Still alive

In case you are a session visitor to this our humble blog, you might've noticed the unsettling absence of updates. Good (or bad, depending on how one looks at it) news is that I am still alive, not sure about Fairo though.

Amongst other things to look forward to:



Rattex

The man's got an album coming up. I've had the chance to hear an exclusive preview of the tracks, and they sounding hot. Will post some audio clips of performances and freestyle sessions. Otherwise, you can always check out for any details.




Hymphatic Thabs


I figure it's time I wrote a proper review of the said artist's album. Proper music if you as me, still bumping the tracks to this day. Mind you, it's more than a year since I got it.

So yes, I'm still around. Peace and love!

Luminaries in Lesotho's hip-hop scene

It's been close to three weeks now, and I rose with one question at the back of my mind every morning: when shall I update the blog?? Well, by some hand of fortune, I gathered enough strength and might to holla today, and figured that Lesotho hip-hop has been making strides over the past couple of months, qualifying it as a candidate worthy of mention on these parts. So here goes a list of some of the people who've been making serious moves.
Note: this is by no means an ordered list, so please do not interpret it as some sort of 'top-five' grouping.



Z-Digi: He is one of the signees on an upsurging label called Mighty Records, and dude's been on a personal grind for the better part of 2008. His launch back in May has been deemed as one of the biggest in Lesotho hip-hop; not bad for someone whom a good number of people had never heard of before. To his claim thus far is a mixtape entitled Street Culture Music Vol. 1. Check out the sleeve below, I managed to grab a hold of the copy. While it does not possess that wow factor, it is worthy of giving it a bump. Through my conversations with him, I discovered that he's begun work on another project, tentatively titled The Instruction Manual. Production shall be handled mostly by Benni B, with guest spots from, amongst others, Core Wreckah (I hope!!!).



Papa Zee: It's approaching a full year now since I last heard from him, but the noise he caused with his Signature Album is still causing chills to this day. This fact is evident when one listens to radio in Lesotho, and one of the songs from the compilation gets played. It's not really his album solely, but a showcase of various signees on his Struggle Entertainment imprint. And just so that people know, he is one of the first people I know who put in mad amounts of work into the establishment - and consequent acceptance - of Lesotho hip-hop amongst people. Definitely one of my inspirations.



Dunamis: Now, you know that someone is making moves when you google Lesotho hip-hop and come across comments like this one. His first video, Mastered seed, received mad spins on a lot of television stations (including Channel 0 and SABC1). But the man hasn't rested on his laurels; he actually shot another video, Time has come (featuring Glory), to keep the momentum going. This time around, eTv and MTv Base have jumped on board in terms of screening the video. Not only that, his label, KOL Productions, has recently released a compilation featuring a range of artists in and out of the Mountain Kingdom. A review will follow shortly, I just have to sort a couple of things out. For more information on this guy, check out the KOL website.



Kommanda Obbs: I bought this guy's album immediately after hearing his tune on radio, a track called Ke lorile (produced by Dim Light). It did take me a while to sink into the rest of it, but he's definitely on point with the flow. Being that he isn't based in Maseru, I do not get to hear a lot of the stuff that he's doing. I did get to have a chat with him in July though, and he let me in on some of his plans. I'll upload what he had to say (yep, I managed to get it all on tape baby!!!), just to share with y'all. Amongst his plans, he wants to start, or, more appropriately, has started a movement called Ts'epe, which pushes distinctly Sesotho raps.
3.32
I shall push myself to update the blog more, share whatever lies in my thoughts. And, just for old time's sake, here's the Time has come joint by Dunamis. Download, enjoy, and share. ONE!!!

Time has come - 3.3MB

Mortal sin!!!

Wassup people?! Sorry for not keeping my promises, but life goes on, right?



I've been enjoying home, can't complain really. That's a picture of Core Wreckah performing in Zaire back in 1970 (actually, it's at the Poetry Buffet which was held two weeks ago at the Maseru Sun Cabanas). It was a dope event overall, shout-out to Pytur, and the whole Poetry Farm collective.



My man Phil the Kritik is on the grind, working on his mixtape, Loud and Out Vol. 1. The tracks thus far are, to me at least, hot-a-lot (trademark that word!!!). A couple of artists are featured on it, but I won't be name-dropping lest I'm forced to re-tract my statements. It deserves a post all on its own. The lady on the picture is that pretty in real life!!!

Yo, later days. Keep warm people. Oh, the chick on the picture is that beautiful in real life! Peace!!!



P.S. As an extra, how would this look on a t-shirt??! I know, we dope. Shout out to Fairo.

Dunamis' video

I've been home for a full week now, while it's been about three since my last post. Well, obviously one would deem it proper come up with an excuse, but I shall, for the benefit of this post, refrain from such. The usual punishment that I put upon self is consecutive 'musings', which is exactly what I intend to do.



Remember that write-up I'd promised to do on Dunamis? Well, I still plan to do it. I actually spoke to him shortly after I arrived, just to inquire about his plans, what he's busy with, and the KOL Mixtape which shall be dropping in the near future. Big tings a gwaan, that's all I'm saying. He's even managed to shoot a second video for his debut album Mastered seed. The video, which features Glory, si called Time has come. Word on the streets is that it's currently on high rotation on MTV Base, along with having received spins on ETv, and other known music channels. Big ups to the man, he is indeed a huge source of inspiration.



On the other side the Mighty Records Crew, headed by, amongst some of his accolades, rapper/producer Benni B, have been well healthy when it comes to grinding hard. If you paid attention to this post, you will have an idea of who they are. The launch was apparently the best thing related to hip-hop in the country, so nuff shout to them. They pulled all the stops to ensure that the night went down in the minds of many as one to remember. It's quite evident even now when people talk about it that the night was a worthy one. What impressed me more was hearing how positively the artists on the bill responded to the manner in which they were treated. It is commonplace everywhere for stagings of this stature to be marred by maltreatment of performers, leaving one to wonder what the organisers' main intentions are. I have in my capacity as Core Wreckah, done work with Mighty Recs Crew as the stable is affectionately known. Check out the link below for a remix to one of their tracks (it features close to ten Lesotho emcees).

Radio is still holding its own down when it comes to supporting locally-grown content, though it seems some stations are doing more than others. It's all fair and well, as long as the ones lazing behind do not jump onto the bandwagon once this 'local' sound starts to make a real impact on the global platform. In my honest opinion, the Ultimate Fm (link) is topping a lot of frequencies in the afore-mentioned regard. It does worry me that certain people on radio deem it as doing one a favour when playing their songs. I never do get why this self-conceited mentality persists. Then again, maybe I shouldn't worry much, should I? As long as there is a platform then everything is well and proper.



Another post shall be coming soon. For now, big yourself up if you've ever stumbled upon this blog and bothered to read the content.

PS. Imma post some trax up in due time. Bandwidth constraints prohibit me from doing so now

I'm not alone

A triple post within the period of one week!!! Wow, congratulations to myself!! On the real though, it is quite a feat by any average blogger's standards. The website that was promised is still undergoing the pangs of birth (READ: Internet mulfunction). Bonzy, the guy who's a silent partner of Corporate Nemesis, is still setting it up. Note that silent in this case does not mean not having a say in the final decision-making process; it just refers to the fact that you'll hardly ever hear him talk. In the same vein, that goes for Fairo too. I'm the self-proclaimed 'loud-mouth (tm)' of the crew.

So you thought the title of the post was inspired by a certain being by the name Michael Jackson, huh?!! Well, think again. It was inspired by one of the guys I go to school with, saying how heads sometimes think they are all alone in what they do/like, until a revelation dawns upon them that hey, maybe things aren't so bad after all!!! The statement can be applied to many situations.



I am not alone in the sense that I'm not the only one trying to ensure that the voice of Lesotho hip-hop gets heard beyond just the confines of approximately thirty thousand square kilometers of land (that's the area of my country, seriously!). This blog is dedicated to San the Instru-monumentalist (...and yes, it's still a mouthful to say, check this post out). He's just dropped a beat-tape, and I thought I should lend a hand and make it known through this medium. Find the link below, and check out the sleeve. Give him feedback on facebook (search for Moeti Damane). I'm sure he'll greatly appreciate it.

Link: Golden Chariots Volume One - 17.1 MB

A promise kept

Word is James like Bond, bonded with 3.50 Maloti supa-glue at the Maseru taxi rank!!! As promised, I'm hitting you people up with the images from the Levi's gig that I attended. Dig it.


Jitsvinger


Jits jetting into interstellar spheres


Jits as seen in heaven


The rest of the band

And the ETC crew wasn't to be left behind...


Logical puts on 3-D glasses


Bonsai Bush and Logical


Bonsai vibing with the audience


Rest of the crew (DJ White Nite in the background)

Til later people, I'm out!

Pay dues, stay true

Yo!!! Since it'd been a while since I last scribbled, I figure that it's only right to pay my dues. Cape Town is handling me well, went to peep a gig hosted by Levi's as part of their Young Guns initiative. It featured Jitsvinger and ETC crew, both of whose performances were something to take home and digest, before finally realizing just how dope they both were. It did take quite a huge amount of searching to find the venue, but all went well afterwards. Will post up some pics in the interim.



Corporate Nemesis' other function is to design stuff, you know, stuff like logos and random, ultra-inspired, other-worldly things. Fairo posted me some of the stuff he's been working on, and I became so flubbergasted that I found it fitting to share with the masses the enormity of this man's ability to manipulate Photoshop up to the point where it calls him master. This particular design would look good on a t-shirt I think (Hint: we ARE working on a clothing line. When we're rich like the corporations that we are, for lack of a better word, so 'incensed' by, your boy/girlfriend shall be wearing Nemesis Inc. underwear. Jokes!!!)



On the artist front, I shall dedicate some space to San the Instru- monumentalist (a mouthful, I know!). He's another beatmaker/emcee from L-E-S. He, along with Barameds of Green, belongs to a crew called Other Intelligences (or OINTS for short). Their style is subtle hip-hop, bordering - and perhaps sometimes crossing into - the field of poetry. It's what a knowledgeable person would call 'beautiful music'. I, on the other hand, just call it hip-hop. To their acclaim is a single entitled 'On becoming human'. I should be a bit biased when it comes to the track that I was supposed to post, but the one you shall hear after downloading is what has been doing rounds on a couple of radio stations around L-E-S. It's called "Scribllings (sic) of rememberance",hope you dig it. The two are on to some big things, and I'll surely keep the massive and crew who come here updated on their gwaans.

Scribllings - 4.12MB

Stay tuned, I'm doing a post on a dude called Dunamis real soon. He's also onto some big stuff without a doubt, and deserves a mention. Till later, tarrah!!!

PS. Check out the links below for some interesting sites

Pioneer Unit - A Cape Town-based independent label (home to Ben Sharpa, Konfab, and Rattex)

Africasgateway - Premium hip-hop site...check out the forum section, it's dope!

2020 Radio - A podcast by Rob One..niceness!!!

Eliminate The Competition - ETC Crew's official website