Category: South Africa
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PdotO’s “Dear God”
image provided by SlikourOnLife PdotO’s Dear God is an emotional plea against the world and all of its pressures. PdotO uses this song to express his grievances against his community touching on topics such as rape, alcoholism, and xenophobia. The song brilliantly shows the realities of being a socially conscious emcee in South Africa and
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Love and War by Stogie T
image provided by Stogie T on Youtube I struggled to look for a South African hip hop song post-2020 that would cover social justice. South Africa and Africa in general tends to be hidden from the rest of the world and its music is usually listed in “world” music on music platforms. By the time
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HHAP Ep. 79.5: Announcements and Celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop
This is a short episode we recorded to send out a couple of announcements and to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.
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Love & War by Stogie T
The song I will do my second blog post about is “Love & War” by Stogie T featuring Lucille Slade. Reports say this song speaks of the strange state of heroism and delinquency. The composer sampled the Tommy Butler song. The instrumentals are very soothing, the message is great and clear, the chorus is catchy
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Somnyama Yena Yedwa: Blxckie
Sihle Sithole, also known as Blxckie, is a South African Rapper from Sydenham Heights, Durban. The foundation of his rap career started when he was only 8 years old just making music with his friends and the rest was history. Barely knew English but wrote poems to improve the language, wrote his own pieces, and
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Nadia Nakai’s “Kreatures” Kreates a True Narrative of Female Hip Hop stardom
Image provided by ZIMBOlebs Nadia Nakai is a South African born Zimbabwean Hip hop artist from Johannesburg. Growing up, she went to high school in Kenya and graduated from Monash University with a degree in marketing communications and media studies. After spending some time in the television industry, Nadia decided to focus on her music
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HHAP Ep78: Eavesdrop on Cultivating Spaces for Authenticity in Hip-Hop
Eavesdrop is a multi-hyphenate artist who is an MC, a producer, a director, and an actor. She has been active in Cape Town’s Hip-Hop scene for almost 2 decades and as a lyricist she often produces meaningful lyrics, expressing ideas that have depth. In this interview, we had an important conversation with Eavesdrop about the importance of representation and authenticity. We talked honestly about sometimes feeling conflicted on how best to support younger artists, especially women. Strength and confidence are a prerequisite for being a Hip-Hop artist, and we reflect on how to support other women while encouraging them to rely on their own strength and confidence to excel. “If you need me to hold this door open for you, how are you going to learn the weight of this door?” Eavesdrop We also discuss South Africa’s political history and how that influences the presence and participation of women in Hip-Hop. Eavesdrop introduces us to the concept of “imbokodo” (“rock” in Zulu”), which emerged during the anti-apartheid movement. A common chant during the movement was “Wathint’abafazi, wathint’imbokodo!” (“You strike women, you strike a rock!”). “As an MC you’re seen as imbokodo, you’re seen as that rock, you’re seen as that pillar, and you are somehow helping to preserve that legacy that your country is known for … for its strong women” Eavesdrop We also talk about the cost of authenticity. Eavesdrop says that being authentic to yourself as an artist is freedom. It often does not mean wealth, but it does mean freedom. In an industry where some equate talent and success with material things, placing higher importance on wealth than on the actual art or the message, Eavesdrop reflects on the importance of being her authentic self “When you live in the ghetto, your TV is never off… It’s just constantly running a program on you.. we have a lot of work to do in terms of rewriting that code” Eavesdrop
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HHAP Ep77: DJ Azuhl on Hip-Hop & DJing Culture in South Africa
DJ Azuhl (djazuhl.net) is a prominent South African DJ with Beat Bangaz (beatbangaz.net), a DJ collective in Cape Town. He was born and raised in Cape Town and has been involved in the Hip-Hop community in Cape Town since the 1980s. DJ Azuhl started out breakdancing with the legendary Breaking crew Brasse Vannie Kaap (BVK). He’s a co-founder of the Beat Bangaz DJ Academy and Beat Bangaz Radio. He also works with Hip Hop Education South Africa. In this interview, DJ Azuhl talks about the early years of Hip-Hop in Cape Town, especially during the years that South Africa was under apartheid rule. DJ Azuhl also shares his perspective on DJing and Hip-Hop culture in South Africa, and the art form of the Hip-Hop DJ. Cape Town’s old-school artists are often heavily involved in mentoring young Hip-Hop heads, and DJ Azuhl talks about the importance of reaching back and giving back to the culture.
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Mixtape: Social Justice Within Africa
Introduction Africa is no stranger to protesting wrongdoings in their society. For decades countries have been protesting corruption, health issues, wealth distribution, racism, and police brutality. Yes, police brutality too. It may come shocking to some because why would countries of majority one race have these issues but they are there and exist unfortunately. Artists
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Jub Jub
Molemo Maarohanye or more professionally known as Jub Jub was born on June 29th, 1980, and is a South African artist born and raised in Soweto with a controversial past. From allegations of physical and emotional abuse to even serving prison time, regardless of all the bad decisions, Jub has chosen to change his life