Experiment & Lido   Album Coloring Book

Chance is that guy, he either irks you or like Obama he's on your playlist(s). So this song found its way onto mine. This is the soundtrack to my success, the background music to scenes of triumph, the sound of joy, a thugs prayer of gratitude ..that's this song. Pain is beautiful but it takes real skill to articulate happiness. 

 ASAP Mob - Telephone Calls Feat.  Yung Gleesh, Playboi Carti, Tyler, The Creator & A$AP Rocky

Produced By Plu2o Nash Album Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends

The best thing about this song outside the quotable, outside Tyler stepping his flow up, outside walk Gleesh walk and outside "POST MAN, who dis?" is A$AP Rocky's verified lyrics where he writes about Tyler "I wish I knew this nigga my whole life" ❤

Frank Ocean Feat. KOHH – Nikes

Produced By Malay Ho, Om'Mas Keith & Frank Ocean Album: Blonde

Frank’s writing displays vulnerable humanity that we all try and tap into on our best days. ‘Nikes’ is filled with hilarious shit talking, short eulogies to passed peers and kin, lines about doing lines and trying to stay young. Life in your 20’s captured in 5 minutes.

Isaiah Rashad - Free Lunch

Produced By Cam O'bi Album: The Sun's Tirade

 Damn, I hate to say this but drugs and depression gave depth to this man’s music and made it interesting. After Clivia Demo, I had feared that under the shadow of TDE/Kendrick hype, that like other almost kinda famous sorta artists we were going to lose him, collateral damage so to speak. But instead Rashad in the most cliche of ways turned tragedy into triumph. 

Skepta – Man(Gang)

Produced By Skepta Album: Konnichiwa

The appeal of grime is its ability to be entertaining and aggressively haughty simultaneously. Skepta comes for everyone’s head on this ‘Konnichiwa’ standout. Fake fans and friends, washed rappers &wannabe fashionstas; no one is spared. London boyz made noise in 2016.

Childish Gambino – Me & Your Mama

Produced By Ludwig Göransson Album: "Awaken, My Love!"

The signal to the stars. Sitting through this ever mortifying gospel-rock joint feels transient. A shift from dick inspired punchlines to channeling Parliament Funkdelic; Donald Glover is proof of the rewards of artistic progression.

Danny Brown - Dance In The Water 

Produced By Paul White Album: Atrocity Exhibition

I'd like to think that this song would fit perfectly in a Tarantino film that's already been made, maybe that one about the car with Rosario Dawson and the lady who did stunts for Uma Therman. I'd like to think those things, a perfect middle between the old world and new. Danny Brown, at his peak, paints the most perfect picture of curated chaos.. 

Saba & Noname – Church/Liquor Store

Produced By Cam O'bi Album: Bucket List Project

Two of Chicago’s more gifted writers take us on a ride through their hometown. Saba is insightful, sorrowful and clear headed as he tackles addiction, gang violence, gentrification and the school to prison system. Noname acts as the perfect foil. It soars with gorgeous keys and beautiful choir worthy voices that only add to the misery

Earl Sweatshirt & Knxwledge – Balance

Produced By Knxwledge Album: 2016 Adult Swim Singles

A sensible union. Two talented non stars whose styles fit each other like big feet & AF’s 1.Earl’s attention to detail add a personal touch to universal gripes of being young, black & confused. His mumblings feel at home over Knxwledge’s lush, anxious phrases.

AKA ft Yanga – Dream Work

Produced by KJ Conteh

Sampling ‘Street Fighter’ should already make this a classic but AKA takes it a step further by rightfully staking a claim to SA rap’s crown. The hook is masterful; Yanga’s voice complements the thumping bass perfectly and AKA sounds focused, sharp and agitated. A continuation of a 5 year streak that doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Long Live Supa Mega.

Terrance Martin – Valdez off Crenshaw

Produced by Terrace Martin Co-Produced by Robert “Sput” Searight

Modern music would be less great without Terrace Martin. One could go on an endless tangent listing countless accolades and contributions but rather we stick to this one moment on “Velvet Portraits”. It’s a mesmerizing piece of jazz leaning funk that contains an electric guitar solo that’s so beautifully over the top you can’t help sit in awe. An experience.

D.R.A.M Feat. Lil Yachty – Broccoli

Produced By J Gramm Beats Album: Big Baby D.R.A.M.

There's this phenomena taking place where new kids want to be their own, don't want to inherit problems, keen to dictate their own narrative. This song is a prime example of this. D.R.A.M is on here with his puppy hugging positive healthy outlook on life bars and Lil Yachty is here in his whole self. The millennials Big Pimpin', I’m calling it.

Kadhja Bonet – Honey Comb

Produced By Kadhja Bonet Album: The Visitor

‘Classical music’ can be an off putting label. But Bonet puts a modern spin on the genre and breathes new life into it. It sounds so good it possess the power to you cleanse all your proverbial sins. Gorgeous piece of music.

 Solange Feat. Lil Wayne - Mad 

Produced By Troy "R8DIO" Johnson, David Longstreth, Sir Dylan, Solange &Raphael Saadiq Album: A Seat at the Table

Very rarely are us folk, black folk, worldwide given the space to be angry. Our sorrow, our pain and small glimmers of happiness have their time, designated hours. So when you're mad, you're mad on your own, you're carrying it on your own .. and when you finally exhale it's a lot. Mad about inabilities and inadequacies of the self. It's always just too much to never have someone ask "why you mad son?". It's a relief to have a song like this affirm that anger. Affirming the experience of holding on anger only for it to be dismissed, invalidated to be "why you always be so mad"-ed. I praise Solo for speaking this truth. 

Rae Sremmurd Feat. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles

Produced By Mike WiLL Made-It Album: SremmLife 2

Mannequin challenge aside, ‘Black Beatles’ was destined to be a hit. Swan Lee sounds like a fallen angel; cautious and courageous. Jimi admirably keeps up and Gucci is his outrageous melodic self. Mike Will brings out the trademark ear wormy tunes and you’ve got a stellar song that celebrates youthful exuberance like no other this year. Rae Sremmurd > The Beatles

Rich Chigga - Dat $tick 

Easily the hardest bars and hardest beat of the year, or the 2nd Quarter.  Upper Echelon bars. YOUR FAVORITE RAPPER WAS SHOOK WHEN HE HEARD IT. 

DJ Esco Feat. Future & Rae Sremmurd - Party Pack 

Produced By Southside & DJ Esco Album: Project E.T. Esco Terrestrial

 If you questioned the longevity of Future's "glow up" or how Rae Sremmurd would navigate beyond being the cute small guys then this song stands as testament. On this song Future sounds energized, he sounds damn near competitive on a song that features another well executed Swae Lee hook and a very well placed Slim Jxmmi.

Boogie – Nigga Needs

Produced By Keyel Album: Thirst 48, Pt. 2

Boogie has a knack of simplifying nuanced thoughts and conflicting feelings. Coupled with a video of him as a bleeding centrepiece in an art gallery, The Thirst 48 rapper tries to come to terms the difficultly of self-improvement in a world that conspires against him.

Travis Scott Feat. NAV - Beibs in the Trap

Produced By NAV Album: Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight

 Ay, millennials finally get our own cocaine raps, that tight. But say no to drugs. Drugs ruin lives. Drugs also cost way too much money to pick it up as a habit. Also, who actually does cocaine anymore. Isn't tripping on anxiety meds, though troubling cos clearly in the purest sense of self we have proved incapable of dealing with the realities of this world, the wave? I dunno, just don't do crack kids. That's not glamorous. Neither is crushed up Ritalin on your gums. Great song though 5/5 shout outs NAV for the harmonies and production s/o Justin Beiber.

Westside Gunn & Action Bronson – Dudley Boyz

Produced By The Alchemist Album: Flygod

Wrestling and food references? Boasting about hardness and superior garments over velvet soft chords? Why didn’t this collaboration happen sooner? Old heads need to pay more attention to Westside and stop complaining about mumble rap.

DJ Khaled Feat. Jay Z & Future – I Got Keys

Produced By Jake One, G Koop & Southside Album:Major Key

The God MC came down a couple of times this year to bless his subjects but this Future – assisted joint was a highlight. Not a world beater but admirable considering it is a 42 year old taking a jab at a relentless Southside banger.

2Chainz – Ounces Back

Produced By DJ Spinz Album Daniel Son; Necklace Don

This Christmas, I’m thankful that the most entertaining rapper on earth was inspired all throughout the year. A performance littered with ludicrous lines about forgotten apartments in Jupiter(???), expensive jewelry and his upper echelon sex game. The flow is never forced or out of pocket over dreamy bass and stuttering keys. How is he over 40 and more inventive than rappers half his age?

21 Savage – No Heart

Produced By CuBeatz, Southside & Metro Boomin Album: Savage Mode

The line between fantasy and realism grows blurry with each social media update. We continue to laud rappers who seem to draw from real life experiences more than the ‘posers’ and that what makes ‘No Heart’ so great.21 is way too specific & menacing not mean any of his threat- filled lines. Metro Boomin’ matches the dead eyed feel with his most minimalist work to date and the end product is as enthralling as it is terrifying. 

Chance The Rapper Feat. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - No Problem 

Produced By BrassTracks Album: Coloring Book

Chance The Rapper Feat. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - No Problem Produced by: Album: Coloring Book  Coloring Book is one of those polarizing projects, you either felt it or you didn't .. I didn't. But he made songs like this that didn't make you feel like you were at Christian Rap Camp, some menacing statements were made on here echoed by your mum’s church choir. Wayne told us about freeing the choir, Chance threw threats about labels meeting the real south side and 2 Chainz? Man that man effortlessly floated just right on this pleasant song that even this weird iPhone class project video even is enjoyable.  ZBo8QA/K2O8

Migos Feat. Lil Uzi Vert – Bad & Boujee

Produced By Metro Boomin Album: CULTURE

An ode to classy fly women that even Uzi Vert couldn’t ruin. Offset’s show-stealing hook sticks in your mind like a deferred exam. A shining example of the power of Migos as a hit-making collective.

Kanye West Feat. Kendrick Lamar -No More Parties in LA

Produced By Kanye West & Madlib Album The Life of Pablo

It's only fitting that the most flagrant and audacious bars would find themselves sitting on this masterpiece. It's almost felt like a battle rap, Kendrick urging Kanye to rap again and Ye coming the fuck thru, "that God for me!" Pablo declares triumphantly and the song is so good, it's such a Kanye signature sample old heads the energy in the recording studio is crazy with McDonald's and Hennessy. Crazy. Fucking magical is what it is.

G.O.O.D Music Feat. Kanye West, Big Sean, Quavo, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, Desiigner & Yo Gotti - Champions

Produced By Kanye West, A-Trak, Lex Luger & Mike Dean Album: Cruel Winter

 (in no particular order).

 1. Pivot Gang (Saba – Bucket List & Noname’s Telephone)  Words By Scottie Pimpin’

 I know I know, I had to only pick one out of the two but I just couldn’t. Both Noname and Saba delivered solid bodies of work this year and I feel like I should credit where it’s due to both of them. I’m going to start with Noname’s “Telefone”. I was really pleased with this album because for one, the style of production was very different to the common hard 808’s trap-esque music we hear a lot of lately. The soft synths and simple drum patterns just went well with Nonames’s soothing voice, shout out to Cam’Obi and Saba for that. Another thing, that one probably doesn’t need to point out when putting “rap” and “Noname” in one sentence is the complex rhyme schemes and introspective lyrics that Noname brings to the table. I really had no complaints about the album.

Now moving on to my boy Saba. Like Noname, I first heard Saba being featured on songs with fellow Chicago native, Chance The Rapper. And then, out of curiosity, I went on to download his first mixtape and though there was one or two songs I enjoyed, your boy Scottie wasn’t impressed. With a bit of doubt in my mind, I went on to download Saba’s “Bucket List” with hopes that at least I won’t feel disappointed. As you can tell, Saba sure did prove a brother wrong. Again, one could tell that Cam’Obi had a heavy helping hand in the production. Another thing that made me enjoy Saba’s project so much is the stories he tells and his ability to paint pictures with words. Now don’t get me wrong, a lot of rappers can do this, only difference is, Saba raps for the middle class kid growing up in a danger-filled neighborhood, trying to stay out of trouble despite all the negative influences around him. Something that I really relate to.

2. Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Unmastered  Words by Twigz

Firstly, the concept behind this offering was interesting. Kendrick Lamar was to release “cutaways” that didn’t make his album To Pimp a butterfly and release them as another project. They wouldn’t have titles, but dates that the song was recorded, and the songs would not be mastered.

The greatest thing you could take away from TPAB is that it was immaculately produced, with wonderful arrangements and live instruments. It is completely evident in this project. The audible jazz, funk and soul references are present throughout and create an almost cinematic experience. This is also helped by K. Dot’s amazing story telling.

Stand out features by Ceelo Green on untitled 06/ 06.30.2014, Jay Rock on untitled 05/09.21.2014 and SZA on untitled 04/ 08.14.2014 help create a thought provoking, charming, political and upbeat gem.

3. Like – Songs Made While High  Words by Scottie Pimpin’

Grammy award winning producer and one third of well-respected rap group Pac-Div, Like, dropped his debut solo effort “Songs Made While High” and I must say, I really enjoyed it. Despite being in the underground for most of his life, he managed to create an album that’s not too “underground rap-like” and one can tell that this project was simply created off vibes (And as one can already tell from the album’s title itself, psychedelics were his best friend during the making of this project.) 

The album has features from fresh talents like Anderson.paak and Kali Uchis who assist Like as he flexes lyricism. One thing that stuck out for me in this album is Like’s beat selection and the levels of cool in his mellow voice over a variety of beats ranging to low tempo jazzy beats like the one on “Gentleman’s Quartely” to more jumpy up tempo beats like the one on one of my personal favorites, “Kiwi, Strawberry & Mango”. Definitely a great listen. 

4. Stogie T  Words by Twigz

Tumi From The Volume aka Tumi From The V, aka Tumi now goes by…Stogie T. Why the name change? Tumi, sorry Stogie T, saw the name change as him stepping out of his lane and taking a challenging task by gunning for sales and awards. I know we’ve heard this before. Artists change their names often these days, but it doesn’t always work, however…Stogie T has dropped one of the best albums of 2016. 

T has always been one of South Africa’s best lyricists, and he maintains his grandiose bars and effortless flow. Only on the album they are on beats you wouldn’t expect, from Tumi. But this isn’t Tumi. Lyrics like “What happened to Riky? Is the same thing that happened to Reason, he got touched by a God I gave him a plate now we eating,” sets the tone for this album. Stogie T is solidifying his name in the game. He’s not on the come up, he has been here since the beginning and he can go toe-to-toe with the youngsters in the game, if he feels like it. He’s flexing, and rightfully so. He’s a God of the game and doesn’t need to prove himself. 

There are amazing songs like By Any Means, Freakend and Clean Stuff are testament to the new direction he’s taken and feature Yanga & Emtee, Da Les and Nasty C respectively. The AKA assisted Miss Joburg is also bound to resonate with club goers; however, lovers of the old Tumi can still find solace in exceptional songs like Son of a Soldier, Pray For Us and Sub City, which are vintage Tumi songs.Stogie T has released an amazing album that appeals to every facet of the market yet doesn’t chip away at his credibility. May Stogie T remain for as long as possible.

5.  Domo Genesis – Genesis  Words by Scottie Pimpin’ 

With a couple mixtapes under his belt, Domo Genesis takes a different approach to his conventional all bars focus with this album. With feel good songs like lead single “Dapper” featuring Anderson.Paak and “Coming Back” with a catchy hook from my favourite white boy, Mac Miller. To more introspective tracks like “One Below & “Awkward Groove” where he talks about his hardships throughout his journey as an artist. This album was a very pleasant listen because despite taking a different approach to all his mixtapes in terms of beat selection and song arrangement, Domo didn’t dumb it down when it came to lyricism. Making it one of my favourites for this year. It’s good to see Domo making a name for himself and not being clouded by the shadows of his Odd Future days. 

6.  Chance The rapper & Jeremih - Merry Christmas Lil Mama  Words By Twigz

Christmas albums have always been somewhat corny to me. Maybe it’s due to the fact that Christmas isn’t something I’m passionate about, who knows, but this mixtape has changed my perspective.Chance The rapper and Jeremih could not have created a better collaborative Christmas mixtape than Merry Christmas Lil Mama. Set in Chicago, where they both originate from, you can envisage the atmosphere through the descriptions in the tape. Not only is their chemistry astounding, but they feed off each other and you feel as though they truly enjoyed creating this project. 

Features are minimal, which allows for both artists too shine…together.With a running time of thirty two minutes, the mixtape is the epitome of short and sweet. Offering you audible bliss with songs like Joy, Snowed In and I’m Your Santa that are impossible to ignore this is a solid mixtape that could not stay off the top 5.

7. J. Cole – 4 Your Eyez Only  Words by Scottie Pimpin

 After going double platinum without any features on his last album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, Cole recently dropped another project with no features (cocky ass nigga) and though there’s no bangers, it’s still a good listen. Despite it sounding like an extension to the “Truly Yours” series, I still managed to find personal favourites that I can’t go a day without blasting on my speakers like “Neighbours”, “Vile Mentality” & “Foldin Clothes”.  The whole project is beautiful and each track flows into the next, almost making it impossible to listen to one track without listening to the whole album all at once. 

8. Kaytranada – 99.9% by Scottie Pimpin’

 After having a huge presence on Soundcloud with remakes of popular songs from Teedra Moses, Jill Scott to Janet Jackson, Kaytranada finally dropped his debut album “99.9%” and man what a great listen it was. High tempo beats with discoesque basslines and Kaytra’s signature synths kept a brother smiling throughout the duration of the album, bringing a vibe different to most of the albums that dropped this year. Kaytranda’s 99.9% is definitely one of the best drops this year, no doubt about it.

9. Ari Lennox – Pho by Scottie Pimpin’

The Dreamville stable had a pretty solid run this year in terms of releases from Bas’ “Too High To Riot” to J. Cole’s “4 Your Eyez Only”. The standout project from the Dreamvillians for me, is Ari Lennox’s debut effort “Pho”. The first lady delivers smooth vocals over edgy beats with lyrics that are relatable to any young adult exploring their options in search of love or at least the comfort that comes with having a muse. A very soulful record with laid back beats that complement Ari Lennox’s uncrannied vocals. I enjoyed Ari’s debut so much because all the songs are just a vibe man. I’d defs light a blunt to this one. 

10. YG – Still Brazy  Words by Scottie Pimpin’

 Last but definitely not least, is YG’s sophomore album, “Still Brazy”. I really enjoyed this album because YG stayed true to the West Coast Gangsta rap feel, in an industry where trap is the dominant sound and still managed to make a bomb ass album. In general, I enjoy gangsta rap because of the feeling one gets when reciting the lyrics to gangsta rap. So liberating. YG brought that feeling with songs like “FDT”, “Still Brazy”, “Don’t Come to LA” and hit single “Why You Hating?” featuring our favorite culture vulture, Drake. Solid album, no complaints whatsoever.

11. Rihanna - ANTI  Words by Twigz

Rihanna’s 8th studio album has placed her on another plateau. Often maligned for overtly pop mainstream songs and her supposed inability to fully grasp vocal notes, she has exemplarily showed distractors exactly what she is capable of, on ANTI. Although containing different sounds, from Neo-Soul, to 90’s pop, Dancehall, to Country ANTI is a cohesive body of work that shows multiple facets of Ms Fenty. Once the album opens with Consideration’s hard hitting snares and SZA lending her beautiful voice to the short and impactful introduction you know you’re in for a ride. Songs like Desperado and Higher open us to her vulnerable side, but its songs where she’s her usual sexy, boisterous and unapologetic self where she shines through the most. Songs like Kiss It Better with its infectious guitar, Needed Me with its remarkable production and the ultra-sexy Sex With Me and Yeah I Said It take her already proven formula to new heights.This is the most mature project Rihanna has ever released.

  12. Schoolboy Q – Blank Face LP  Words by Scottie Pimpin’   

Despite me being a heavy Schoolboy Q fan, the “Blank Face LP” is a definite top 10 candidate when talking about releases for 2016, no doubt about it. Though it is completely different from his  previous album, Oxymoron. Quincy still remains in character with his witty bars, balancing between hard hitting beats like the one on “Tookie Knows II” and “Ride Out” to more mellow beats like the one on “Kno Ya Wrong” also not forgetting Q’s signature ad-libs that are all over the place. As usual, quincy catered for both the heavy hip hop listener and the more commercial listener on this album to create a beautiful body of work. 

13. NxWorries – Yes Lawd!  Words by Scottie Pimpin’

 I personally enjoyed this record because of how Knxwledge and Anderson.paak just complement each other. This is one record that one can listen to from start to finish repeatedly and only realise on the third rotation of the album that it’s the only thing that one has been listening. No album is perfect but it’s safe to say that “Yes Lawd” isn’t far from a certain level of flawlessness. definite top. 

14. Miles Davis & Robert Glasper – Everything’s Beautiful   Words by Scottie Pimpin’

Jazz prodigy Robert Glasper, reworks some of Miles Davis’ finest work and makes it his own to produce some even greater tracks. This album has features from Laura Mvula, Illa J (J Dilla’s little brother), Erykah Badu, Hiatus Kyote, Stevie Wonder and many more that make this body of work amazing. It’s a Jazz album with many influences ranging from hip hop to RnB/Soul. A very pleasant that I’ll definitely bump again years later in my car on my way from work. 

15. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo  Words by Twigz

There is so much that can be said about Kanye West and his much anticipated album, The Life of Pablo. From Album name changes, to last minute tinkering’s and even post-album alterations, what is evident however, in his immense perfectionism is that this is one solid album.The introduction Ultralight Beam is quite honestly one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard, probably in the upper echelon of album introductions. From there onwards Ye takes us through various soundscapes from Highlights to Lowlights, through Wolves & Waves until Kid Cudi’s killer cameo on Father Stretch My Hands Part 1. There is something for everyone. For those who wanted more lyrical content from Ye, will probably least enjoy this album. There’s often times where he’s too casual in his lacklustre rhymes, however there are also songs where he makes up for it. The Life of Pablo is a solid album.

upper five (and obvious): solange knowles - a seat at the table | + art book** anderson paak - malibu | come down + the waters BBNG - IV | hyssop of love ft. mick jenkins jimetta rose - the lightbearer | emerald city childish gambino - “awaken, my love!” | redbone + noname - telefone | casket pretty + sunny duet (ft theMIND) + reality check

other five:

aesop rock & homeboy sandman - lice 2: still buggin’ - zilch1 + mud

vince staples - prima donna | dope movie** + war ready

danny brown - atrocity exhibition* | when it rain

open mike eagle - hella persona film festival | i went outside today+smiling (quirky race doc)+ dive bar support group

mick jenkins - the healing component | angles + drowning**

honorable mentions: jamilla woods - HEAVN | vry blk ft noname

isaiah rashad - the sun’s tirade | free lunch** + 4r da squaw**

knxwledge - wraptaypes 10 & hexual sealings 9.8 | googlekhrome + tkealilsip [WTT]

joy postell | consciousness** & keep it movin’

skepta - konnichiwa | shutdown

lord apex***2 - lordapex/LoVibes lord vibes ep | two tings + teen spirit**

nxworries - [eponymous album] | linkup

damascvs - i ain’t got no water for you |

kwaai-fi - kwaai-fi vol1 | dunn kidda laanie level (maramza remix)

batuk - musica da terra | força força**

kwesta - ‘ngud’

nasty c’s verse on “jump**”3 (fck anatii tho), i actually have a funny story about a girl cassper was macking on.

kaytranada/black coffee (in equal measure) | 0.001% + coffee’s ‘in common’ rmx4.

clippng - wriggle | back up ft antwon & signor benedick the moor + hot fuck no love ft cakes da killa & maxi wild

de la soul - for your pain & suffering | trainwreck

homeboy sandman - kindness for weakness | god

jesse boykins iii - bartholomew | mean girls ft donnie trumpet & j davey

spark master tape - tales of a sunkken city | tenkkeys + all about the money

little simz - stillness in wonderland | shotgun ft syd + bad to the bone ft bibi bourelly

run the jewels - RTJ3 | call ticketron + hey kids (bumaye) ft danny brown phonte & eric robertson - tigallero | waiting 4 ya + thru tha night

1 poetry of the trump years 2 See also: cosmo/genesis w contour & jake milliner in particular ‘fubu days’ is a bit of a jam 3 the visual on the video for this is beyond relevant + engaging 4 [for da kulça]

2016 was definitely the year of the underdog, as much as familiar names made appearances it was hard to focus on what they were doing because the new kids on the block were making just as much noise – if not more. It didn’t matter if it was on an international scale in the likes of Yung M.A, 6lack, Boogie, Eli Sostre, Saba and the whole gang of artists who made their impact on the scene. The new kids who came in punching in South Africa were ridiculously consistent and impressive to say the least, the likes of;

Espacio Dios: and his ‘Backseat Galaxy EP’. Something of a genre totally new to what I’ve heard in the past coming from a local talent, Espacio has some of the most amazing vocals and song writing for an 18 year old. I’m in awe of how concentrated his work is, and the lead single ‘Amen’ sort of just gives you only a glimpse into the project and the trip it takes you on.

It’s available on iTunes and Google Play Store for R29, and it’s worth every buck.

Another cat that came through is Yung Swiss. Yes, that ‘Mayo’ nigga. He gave us ‘#BottomBaby’ towards the end of the end of 2016, an 11 track project with features from K.O and Nadia Nakai respectively. The tape shows how Swiss is not only good at producing amazing hooks, but the kid is pretty versatile when it comes to many so aspects of music.

ByLwansta: and his ‘Your Absolutely Right EP’ was definitely one the stand out projects of 2016, it got a perfect rating from Hype Mag and if Rapfornication had the same platform to do the same I’m sure it’d score an identical rating. ByLwansta was lent a helping hand by an array of producers on the project but you can tell he was largely involved in every nook and cranny of the 9 track project. Features from Cape Town rapper Sipho The Gift and Durban singer/rapper Clara-T complement ByLwansta’s protagonist role in the body of work. What you need to understand id that nothing on the tape is farfetched, it’s just a project telling what is. Also Beatmochini’s remix edition of the tape introduces a whole new side to the project and what it sounds like.

Moz Kid: the 19 year old rapper from JHB dropped an album titled ‘What Were You Doing 19’. I really don’t need to tell you what that means because it’s self-explanatory, but what I need to say is that it is absolute fuego. With an assist from Blaze and Boss Zonke ‘Riky Rick’ on ‘Too Young (Part 2)’ and ‘I Wanna Know’ respectively, the young artist brings so much delivery and uniqueness to the table. He’s the complete package and then some. Highly overlooked, while his peers Nasty_C and A-Reece receive acclaim, Moz produces nothing short of an emphatic project - I really hope he hits the ground running in 2017 and keeps the momentum going into the New Year. I’m surely making the first Hype Mag freshman list will do his career wonders too.

Frank Casino: GET THE FUCK OUT!! Okay before I proceed with why Frank from the East thoroughly deserves to be here and how god damn revolutionary he is about to be for South African rap, let me express how much of a stan I am. Alright, back to the topic – Frank Casino a.k.a Mr. Whole Thing a.k.a that nigga on ‘Mayo’ with the perfectly abstract flow. Then he came out of nowhere and gave us a perfectly put together 16 track mixtape that displays the vast and multifaceted artist he is. ‘Something From Me’ is led by ‘Whole Thing’ and followed by the extended version of the hit single (in my opinion, the extended version is just unfuckablewith in every aspect). There’s something Frank has but I just can’t put my finger to it, it’s beyond talent – he’s a gifted. On the project there are two beats that sound exactly the same and in so being he cannot afford to sound the same on any song. He can do literally anything on a song and this body of work lays proof of that and more.

  KLY: First off, an honorary mention to Wichi 1080. The man is a genius, for both KLY and Priddy Ugly’s work and sound. KLY gave us two R&B projects in 2016, two damn projects. I don’t know about you but that is a feat. First off was ‘KLYMAX’, a 10 track mixtape which introduced a lot of people to a very focused and pure vocal approach to trap. I would like to say that this is not trapsoul or anything like that, but instead KLY genuinely gave us an R&B project with a heavy trap influence. The second of the KLY twins was ‘KLYMAX reup’, a 12 track project with completely new songs and a more grown artistic sound (again, Wichi1080 man, what a fucken amazing contribution he made to assuring the project sounds like a sliver of heaven). With features from fellow East Rand artists Priddy Ugly and Frank Casino, and majors like Riky Rick and Nigerian rapper YCee – the project just oozes so much elegance and maturity. KLY really has a mastered sound, it sounds golden in every aspect.

Una Rams: I first heard Una Rams on his ‘PINK MOON’ EP, and at the time that was really the most vibe filled project I’d heard from an artist I’d just come across. That was in 2015, and I really do believe that he has developed as an artist and his sound in 2016 took a leap into something so great to witness. His feature on TRON’s ‘Stay’ was what I think vocal utopia sounds like. It’s going to be a trip seeing how he evolves even further this year.

PALMTREE PARADISE: WOW, PALMTREE FUCKEN PARADISE. I’ll admit that at first all I was going to hear was a basic copy and paste of WTF but with just more characters. Wrong, because what the six members of PTP bring forth is so so so so beautiful. I don’t know what to call it, but honestly these are musicians and not artist – I’m of the notion that the former represents more skill than the latter. Their latest offering ‘Tropical Reign’ is a 17 track composition of nothing but vibes, a summer’s vacation story, it’s party, recess, chill and repeat. The mix of personalities brings a new dimension, and how they experiment with so many genres and merge them with hip-hop/trap is beyond commendable. With features from Reason, Nhlege, Tribal, and Dontay and above mentioned WTF – the tape is a mash of a sound South African millennials will definitely fuck with.

Naye Ayla: Is a neo-soul artist from Johannesburg and her music is remarkable. Towards the end of 2016 she dropped an 8 track project ‘Exi(s)t’ with features from YoungstaCPT and Una Rams, it really is just refreshing to hear such a soulful project from a local artist. He remix of Nasty_C’s ‘Juice Back’ finds a home in the smooth and composed body of work. Naye presents so much presence in her work, her voice is a silky and assuring in a sense. I do hope she gets the recognition she deserves in 2017, and that more artist of the neo-soul genre garner support and come to the surface.

Thiaps: Yo, I 1) had to wrap up this review with this. 2) I could not even fathom leaving out Mr. SUPERFiSHAAL. You know how New Age Kwaito was a thing a year or two ago? Yeah, this is not it but this is an exact Kwaito off-spring in sound. From the delivery to the lingo, to the confidence, and the whole vibe you get from his ‘SUPERFiSHAAL’ mixtape. I’m in awe at how eargasmic this 10 track project sounds, like in 2016 this is what we’re making? Projects that are perfectly reminiscent of the great era of Kwaito, if so I’m totally stanning for it. Thiaps has a lot of great things coming his way because ‘SUPERFiSHAAL’ is a gem.

 A crew of other prolifically talented artists made appearances in 2016. It goes without saying that if this is what this batch of artists consider as warm ups then one can really look forward to a mad lit 2017.

 The Mother City Live Arts Experience is an annual music festival which features some of the best local hip-hop acts and DJs. Taking place exclusively in Woodstock, Cape Town - hence the name - the festival also featured some of the hottest local talent to grace the stage. This included headlining acts Jimmy Nevis and Youngsta; and up-and-coming talent Janice and Dope Saint Jude.

 Attending this event was rather out of character for me as I consider myself to be quite a newbie when it comes to South African hip-hop, let alone Cape Town hip-hop. Nevertheless, I went with an open mind and had a great time, despite the wind which threatened to blow me over a few times.

  Here are a few of my favourite performances in no particular order:

  Fonzo

I’ve seen Fonzo perform quite a few times and I’m always blown away by his clean lyricism and energy on stage. The AKMG rapper also dropped a new project with vocalist Hunter Rose this week.

  Phresh Clique

A dynamic duo borne out of the humble studios of Cape Audio College - their energy, dance moves and solid bars really got the crowd hyped up. Producer of their Mam’G joint Psykobeats also made an appearance on stage.

  Uno July.

! Hailing from Cape Town, this performer made a fan out of me with his energy, combined with banging bars and trappy beats. July really got the crowd hyped up by dropping fan- favourite i‘Skelem’.

Dope Saint Jude.

One of my favourite rappers; hailing from the Northern suburbs; Jude delivered a superb performance enlisting two male back-up dancers. An up-and-coming Cape Audio legend and producer for Jude, K-Faith also joined her on stage.

   Tehn Diamond.

A proudly Zimbabwean rapper, Tehn Diamond brought an entirely different flavour and spice, effortlessly switching to Shona during his verses. However, it was his stage presence (his dance moves) which really got the crowd going.

  Youngsta.

How do I even describe his performance? One man behind me was so excited for the Cape Town rapper’s performance he demanded the mic be handed to him immediately. He performed some of his favourites which included ‘Top 10 List’ but surprised the crowd when he dropped ‘Way it go’ by DJ Switch. Worth mentioning was his freestyle which really got the crowd going.

  Festival-goers - myself included, were fairly disappointed that the second stage had closed, as many talented DJs were not given the opportunity to perform. Nevertheless, Mother City Live 2017 looks to draw bigger crowds next year, promising Capetonians an afternoon of turning up to hottest and best talent.

I’ve been off the grid with regards to the writing shit but that does not mean I haven’t been listening to the music, 2016 has been a bit different. I have been drawn more to the Rap made here in Mzansi as opposed to the States.

Who could blame a nigga doe? -  Since the start of the year it’s been this side, man. Kicked it off with Priddy Ugly’s EP and then Ma-E dropped his slept on debut album “Township Counsellor” which was long overdue if you ask me.  This notion that we are biting sounds from the States has a degree of truth but what I realised this year is that we are also honing our sound.  Anyway, let me not sway away from the chat.  Let me tell you about the album I enjoyed the most from a South African Rap artist.

“Paradise” by A-Reece is my favourite album of 2016.  The boi had initially made the game sit up and notice his moves with the first single off the album “Couldn’t” which had a guest appearance from the multiple award winning artist Emtee.  Fast forward to a couple of months later, and dude was on features like “Ameni” and had dropped the “Cut Aways EP”. The EP was pretty dope and was cool in the fact that it was just the throw away songs that didn’t make the album.

A- Reece’s “Paradise” is well rounded.  It’s got a bit of everything for everyone.  It’s heavily tracked with 18 songs but isn’t that what we want from a freshman? – For him to show his ability so we can decide whether to ride with him or not?

Production:

I’d say that this was well produced album. The producers that A-Reece worked with did their thing. I mentioned the variety of sounds in the album but let me quickly expand on it. There’s that Trap influenced Ambitiouz Ent sound with the songs “Not Anymore” and “Couldn’t”. There’s that Pop and RnB fuse with the smash hit “Mgani” and “Sebenza”. I also liked the fact that he repped his city Pretoria, and if you know the sound in Caps City, you’ll hear it on the album. Mazel tov to the likes of Tweezy, Mashbeatz, Ruff, Lunatik Beats and co who worked on the album.

 Stand out songs:

All the singles that Reece has released so far have been released for a reason. I say this because having bumped the album multiples times, they are ones that shine through.  It’s summer season now so “Zimbali” is going have us jamming in the clubs.  You can’t run away from the Nasty and Reece comparisons, and if we talking about bars, then Reece can stand his own.  You hear this on the “ Your Welcome” outro. He raps his ass off.  If we being 100 as young as Reece is, he is the most lyrical in the whole Ambitiouz Ent stable. Raps on raps on “Not Anymore” and “What U in  4”.

I also got a bone to pick with where they put Reece on that list, number 8 on the list? Below dudes that haven’t even dropped album this year? – that’s funny.

Hear Nandi Jakuja’s Sad Girl: Asoza Ndiphinde/Navigating Yourself mix. described as “something to cry to, reflect or make love to”.

 Mac is back, with another album: "The Divine Feminine" which is his 4th studio album following s his commercially successful "Good AM " album, which was his first "mainstream" album with Warner Brothers.

What’s so different about this album is that it’s actually a RnB, Jazz & Soul album which might be weird to some of you. However, if you're a Day 1 Mac fan you will know he has a jazziest alter ego, Larry Lovestein.. Mac plays Guitar & Keys. Actually if you listen to The Internet's second album Feel Good, Mac actually plays The Guitar on "Wanders of the Mind".  Remember in 2013 when Mac even released a live album with The Internet? Yeah, he toured with them too and together they gave a Jazzy interpretation of his album "watching movies with the sound off". Basically in a nutshell Mac is no stranger to Jazz or RnB frequently collaborating with Jazz musicians such as Flying Lotus & Thundercat (before Kendrick Lamar did) Anyways back to the album.

 When listening to the album you will experience a very instrumental and Neo-Soul orientated sound. From drums, classic Piano, keys... the album sounds very acoustic. Mac's last few projects have had very diverse & introspective subject matter but The Divine Feminine is centered around Love, relationships, intimacy and all the elements that come along with these types of things. The producers on the album include house hold names of Vinylz, Frank Dukes, Tae Beast , JMSN, my personal favorite DJ Dahi and long term collaborating partners ID Labs. The Features compromise of Ty Dolla Sign, Njomza , Kendrick Lamar, Anderson Paak, Cee-Lo Green, Ariana Grande and (believe it or not ) Bilal.

  Touching on a few of my favorite and genuinely most intriguing tracks: The first track Congratulations with modern jazz legend Bilal is a simple song with Mac rapping over a classic piano playing in the background. The song is more or less about Mac directly addressing a girl & delivering an introspective account of past relationships. The song is really taken to the next level with Bilal absolutely killing the outro/bridge of the songs with a special vocal performance.

 The second track of the album "Dang" the lead single featuring Anderson .Paak its groovy and its simply just about a situation where a girl leaves you & you want her back. you know?

 "Planet God Dam" ft. Njomza also caught my attention. its ambiguous, I don't know exactly what the song’s about but its genuinely a dope song. well its expected with Frank Dukes & Vinylz on production.

 "We" is another interesting track because Mac got a Cee-Lo Green feature, which was pretty unexpected (then again you should expect the unexpected from Mac). Anyways the song is pretty somber with Thundercat on base and sounds like it plays like a live band even though Frank Dukes produced it. Its lowkey one of those songs you play while you're driving around alone at night. the theme of song is pretty much summed up when Mac says, “we is better than you and me".

 "My favorite part "is a duet (funny enough) with his current girlfriend/ lover Ariana Grande. Mac fans will know Mac isn't new to the singing game; actually he's getting better at it. Now, we know he can’t sing like Justin Timberlake He hasn’t transfigured his vocals with too much autotune, if any, to make him sound like he's some A grade RnB singer either. His vocals sound raw and come across unaltered as to not hide the imperfection in his voice, another reason I personally dig Mac as an artist. This joint is definitely for the lovers & Ariana comes through to bless the track like only she can.

 Lastly, my personal favorite track off the album is "God is Sexy, Nasty, Fair" featuring Kendrick Lamar & produced by Tae Beast. Man!! Mac & K.Dot were wilding on this one, I don't know what the song is about (yet) , but its mysterious, alternative & straight up weird. all the ingredients we love from Mac & K.Dot. They deliver a straight up "fire flame emoji"- lyrical & flow based performance. Not to mention legendary modern-jazz pianist Robert Glasper blessing the outro with some heavenly keys.

 As I’ve said before, every Mac project is different & far from monotonous. The album incorporates elements of a dark and light mood with an enigmatic theme. The album title is as perplexing as the album itself (another theme expected from modern day Mac). However, these are the components that make me personally enjoy Mac's music and artistry that much more. This album exhibits that he is not limited to any genre & that you really can’t box him in any sort of sub-genre of Hip-Hop/Rap/Urban music either. I'm sure a variety of listeners could enjoy this project, jazz, RnB & Hip-Hop fans in particular.

 From us at Rapfornication.. till next time.

Part 1

This article I'll be discussing everything Grime; from its Origin, to its peak to its modern day heavy weights. Grime more or less started back in the late 90's to early 2000's. It was a mix of up-tempo Hip-Hop, Drum & Bass, Dance-hall & UK-Garage (which it was known as at the time) until it came to be known as Grime music, due to its crude and raw sound. As for the slang, it’s always had a huge Caribbean influence due to the mass influx of Caribbean immigrants, swapping the sunny beaches for the icy cold United Kingdom during the 80's and 90's. The Caribbean slang can still be heard in the way a lot of The modern UK kids speak e.g.: Badmon, RudeBoy, Wasteman, ting etc.

 Grime: I'd like to think I’ve always been a big fan of Grime music. since, 2008.I used to play some Kano, Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder to my friends, who would then look at me like I was some sort of alien. Anyways, I more or less got into Grime when my British cousins put me on back in 2007 right before the Grime scene started booming and arguably reaching its peak on the international stage.

 People tend to ask: “what separates Grime & any other Hip-Hop Genre besides the accents or the slang?”.

To be honest there are a few things: firstly, the beats are more up-tempo (usually 140 beats per minute) which means that most of the British rappers are used to rapping faster & incorporating more unique flows hence certain critiques even believe that on average the British rappers are more skilled than their American counterparts. Grime is also heavily influenced by the British football culture; I'm sure you know how big football is in England right? So if you listen to Grime rappers they tend to have a lot of football references in their lines.  

 To mention but a few old school legends such as Wiley, Dizze Rascal, Kano and Lethal Bizzle whom arguably pioneered the “Classic Grime” sound and really made it their own till it had everyone in the streets of the UK noticing it. What really made Grime music interesting at the time was the fact that local Grime rappers were using their local British accents opposed to the Faking an American one, which really gave Grime music some original flavor.

 Wiley who's considered the Godfather of Grime, due to the fact that he was the first Grime artist to release a single on mainstream radio. The song titled "Eskimo" propelled a wave of Grime artists into the eye of the public, who would ultimately change music culture in England forever.

 Dizzee Rascal is credited as the first Grime artist to take the scene from the underground to the mainstream till he had the whole of the UK buzzing over his 1st Release. Dizzee really paved the way for other legendary Grime artists such as Kano, Skepta, the BBK crew, which include Wiley and Skepta etc. Dizzee’s 1st album was the critically acclaimed “Boy in da Corner" (2003) which was the first Grime album to get a real mainstream buzz & ended up winning a Mercury Prize. The album was an in your face non-sugar coated piece that painted a picture of what life was like in the streets of London, and the Ends specifically, at the time. The album held nothing back was considered unapologetically "London". Dizzee's follow up albums "Showtime" & "Maths and English" really pushed grime into the international spotlight and certified him as a modern day Legend within British music.

  Kano is another Grime heavyweight to not only be recognized on the underground scene but also experienced huge mainstream success. From around 2002 till 2010 he was arguably the biggest Grime MC in the UK. Some of his classic singles include this is the girl, Brown Eyes, Nite Nite, London Town This is the girl and my personal favorite P's and Q's. P's and Q's is a modern day Grime classic, it inhibits the up-tempo style beat, clever word play and lyricism and a flow a crazy flow; a must listen basically. His first 3 albums Home Sweet Home (2005), London Town (2007) & 140 Grime Street (2008) were critically acclaimed lyrical masterpieces but also had a perfect balance of street and mainstream/Radio music. His international states stretched till he even received recognition from Jay-Z and if you can remember he was on the first Def-Jam” video game.

 Other legends include the likes of Lethal Bizzle , The Roll Deep crew and Skepta + JME (more on them in the later part 2& 3). Lethal Bizzle is also considered one of the founding members of Grime music and was propelled into the mainstream charts with his single "Pow (Forward). The single was banned from Radio Stations due to its explicit, controversial and Gun Cultured - lyrics; which was testament to life in the "Ends" (Hoods/ghettos) in London at the time.

 Make sure to catch my follow up pieces of the Grime series.

 From us at Rapfornication till next time.

If you are observant, major entertainment publications have had their writing staff scour their brains for what hip hop should and how it should address mental illnesses, implying hip hop's relationship with community is not symbiotic, with hip hop as a genre more dependent on the latter. Most of the genre’s great artists have considered the art as reporting the outlook of their communities –whatever they may be, hence the depiction and shallow grasp of mental illnesses is a direct reflection of the community itself.

Who remembers the fully functional Odd Future? The one Earl Sweatshirt returned to from his forced Samoan exile? The one depicted on Tyler, the Creator Tron Cat visuals? Those kids were raucous, highly energetic and at some point Earl Sweatshirt decided to stop running and kicking over trash cans to deal with his instability, but confront it with a certain calmness and clarity rather. During an NPR interview he admitted to taking care of himself more. This conscious decision seems to have led to the thawing of Odd Future.

In black communities mental illnesses are your darkest secrets best kept clamoring for space in your closet, as expressed by a slightly distorted voice that prefaces Burgundy which features Vince Staples off Earl Sweatshirt's Doris, it demanded something along the lines of, "Wasup nigga why you so depressed and sad all the time like a lil bitch, what's the problem man? Niggas wanna hear you rap, don't nobody care about how you feel..." Why would anyone insist on having this kind of company around them? It does exonerate the decision to split from the collective.

Community found a way complicate dealing with mental illnesses by opting for reluctance to learn in-depth what these illnesses are about. There are a lot, with each of the many types unique, they seem to manifest with encryption that requires a unique key, but society would rather use a universal one. For example, when someone externalizes they are depressed to someone close, say a parent, and the parent transfers money into their bank account, because they choose not to educate themselves on mental illnesses simply because, “it’s just in your head,” as if to say it is all there is to the disorder, money, it could worsen the episode they may be going through, as a result of existential questions like; "How am I being misunderstood? Are they inferring I buy myself some bliss and shut up?" It takes being observant through listening to an affected person to know which responses makes them feel adequate and worthy of another day.

Still looking at Odd Future, Frank Ocean drifted from the collective as well, “peace in my hand worth twice than a friend,” he croons on Skyline To - off his latest offering Blonde, as a result of how reclusive he would rather be by avoiding the high energy and somewhat toxic perspective on mental illnesses of the group. He has always hinted to bouts of paranoia and recently depression, through Solo lyrics, "skipping showers, sleeping good and long..." -off Blonde. Rap Genius annotations insist it is about lack of personal hygiene as a result of lack a romantic partner, well, breaks ups can be depressing, ask as many people living with the disorder, the generic response will be how difficult it is to bathe yourself during an episode. The track Solo – off Blonde does give an audio rendering of post break-up emotion.

This distills Odd Future down to a failed extension of the black community which directly influences Hip Hop to care for some of its members living with mental illnesses. I do not think it is fair to expect the Hip Hop community to do more about the gloomy stigma above mental illnesses within the genre, because such community does not exist independently, it is a part of the black community that influences the genre and if there is any readjustments to the current perspective of mental illnesses, it should start from the black community. It will definitely get better for the community mouthpieces in within the genre to further dissipate mental illnesses stigma. For now, I am glad Earl Sweatshirt is self-caring more and taking control of their well-being by associating himself with the likes of Knxwledge who comes off as no worries guy and avoiding corrosive company, Frank Ocean as well by relocating to London, somewhere near the Thames river, more power to them.

In the world of internet, instant gratification, hypervisibility and hyper-accessibility, the relationship between the artist and their fans is a mercurial one. 

An example springs to mind almost immediately. When Beyoncé dropped her self-titled album and all its videos in 2013, I distinctly remember a specific unit of fans emerging with the sole purpose of discovering and reporting all of the illegal download links they could find. The mandate was clear: if you want to listen to the music, then you better be buying it and showing your support for the artist accordingly. I cheered, if memory serves, simply because I appreciated the kind of dedication from fans that did not immediately engage in consumption of the artist (the relationship between fans and consumption being, as it is, fraught and sometimes violent).

 Some three years down the line, Chance The Rapper, in an interview with Bakari Kitwana at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, said the following:

 “There is what’s called a master and a publishing portion of the record. So the master is the recording of it, so if I sign a record deal or a recording deal, I sign away my masters, which means the label owns the recording of that music. On the publishing side, if I write a record, and I sign away my publishing in a publishing deal, they own the composition of work… so the idea of it, you know what I’m saying? So if I play a song on piano that you wrote, I have to pay you publishing money, because it comes from that idea. Or if I sing a line from that song, it’s from the publishing portion. If I sample the action record, if I take a piece of the actual recorded music, that’s from the master. None of that shit makes any sense right, that shit didn’t make any sense to you? ‘Cause that shit is goofy as hell.”

 Chancelor Bennett is interesting and incredible for a multitude of reasons. His music is great to listen to — it tracks growth like a good story tracks character development, it’s layered and infiltrated by beats and melodies that stir your foundations, and it is infinitely moving, lyrically, in a way that hasn’t been seen for some years. He seems like a genuinely nice guy too (like, I’d invite him to the braai this afternoon because frands), brimming with some kind of neverending joy that shines out of his eyes. He references Harry Potter in his raps. He makes me want to wear dungarees (called overalls in America, I believe). His music is also like a lovely guide, featuring talented and compelling musicians; through Chance The Rapper I discovered Noname, Saba and Yung Thug. Jokes. I knew about Young Thug before that.

 Perhaps one of the more interesting and unique things about Chance is the way he engages with capitalism. Traditionally, the music industry is fraught with Satan’s work on this good earth — capitalism sits at the heart of many a musician’s story, particularly when we get to the chapters about signing with record labels, and sliding music into mass production. It can be pinpointed as a moment of pique, truly, in any career. And when that moment was presented to Chance, he shook his head and walked away.

 There are numerous quotes by the rapper, floating around online, where he says more or less the same thing: he drops his music for free, and lets the fans support him by going to his shows and buying the merch.

 One afternoon, many years ago, I sat on my balcony with one of my favorite musicians and he explained it to me, easy as Sunday morning: you don’t make money from selling albums, you make money from performing, from going on tour, from doing shows. This truth, however, does not stop many an artist from signing with a record label. Truth be told, they cannot be blamed in the least. Every experience is different, and signing with a record label could be the confluence of a number of factors that you or I have no insight into. After all, how many stories do we know now of young, talented artists being bamboozled or pressured into deals? But, how many other stories do we know of young, talented artists signing with labels and having their dreams come true?

 Chance, though, has taken the sentiment of “works hard for her money” quite literally and built his career on free music for the fans, and trust — we’ll buy the shit we like, so he’s going to give us that shit we like. He trusts in the support of the people who say they love what he does. It’s a model for making music that we very seldom get to see play out on such a large field — it exists on a local level, to some degree, with many smaller musicians and musical outfits staying afloat and doing their thing only because of a dedicated group of fans who steadfastly support them.

 There’s the story my husband loves to tell about how Chance reclaimed a bunch of tickets to his ‘Magnificent Coloring Day’ show from scalpers, a word I didn’t know was used to describe those assholes who buy tickets to shows and resell them at extortionist prices. According to this Forbes article, other stars are also pushing back against the practice of scalping, but ultimately, it shows a fan savvy that is seldom on display from an artist as visible as Chance The Rapper.

 It’s his visibility that makes this all so tangible.

 It’s evident that Chance is on some comet rocket of success that is showing no sign of slowing down. If we haven’t managed to explode ourselves by the end of the year, I am deeply interested in what he will have done by then, particularly with the upcoming American elections (Chance has partnered with the NAACP to bring voter registration to his concerts) and the kind of musical motions he’ll be making in the wake of the gospel-themed invitation to church that was Coloring Book. (Needless to say, Blessings plays every Sunday while I’m on Twitter, praying for Jesus to take the wheel.)

 “If one more label try to stop me,” Chance crows defiantly on his track No Problem, giving voice to his ongoing refusal to sign a record deal. It’s kind of enthralling to watch, in a way. It’s such a firm rejection, you almost want to get up and cheer. Because it isn’t just the anti-capitalist sentiment of the whole thing that warms the cockles of my heart.

 It’s also a nod to every one of his fans who are artists too. There is validation in the way Chancelor Bennett practices his craft and receives his just dues for it. For every single person who doesn’t want to put their work at the mercy of the way it’s always been done, watching Chance make his music and stay blessedly free of the restrictive environment of the signed deal is inspiring, it’s uplifting and it presents an alternative. The nuances of this alternative being successfully lived by a black man are equally many, and hopeful and encouraging in their own right. Somehow, in the way he does his work, he humanizes this abstract, academic idea of ‘market’ into a breathing, foundational element integral to how Chance The Rapper happens.

 “And I'm lucky I have really loyal fans that understand how it works and support,” he said in a recent interview with GQ.

‘Everybody say, you got a lot to be proud on.

Been high this whole time, don't realize what I done’

When one has almost peerless creativity and compelling life experiences, making a standard rap album would be utterly boring. Danny Brown returned from a 3-year hiatus with an often brilliant project that fearlessly veers into uncharted territory. Loosely based on J Ballard’s controversial compilation of short stories and a Joy Division song, Atrocity Exhibition unfolds like a 2 week bender fueled by harrowing thoughts and excess. The aptly titled ‘Downward Spiral’ finds newly famous Brown struggling to keep it together after the success of critically acclaimed ‘XXX’.   The words tumble out like confessional diary entries, illustrating everything from flaccidity to self-doubt. With a backdrop of minimalistic restrain, the beat reluctantly lurches forward with memorable sinister guitar riffs.Things only get bleaker from there.

 The punches never stop coming nor does one find a comfortable groove as the rug is consistently dragged from under you. Vivid storytelling about growing in poverty stricken Detroit, Tell Me What I Don’t Know is a clear standout coupled by Paul White’s austere whistles and drums. ‘Rolling Stone’ summaries the artist’s manifesto expertly while the great Pete Noir( South Africa, Standup!) adds to the monochromatic vibe. The star studded ‘Really Doe’ and Madlib-esque ‘Lost’ are about as traditional as things get.

 ‘Lines and lines of coke

Nose bleeding got me with an itchy throat

Heart beating fast

Oh no

I hope it ain't 'bout my time to go’

  The album suddenly shifts gears and Paul White’s genius really shines. The claustrophobic off kilter atmosphere he creates from sampling everything from early 80’s percussion bands to post punk match the masterful writing to rewarding effects. The production takes the project to new heights but it’s the dedication to form that sets it up from the current state of rap. The more challenging middle section is comprised of tracks under the 2-min mark and short, crisp lines that are reminiscent of Raekwon’s style of obsessive attention to detail and inventive flows. ‘Ain’t It Funny’ is a maniac episode in real time with blaring horns and nightmarish ruminations about addiction and a great Chris Rock reference. The gut wrenching ‘Golddust’ is straight up punk, as the protagonist dares the listener to take a trip through his psyche as he questions his own pathology. By ‘White Lines’, the purposely obscene lyrics feel normal, almost enjoyable while the ice cream truck melody adding to fun house extravaganza.

 ‘Shot my nigga on the way to get a Swisher

Breaking down the weed when the call got received’

 Relief comes in the form of Kelela-assisted rags to riches story of ‘From The Ground’,even employing the more serious low tone, but we’re thrown right back into the chaos moments later. OutKast sampling ‘Today’ is what one would imagine would soundtrack the apocalypse, with sizzling hi hats and a repetitive chorus that perfectly translates the paranoia one constantly feels living in the 21st Century. ‘Get Hi’ sticks out like a black man living in Stellenbosch as it breaks the mood of a cohesive offering. The grand finale acts as a moment of clarity, a reminder that legacy is all one can leave on this Earth and unless death comes first, Danny Brown plans to build a substantial one.

‘Got to the point ain’t gotta buy drugs

Niggas just give to em to me

Yea they think they showing love’

(Resume)

5. Grey Feat. Kimosabe (Prod. Yondo)

Hoover’s Impression: Think “Brenda had a baby” and “Runaway Love” but this one is way more personified. Focus is one girl that dude feels for. I think it might be a white girl because he says that the girl’s mom doesn’t really fucks with him because of the color of his skin)

“Grey” serves as a continuation of the short tale told on “Indian Ocean”, linked by the beach and storm ambiance that play in the beginning and end of both songs; the sunny beach day fades into a storm creating the mood and tone for the continuation This is a song I’m not incredibly vocal about; the day my girlfriend broke it down for me, back in 2014, I was rendered absolutely mute. my lips seem to have been stuck together with some kind of glue made of unhappiness, I couldn’t contribute a single thing to the conversation that day.

We’d obviously speak about the results of it when things would come, but we never really reflected on what initially happened and started it. Two years later it would make up a song, the last song I recorded on the EP. I kept all the songs and the process away from my girl, she understood, she just never expected anything she’d hear on the 11th of August.

One day I was streaming some beats on the Tube, those “type beats”. I then came across a beat by Yondo, and followed the link in the video’s description to his catalogue, which had a “cart” “pay” interface that would take you to PayPal to complete your purchase. So I spent the afternoon listening to all the beats there and I found the one for “Grey”, after having freestyled over 70% of his catalogue, and proceeded to confirm and finalize my $25 purchase.

 On NORMVL, I had a song titled “The Corner” which uses a similar anatomy and blueprint I used on “Grey”. “The Corner “, named after the SA Hip Hop Awards cipher I took part in a few years back, found me having a conversation with my father via phone call, explaining to him how strong the passion for music is and pleading that he to allow my brother Kimosabe and I to pursue it freely. The song ends with a sort of distorted, rewinding sound effect that suggests that the phone call never happened. Basically, the conversation, or rather, confrontation I’m having on “Grey” is only something I’ve imagined-- how I’d speak to her mother, how I’d approach her, how I’d get to the point, without disrespecting her as an adult. Neither “The Corner” or “Grey” have cuss words.

 6. Stay At Home! Feat. Sipho The Gift (Prod. LonzTooStoned)

(Hoover’s Impression: The hardest joint on the EP, I could play this in the club or at the gym. Sipho The Gift also comes thru with ether on the joint. Maybe this song is a shot at his peers and the competition as a whole).

“Stay At Home!” is a more specific extension of “Funny How”. Both songs touch on the idea of me leaving home for the first time and changing. This song is particular tackles the a more specific kind of change.

As far as I remember I’ve never been one to easily succumb to peer pressure, at all. I was always confident in my choices. My reasons for doing or not doing certain things had very little to do with opinions of others but rather were purely based on my OWN personal preference. I didn’t/don’t drink alcohol because I abhor the taste of it on my tongue. I’ve always been a taste person, so the first time I was high off marijuana, it was via a space muffin, I loved the taste. I think it was a chocolate space muffin so it was an intense first trip. It was never a habit.

Fast forward to my departure from home to pursue my studies in 2014, I was exposed to them more than I was before but it still never became a habit. I was tripping more often than I ever had, waking up every morning regretting it because I panic and get anxious when I’m productive and the high makes me very unproductive.

I’d reflect and introspect every following day, disappointed in myself, beating myself up and etc.  the song itself sources that internal conflict as inspiration. Sipho The Gift had a different take on the concept, through introspection, he beats himself up based off his dissatisfaction of the progression of his rap career.

I met the producer, Lonz Too Stoned a few years ago in East London. I had a show in the evening and my then manager and best friend was originally from that side, Lonz was one of his boys. In 2016, I liked an EC Hip Hop music Facebook page called The Blacksmithed. It had profiled one of his beat tapes, so I checked it out and found this beat. I inboxed and he sent it my way.

“Stay At Home!” is the outlier of the EP. I chose to do that because the song itself touches on the topic of influence. I decided to communicate the idea of influence further using the sound I’m being hassled to create

 7. The Sigh (Prod. By Champ')

(Hoover’s Impression: Frustration and the feeling of anger is what initially sensed on this one. Frustration and the feeling because you can rap the hardest but your efforts will be overlooked.  From radio airplay to your video being sent back because it doesn’t meet the criteria)

Hype Magazine ranked me the number 1 Most Aggressive SA Hip Hop Artist purely because of this song here. I don’t write this with much pride because I don’t necessarily see myself that way; I just think I’m extremely expressive and subjective. Although it was cool that they noticed my work, I’m not an angry rapper.

“The Sigh” was basically me reaching my boiling point while trying to promote and plug my short film (Lindiwe Short Film) onto several platforms and failing. It was about many of my other grievances too:  being overlooked, under booked, and underestimated. I was very unhappy and frustrated. The industry wasn’t responding as well as my listeners were and it frustrated me to the point of minor emotional breakdown. That scared me, but it also assured me that this is what I really wanted. The song was produced by Durban-based Hip Hop artist and producer, Champ, who also mixed and mastered the EP. The song was recorded at his studio (Winnerz Circle Inc). I had caught the flu earlier that week, but because I was on and off campus and hadn’t had a chance to relax and recuperate, we recorded the song anyway, my flu voice added such an interesting effect to my delivery, it sounded very painful and I absolutely loved that.

“The Sigh” is one of my most honest songs to date, and contrary to popular belief, despite name-dropping, there were 0 shots taken at other rappers. That song was about the way I felt, not how I feel about other rappers. I didn’t discredit anyone, that isn’t the point of my music.

  8. The Routine (Prod. By BeatMochini)

(Hoover’s Impression: Hmmmmmmm. I don’t have much to say on this one. I think Ima leave it to the rapper to break it down)

 By now, the listener should have identified the transition from a slightly light-hearted tone to a darker, more aggressive one on the EP. On “Grey”, ByLwansta seems to bag on himself a lot more on the last 2 songs.

“The Routine” in particular serves as an unexpected account of how my performance at Back To The City ’15 really went. Unexpected because I’ve never publically spoken about what really happened or how I really felt, I just shared a YouTube link to a mini-doccie of my experience and a positive account on my Facebook. Meanwhile I busy dying inside. I was never satisfied upon leaving the stages of the shows that followed that one. Yeah, it might have seemed like I had a great set but something inside me never allows me to have it, never completely happy after a set. There always seems to be something I fucked up, I don’t know, I’m just never happy.

On the contrary, I’ve had 2 shows since the release of Your Absolutely Right, and they’ve gone surprisingly, really well.

The beat was produced by Beat Mochini. He tweeted me one day about how he wants to do a song for me because “kid got character”. I followed up and he sent me a couple options, I chose this one and started writing immediately.

I had suppressed my disappointment until I heard that beat I called it “The Routine”. It references what always goes on in my head as I get off stage, it seemed almost routine for me to always feel as if I underperformed after a set.

 9. Something To Say Feat. Clara-T (Prod. ByLwansta)

(Hoover’s Impression: There are undeniably some shots being sent on this joint. The lady Clara T comes thru with bars. I think this is one of those joints where a rapper just flosses. Lwansta does this in a sense by saying that I know I’m good and I got the raps to back it up. If the labels don’t see it and if we don’t see it, that’s cool with cause sooner rather than later, we will see his shine)

Then there’s this song, My love for it is similar to that of “Funny How”, for a similar reason, I didn’t skip a single step in the creation process, because I was the performing artist (one of) AND the songs were produced y me.

The dark tone of the previous four songs sort of switches up on this one. Despite not necessarily being as light-hearted as “NORMVL Still”, “Indian Ocean” and “Funny How”, purely because I took on the role of being an asshole in this particular song, “Something To Say” bring about a vibe-y transition.

On this song owned my dark and negative thoughts and converted them into something more positive, like a bomb-ass song.

Originally the song was to be titled “Negative Energy” because it converted all my negative energy, disappointment, frustration, anger into something positive. I didn’t allow my negativity to defeat me on this song, I owned it and reigned confident. Just like “Funny How”, I made 2 versions of the beat for “Something To Say”, but unlike “Funny How”, which was remade as a result of my PC crashing, I remade “Something To Say” because I felt the song deserved a different, more vibe-y sound to it. Clara-T, whom I had reached out to for the guest verse, agreed and was quite happy about the change.

Clara-T and I met at a cipher for a Durban Hip Hop award show (OMAZ – Original Material Awards) submissions session near UKZN in 2014. I joined the cipher after I had submitted and caught up just in time to catch her rapping and I jumped in straight after. We added each other on Facebook a few days later.

“Something To Say” would’ve been our second collaboration if my PC hadn’t crashed, with some vocals I had recorded for her; the timing was perfect, to say the least, because we’re both making some noticeable advancements in our budding careers. We were both booked for Back To The City 2015, which says a lot about the pace we’re working and moving at.

“Something To Say” seemed like the perfect anthem for people like her and I, with people always in our ears with advice and corny suggestions. This song is a perfect reminder to stay on my established and desired path.

 Hoover’s conclusion

I guess this EP is my introduction to Lwansta with this being the first project I've heard from him. It's refreshing to hear a cat from DBN rap the way he does and I think, with what has been said by him in the Ep, it'll remain that way. From the move to DBN, trying to find his place and where he fits in the Rap and also just dealing with what life throws at him, one thing has been a constant on the EP: the raps are consistent from start to finish.