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Zeus the king of Africanism in hip hop

Not every rapper who makes it comes from the streets; this one hails from the advantaged and educated.

Unlike some rappers who pride themselves in getting their education from the ‘school of hard-knocks’ ,this artist studied at a private institute Monesh and qualified as a BCom graduate in Marketing Management.

Young in the music biz fame but old intellectually Game pronounced as Gaa-me Bantsi is no ordinary street rapper.

In the entertainment scene he popularly goes by the name of Zeus, a name which is perfectly suited for an artist who has ambitions of being the king of rap.

“Early in high school when I started messing around with rap I wanted a name that will suit me. Growing up I was a fan of Hercules cartoons and there was a character named Zeus who was the king of Gods. The name had such dominance for me,” Zeus says.

Although he had already established his dominance in the Botswana rap scene, it was his participation in reality show Big Brother Africa Amplified in 2011 that catapulted him to his current success.

In a space of two years he has managed to grow his passion, earning himself respect from peers and fans alike and also climbing to the level of Channel O awards (CHOMVA) nomination.

His rhyming skills have caught the attention of the award show organizers, not only once or twice but seven times and although he has been nominated over and over again, he says that the excitement does not fade.

“This is my seventh nominations, I have won best hip hop before from the same ceremony. Being acknowledged for good work never gets cliché. You want to be amongst your industry pairs, I would be disappointed if I wasn’t part of the selected. I never take it for granted.”

This year he received nods for the Most gifted male and most gifted categories.

The Motswana rhyme spitter has also collaborated with a number of SA’s big hip hop artists, including Tumi and AKA on the popular track ‘Dats Wasup'.

He has also worked with ‘Motswako movement’ artists Morafe and HHP who not only share his love for the Tswana language but are also passionate about their culture.

“Motswako is a genre because we are Tswana’s we automatically become a big community. We are just young boys promoting Tswana culture and we driven by language,” he says.

This is translated into his new and third album ‘African Time’ of which he has released the first single and video ‘Ma Afrika’

“I am about Africanism, my sound has a lot to do with being authentic. I want young Africans to embrace being who they are through my music,” he says.

“This compilation is a fusion, I am taking language and fusing it to hip hop. I make use of lyrics that tell my personal African story as well as the untold truth.

The album features a range of artists such as AKA, Tumi, Kwela Tebza, Mahotella Queens, Mzekezeke, Ross Jack, Nonku Phiri and Ammara Brown.

  • Follow Bongiwe on twitter @bongirand2