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EMC Style (real name Nhlawulo Ellon Mathebula) is a musical artist from Mbhokota... "I'm a Rapper sometimes... ummm lol When I say "sometimes" I mean I only Rap when I want, but I enjoy writing most... I'm a writer. I'm also a poet... I do poetry when I want as well.
I'm actually a Xitsonga RnB singer
When did you realize that you have a singing / rapping talent and how did you discover it?
This is something that I also didn't even think that I would do as I grew up, but this is the music that I always listened to through my friends; the likes of Rhyzo (Nhlalala), who used to hang around with people who listened to hip hop, people like; Dendi from Bokisi, Shumani and more. So most of the time when I'm with Nhlalala as my friend... because he listened to Hip hop, I ended up listening to hip hop too, until the day He went to record... by that time he used to record at Dumi Mashimbyi's place, that's where he recorded his first track with Tshedza... I forgot the name of the track though.
The following day he played his song for me, I started realizing that no man, yes they recorded it but if they would have recorded it in a different way, it would be nice. And I remembered that they say "if you want to do something better, (because I heard that their song was good but there was something missing) if you want something perfect, you must do it yourself"
When he went to the studio again, I went with him but didn't sing because I was nervous, we went back and this other guy called Miyelani came and invited us to go and Record to the same place (Dumi's Place).
Miyelani sang and I asked for a verse and recorded... people loved the verse, even though I feel like it is now wack when I listen to it but people loved it back in the days.
I then decided to ask my family to buy me a laptop where my brother bought me one and started recording myself, I then discovered that yes man, I can do this. I started by rapping before i tapped into singing
Which song did EMC Style Blow up with?
The song that made me popular, after a long time since I started singing a couple of songs that people didn't give much attention to, there's this other song called "Tsakani"
The song talks about a girl who passed Metric and went to tertiary institutions, where she associated herself with a wrong group of peers that made her not to achieve what she was supposed to and got something different from what she went there for.
That is the track that made me even more popular, where people started giving me attention and realized that wow this guy can write, and the other songs came along as time went by... but the song that made people to notice me and give me attention of which I call it "to blow up", it has to be "Tsakani"
What do You Love about Your Fans when You are on Stage?
Let me answer it like this; I'm a person who can't dance at all, so when I'm on stage, my fans make my job very simple because they get on stage and dance, even when they are restricted to get on stage in some events, the way they would be dancing down on the crowd section when I get on stage... or the excitement they have... Haaaaaa!!
Even if you don't know me when you are on the crowd section, you just find yourself looking at them...
Those guys support me so much.
You know, the way it is, you won't even realize that I'm on about singing and rapping only but can't dance, because it will be Fun due to their presence
What is the Good and the Bad thing about Hip hop and RnB around your hood according to your experiences?
When you do music around the hood, (let me not talk about any genre yet) but when you do music; firstly people will say you are taking chances, and you find that you are unemployed just like me... they will say "no... he's just hungry, he just wants to get up using us".
They usually say such... and when it comes to Hip hop, it gets even worse, even if you do Tsonga Rap, it gets worse because people take hip hop as violent music that promotes vulgar and chaotic behavior in the hood... so when you do such music, you are not likely to get support, you will only get support from youth who won't even make you grow but only support by talking.
So that's one of the reasons why I switched from Hip hop to RnB but in a good way as I still Rap less than how I used to. I changed hip hop and made people to listen to it for to learn something than listening to people swearing each other promoting violence and things like that
How is the Response from Your Family and Friends towards Your Music Craft?
I won't say much about Family because you get real support from people out there, I have experience of such.
I get my support from people who are far away from me, people who are not even my relatives.
Because you can have relatives or brothers and sisters but Family members won't support before they see direction, they want things to happen first then start supporting you. I won't lie and say so and so is supporting me at home... no I only know the support from the people who are out there than from family. Not that they don't support, I won't speak on their behalf, they might be supporting in the way that they feel while they are not showing it but as for me, the people out there are showing me a huge support until some of them turned into family while we are not related. They support me a lot in this. Most of them help me a lot where I need it... yeah
What are Few Basic things that you do before you write such good Music?
There's nothing special that I do before I write music, I don't know how to compose a Beat but I do imagine a specific Beat in my mind.
I don't write a song before I hear a beat, I first call the person who will be making me a beat and listen to it for about two days, I let it play I know that one day it will click in my mind on what that beat needs.
I mostly don't write if I'm going to sing on that Beat, unlike when i would be rapping... I just record whatever comes to my mind at that time and if I feel like I'm stuck, I leave it hanging and finish some other day, whatever I will be having something to add one day, I'll do so. I don't write when I sing, I only write when I Rap.
You released an album Buku ya Rirhandzu in 2019, did the response from your fans satisfy your expectations from it? How?
Buku ya Rirhandzu... is one of the projects that made me not to even wish to quit music... why?
It made me believe that a person can create a living through music, it made me get to realize on who my fans are, who supports me just by talking... so yes It reached my satisfaction and beyond... my main target was around my hood most but when I went to gauteng to launch it... I forgot the date but I first launched it at "The Twins"... people came in numbers, while the line didn't have any of the big artists that would possibly grab people's attention... what gave me strength is that people came just to se Me... That support right there terrified me a lot...
We did release a couple of EPs with Juicy Ash few years back... they sold a lot to people in my hood, we did make profit yes... but not in the way that things went now... people from Gauteng, people who don't know you support... this will take me to that question about the response from Family... people who don't know you support your music... even if they would be hearing you for the first time...
There were so many people, some from Mozambique... when I got off the stage, I can't remember how many CDs I sold, I can't remember how many guys were busy selling my CDs as well but i was happy when i left the place, i was okay in both my pocket and mind... I was so Happy... I was so happy, the support was so big...
Few Years to come, where will EMC-Style be?
I'm scared to tell where I will be... I don't believe in being consistent in one kind of music, I want to be relevant and move with time, I want to adapt to whatever will be happening at that moment because that's what will keep me relevant... not that I will forget what I would be doing before, I will still be doing it but improving so that it will also be relevant.
So I see myself still loved but loved even more while featuring other artists that my heart desires to feature...
Yeah, let me just put it like that and not say much that I might not achieve but if I can get there, I would have worked so much
Follow EMC Style On:
Facebook - EmCStyle SA
Instagram - @emcstyleza
Twitter - @sa_emc
Shout Outs
I'll send my shout out to my fans, they support me a lot.
I'll also send a Shout out to people who don't know me but yet support my music, I thank them so much.
I won't mention my fans by their names because I will forget some... but they know themselves, there are those whom I know that they support me so much... but allow me to thank Vuthlari "Cash" Baloyi.
This is the guy who took my imagination and turned it into reality, he's the one who pushed me a lot, though I'm not where I wish to be as yet but the guy pushed me... he pushed me in a way that I even forget that he's just trying to push me and felt like he's my brother... he pushed me a lot... we can even exclude the music business and talk about personal stuff, the guy pushed me a lot, I won't forget him.
I also want to thank Given Makondo from Bokisi... the guy has been supporting me from way back.. there's few people who support me from home, some might be supporting me yes, you may find that they are not showing it, they play your music but switch off when you pass by... things like that but... the guy supports me a lot. I thank him so much.
I also want to thank myself for not disappointing my fans... I'll end it here
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4PBonQUXD-1MuLvbDuajoIqBO66tTfxL
