Ifani is a South African Rapper, Born in Mthatha and raised in Port Elizabeth…
“I represent Blawa, I Kasi lam’, I studied in Cape Town… Kapa is my place of education and Jozi is where I hustled, did My thing and got everything I got up to this day, so that makes me a South African.
I’ve been everywhere around this country (Mzansi), IsiXhosa which is my language is My weapon in the Rap game and a Rapper is who I am.
How has your musical journey been from the era of Hola Hater, Ewe, Shake… etc until today?
My musical journey has been interesting, full of ups and downs, I guess it’s kinda like everyone else’s journey but mine has been a little bit extra, very steep you know… super adventurous, and… it was made for me you know, I was built for it.
Hola hater, Ewe, Shake, Ingoma ezimnandi… then the silence, and now reappearing, it’s all part of my journey, it’s part of the circle that I am dropping which is divided into four quadrants; 1st Quadrant, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Quadrant, those are the Four Albums I’m releasing as a rapper, describing who I am as Ifani
What is the good and the bad thing about hip hop in Mzansi?
The Good thing is that it exists, so people like myself and others can exist, there’s a community out there that listens to what we offer, there are people that follow and promote the culture like you guys (Rap type Mag),so it’s good that we all exist in it.
The bad thing is that it’s not number One anymore.
That’s the only bad thing but we can work on it you know, we can still turn it around.
As a Rapper, how do you deal with Negative Vibes from people or other Rappers?
Ey My man… I’m still learning as I go… it’s not something that we are born with, negative vibes will always make you feel negative, but then the difference is how quickly do you bounce back from that negative, that’s how I have been experiencing it myself, sometimes it gets me, sometimes it doesn’t, but when it does get to me, I need to get back as quickly as I can.
Ifani… what’s the story behind this stage name?
“Ifani” means “it’s not the same”, Mzi plus Ifani = Mzayifani, that’s the Full name, Mzayifani
How was the experience being on The Tswyza Show as a guest?
Yoh the Experience at The Tswyza Show was great my man, I told him it’s a great concept, this is what we need as a culture, this is beautiful man I love this concept and I wanted to support it, so wanted to go hard so that I can get my fans and my followers to join the movement, cos I really think it’s a great thing to have as South Africans. More stars will be born from this you know, More new guys will go to that show and become superstar’s there after… so Big ups to Tswyza for sure
Who would you say is the King of Hip hop or The Best Rapper in SA and Why?
Ah… Come on, Me, Myself… Ifani, Mr Hayimani… I’m the King, I’m the Best Rapper in South Africa, My weapon like I told you is IsiXhosa. The only person in here that can give me a run for my money is Kwesta.
Kwesta is the only one that can battle me to death but everyone else goes down… EVERYBODY goes down, from KZN to Gauteng to Mpumalanga, to Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Zonke maba bonke… they fall down, and like I said, my weapon of choice is IsiXhosa and I’d lie my friend, my flows are dangerous, they would eat anything in this country.
The only one that can stand before me is Kwesta. But other than that like I said; SupaMega… Down, I was going against him and he knows he dodged the bullet with me…
What are the wise words can you tell to upcoming rappers as words of inspiration?
To Rappers… Guys, this is a sport, Enjoy it, have fun but treat it like a sport, I wouldn’t say treat it as a career My man cos Yoh, this thing is not stable but if you look at it as a sport, then you will enjoy it, and in sports there’s injuries, there’s offseasons… you know, it’s a sport my man, enjoy this thing, have fun and make your own legacy.
What can we Expect from Ifani from now on?
More Music is coming out. This whole year I’m dropping things, so musically I’m in the creative space right now and I’m releasing more and more, so yeah, look out for those
What are your funny Childhood memories?
Failing my June exams in Grade 8, that is the funniest thing ever because I had never failed and I have never failed there after… ever ever ever…
So it’s the only time ever in my life to fail an exam… I still think it’s the funniest thing ever
Shout Out?
Shout out to Cassper Nyovest…
Great comeback with the amapiano song, it is dope, it is doing the rounds, well done… and I know I’ve been throwing a lot of dirt on his brand over the years, I just wanna say shout out to the man, he’s still standing, he’s still doing his thing and yeah… big ups man, big ups… I’m just adding to all the other dirt I’ve been throwing out there throughout the years… let this be one of those clean T shirts, i throw out there and it’s sincerely from the heart.
Dopeness my man, Dopeness, keep flying… Sharp
