New wave - discovering SA's hip hop acts
Remember Jam Alley? Shell Road to Fame, talent shows? Remember traditional radio with the frequencies? Yep most of that is gone now.
So how do we discover new talent? Thanks to technology it’s just a click away. Literally a click away.
The internet has made discovering new music much easier. Whether it’s via your Twitter timeline or Facebook, a lot more digital streams are popping up with new talent.
Even the established artists are going the digital route, which is a smart move considering even the most basic of people have the new S4 or fruit phone.
So instead of using your BIS to screen munch your conversations with your sugar daddy, try the following links instead.
Al Da 3rd
Up and coming producer that has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. Tumi of Tumi and The Volume fame and currently the boss of Motif Records that holds Instro, Reason and Perfecto as some of the members of the squad, has a beat from Al da 3rd. If one of the greatest to ever do it loves your production, you definitely one to look out for it.
Riz Ventura
One thing that is proudly South African, is the storytelling. Our documentaries embody that and right here, Sean Samuel who goes by the name of Riz Ventura, is commentary from Cape Town. Unhinged, raw, you feel like a drug peddling and gang member when you let his sounds simmer through your speakers. That’s how vivid his storytelling of his home base is.
Sabza
Zeus. Zubz. HHP. Even Tumi. They all have one thing in common. They are not SA born. Here comes a soft spoken Swaziland native through your bandwidth. Raps in English and a mixture of Swazi, SA gets to cross borders with the vivid imagery laced in his lyrics.
Buks
If I say AKA, the name rings a bell immediately. Less known fact is, Ntokozo Mazibuko also known as Buks was a major contributing factor to AKA’s award winning debut, “Alter Ego” as he, AKA and Kamza formed the crew IV League. Since AKA’s departure from the outfit, Buks is now one half of the production outfit IV League that were responsible for AKA’s debut and a lot more of the hits spinning on radio. Buks has moved from the background to also holding down the mic. He is promising an album in 2014 but for now, stream what the dude can do.
Fonzo
150 000 YouTube views on his channel! That’s without a record deal or EVEN a music video. Don’t sleep on this talent
The internet is the new hunting ground. It’s a boiling point of talent that radio can’t catch up with. In SA, a lot of rappers are slowly transitioning to the internet. Scout Soundcloud, Bandcamp and you will find gems that radio doesn’t want to share with you.
- Siphiwe Zwane is a senior music writer for chekadigital.co.za (twiitter/@SDotJR_)