The Beautiful Sound Of Rap and Melody in Hip-Hop (part 2) by BlackSpace

 

 

Although, the mainstream South African, Hip Hop industry is growing. Not a lot of artists are international, only a select few, such as the likes of Cassper Nyovest. He recently featured two international acts; Talib Kweli who is a legendary American rapper, the founder of Reflection Eternal (www.citypress.com, 2014), as well as one half of The Black Star Movement and DJ Drama an American Hip Hop producer. The South African Hip Hop game is beginning to attract a lot of good attention from people. “I am seen as a huge International Hip-Hop fan by most of my friends and with good reason I am one but then recently I've been listening to a lot of South African Hip-Hop mainly due to the great music our Hip-Hop artists are releasing lately, these guys are putting the South African music back on my Playlist”(Modau, 2014). The informative kind of Hip Hop is slowly penetrating into the Hip Hop industry.

Listening to people talk about themselves defeats the whole purpose of Hip Hop and Rap. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Hip Hop has taken a turn for the better; more artists are coming out with their most credible work yet. A lot of South African rappers are bringing versatility to the platform and the main stream art. “Life has been a bliss since the mainstream caught on,” raps Cassper Nyovest (Phumakim, 2014) about his new-found fame in the opening lines of Phumakim’ – see Appendix A. Cassper Nyovest as well a select few rappers in the industry like K.O, his album, (www.citypress.com, 2014) “Skhanda Republic, takes elements of kwaito and pantsula, and gives them a hip-hop twist (similar to what rapper Zuluboy called skandi-hop)”. Both rappers talk growing up in the township and now rappers talk about the wonderful experience they had growing up.

 

Hip Hop is a culture that involves a lot of qualities. It does change from time to time and it frustrates a lot of people, but eventually warm up to the reinvention of a new style. Hip Hop is very influential and to many, it is therapeutic. Extremely misjudged and misunderstood. What is going to happen to change the pre-conceived notion of Hip Hop being a barbaric genre, and get to know the culture, the music and recognize the message of the music? It is understandable that people have different taste in music. Every individual has a different views and interpretation of what rap is about. Hip Hop is a culture that has many different elements to it, and rap is one of the many different entities of the culture of Hip Hop and urban music. “In the 80’s South African did not know what Hip Hop was, but when a Hip Hop crew called Prophets Of Da City (POC) releases a first full LP titled "Boom Style”, Hip Hop erupted in Cape Town” (Kay, 2012), the mother city. Hip Hop was not well recognized and rap artist hardly won any award in the 90’s because at that time, people where more into kwaito music. The Hip Hop community was happy to see Skwatta Kamp taking the SAMA award for Best Rap Album with Khut n Joyn. That got SiphoSithole's attention who finally signed them to Gallo. SA Hip Hop was now hard to ignore, every major record company was signing Hip Hop artists. “That's when artists like HHP, Prokid, H2O, Pitch Black Afro, Cashless Society, Young Nations, Tuks, Mr. Selwyn, Morafe, Zuluboy, 5th Floor, Hidden Force, Optical Illusion, ProVerb, My Man, came into the scene. Tumi becomes the first South Africa rapper to use a live band (The Volume) and to this day, remains the only one with a live recorded album”(Kay, 2012). S.A. rap has grown a lot and it is still growing.

 

CassperNyovest- Phumakim lyrics

"Phumakim"

I'm out here grinding with majita
Grinding with majita
Money! Getting Money, man!
Ooh ngwanyana bella mpinjitsao
Baby mthebelele
Abo ringa more, Phumakim
Mr know-it-all, Phumakim
All you thirsty girls, Phumakim
You twitter thugs, Phumakim
Abo ringa more, Phumakim
Phumakim, Mr Known it All Phumakim
All you thirsty girls Phumakim
PhumakimPhumakim

Life has been a bliss since the main stream caught on
I am looking at her physique, thinking ey she's the bomb
A few months ago she called me a lame nigga
Now she can't wait to tell her friends that I came with her
Even forgot she was hating on me
She don't know her ABC's so I gave her the D
She ain't know Amanda du Pont
She ain't tailored for me
Cause I only f#*k with women that's as famous as me
Ngubani uBoza la ekasi lam? Me!
Uzophela umoya ungaphaphi lapho, Breathe!
Lebadibala kematsepa, we told them to bump the cheese up
Khokha ntshiza, be bakotsabere tailor re re

I'm out here grinding with majita
Grinding with majita
Money! Getting Money, man!
Ooh ngwanyanabellampinjitsao
Baby mthebelele
Abo ringa more, Phumakim
Mr know-it-all, Phumakim
All you thirsty girls, Phumakim
You twitter thugs, Phumakim
Abo ringa more, Phumakim
Phumakim, Mr Known it All Phumakim
All you thirsty girls Phumakim
PhumakimPhumakim

I told my story (story)
I made a fortune
AKA's favourite rapper
I guess I made it on the Forbes list
You kinda soughta (soda)
No matter what they order
Akesatseba like ke complexion yagaMshoza
It's funny when the twelebs get to acting like celebs
Used to get frustrated now all I do is get cash
Akes'bhayesalona jy kaan somaar Vootsek
Haa! Claiming you real (hey wena), you little for debt
Piki-paka, satlisa makgakga mpintshitsaka
ke bone baetseng tsohle dikitsitsaka skeemi ha a
Nna le wena hare dithaka
Change style go kgohlwe sedidisaka

I'm out here grinding with majita
Grinding with majita
Money! Getting Money, man!
Ooh ngwanyanabellampinjitsao
Baby mthebelele
Abo ringa more, Phumakim
Mr know-it-all, Phumakim
All you thirsty girls, Phumakim
You twitter thugs, Phumakim
Abo ringa more, Phumakim
Phumakim, Mr Known it All Phumakim
All you thirsty girls Phumakim
PhumakimPhumakim

I had a crazy day, Hype asking me where the album at
Put out two singles that made niggaz push their albums back
She said she was on her way
But that was about an hour back
I had her butt naked in the pool

Like where the towel at?
probably
I devoured that I shouldn't be that far from it
How can it be that honestly?
Really send me from poverty
Thank God I just went through a metamorphoses
From chilling on corners to corner offices.

Abo ringa more, phumakim!!!
Phumakim, Mr Known it All Phumakim
All you thirsty girls Phumakim
PhumakimPhumakim