Full interview below
Nhlonipho Trinity Baloyi aka Blue Tee, Founder of 43 Black Dread Records.
Born and raised in Limpopo ka Nwaxinyamani Village under Makhado Municipality, Trinity is a Multi-talented person who fell in Love with music (hip hop)
Follow Blue Tee On:
• Facebook – Trinity Ntiyiso (BlueTee)
• Twitter – @BlueTee4
• Instagram – @BlueTee_sa
Nsovo Knowledge Nxumalo aka UNCLE Ed is a Rapper from a small village called Maromeng in Mpumalanga in a small town called Acornheok. Currently studying Horticulture ar Univen
Who Got you into hip hop?
My cousins got me into hip hop, I grew up in a family where we did music of different genres but my older cousins where into hiphop more than other genres and that's how I ended up in hip hop, they'd play their songs every night when we about to sleep and it was nice.
What is the Good and the Bad thing about hip hop around your hood?
The good thing about hiphop in my hood is that it connects people, Teens do meet in large numbers to to perform and that's mostly how I met some of the rappers I know and it's sooo entertaining to see someone really chasing their dream.
The bad thing about hip hop is that most rappers think “you have to be on weed to be able to rap” which is bad you can do it sober.
What do you write about on most of your songs?
So far I've mostly written about heartbreaks and being in love but I do have other genres besides hip hop which have a different message.
What is the One Song that Made a lot of People know or Love UNCLE Ed?
I don't think I'm at the point where I can say I'm loved by a lot of people, only few know me because I’m rebranding myself and still working on that and I see growth every day
How’s is the response from your fellow Univen Mates towards your Music Journey?
I had feed backs like ,"Your songs should be played on tv", " Keep pushing, keep going, you are good", "You got potential”, "You're dope", and at a point where I played them my music they'd say; "you capping that's not you" some even said I sound American so the feed back has been positive.
UNCLE Ed; What’s the Story behind this Stage Name?
The name UNCLE Ed. I took it from my uncle who's name is Edmon, so I took the first two letters and took his title "Uncle", he's my uncle in real life and that's how it came about, I chose this name because at a point in life back about 5 years, he said something to me that really got me through hardships, his words were "Learn to accept situations, if you don't have something, you don't have… accept " I paraphrased.
How Do You Balance Your Music and Your Studies?
I do music during holidays, every single day of the holiday, I have a bedroom STUDIO so whenever it's day, night or morning, if I play a beat and think of something, I record, Then during school days I'm studying.
Few Years to Come, Where will UNCLE Ed be?
In few yrs to come, I'll be a mainstream artist, to be realistic, I will have blown up, I belive God has a plan for me,I wanna be big in 3 years, I wanna blow up this year or next year that's, the record I have set for myself and it'll work.
Follow UNCLE Ed On:
Facebook - UNCLE Ed.
Shout Outs
Shout to Sleek Th'Captain, (he taught me everything i know about music), Shout to CeeZwe (learned alot from his music) , shout to my boys Meigo, Si6teen , Maestro & The Dope Candidate & Also shout out to my fam, they never tried to stop me from doing music, also shoutout to everyone who took interest in my music and checked me up I highly appreciate the support you have no idea.
My name is Monyela Cedric Lethabo (Preddy bone Rsa), I am from Botlokwa (Matoks) Ga-machaka, a village located in the outside of Polokwane. I am currently a student at University of Venda studying Bsc in Urban and Regional Planning. I am a Hiphop artist doing hiphop music.
Who Got you into hip hop?
I was introduced into hip hop music back in 2013 by my cousin and his friend who took me to the studio to record my first song after i heard them playing their own songs from their smartphones.
What is the Good and the Bad thing about hip hop around your hood?
The good thing about hip hop or music as a whole from where i come from is that; it is supported by the municipality under department of arts and culture by hosting events and inviting artists to come and showcase their work, and also by hosting awards events where they encourage upcoming artists and award them as a token of appreciation towards the effort they put into their crafts. And the bad thing is that hiphop artists find it very difficult to get more audience and attention nowadays since the new genres of music has been introduced and they have been dominating in the country for the past few years.
What do you write about on most of your songs?
My songs or my music as a whole it’s sometimes driven by my emotions, what i see, what i hear from people and also about what i think about ( dreams and desires).
What is the One Song that Made a lot of People know or Love Preddy Bone RSA?
The song that made lots of people know me was my first song titled “ let’s go” which I recorded with my friends back in 2013. But unfortunately the song didn’t go live because at that time i didn’t have much background knowledge about the music industry and that’s how most of my songs which i had recorded ended up lost and couldn’t be traced.
How is the response from your fellow Univen Mates towards your Music Journey?
My Univen mates respond really good towards my music, those who know about me support by streaming my music online and following my social media artist pages. They show love towards me and my music by sharing my songs and posting to let others know about it.
Preddy Bone RSA; What’s the Story behind this Stage Name?
As I started my music journey I used to go by the name of T bone, but when time went by I became a fan of Priddy Ugly and I really liked his name. And when I searched through the internet I found out that there is also another rapper by the name of “T bone”, so to avoid contradiction for my supporters,I had to find an alternative name they could identify me with and access the right stuff in-terms of my music, so that’s when I came to name myself Preddy Bone Rsa after the well known rapper Priddy Ugly.
How Do You Balance Your Music and Your Studies?
I put more focus on my academics then I do my music in my spare time or during the holidays.
Few Years to Come, Where will Preddy Bone RSA be?
In few years to come I wanna see myself as a successful award winning music artist and also a successful business man as you cannot only guarantee your music career to make a living.
Follow Preddy Bone RSA On:
Facebook - Preddy Bone Rsa
Instagram - @preddy_bone_rsa
Twitter - @preddy_bone_rsa
Shout Outs
I would like to send a shout out to each and everyone who is pushing music or who is a hustler out there,to keep on pushing, keep on putting more hardwork, never stop grinding and make sure to follow your dreams at all times moreover always remember that dedication, consistency and hardwork will pay one day, and last but not least don’t forget to pray.
Ramabulana Thembuluwo aka TaGz Wilder from Nzhelele, Tshavhalovhedzi village studying Urban and Regional Planning in the University of Venda. I do alternative hip hop as Passion.
• Who Got you into hip hop?
At a very young Age, my brother's used to mute my Cartoons and play that classic 90's hip hop playlist which naturally got installed in my head ever since than I can't live without it
• What is the Good and the Bad thing about hip hop around your hood?
The good is that the kids are getting off the streets and actually putting their talent to the test and hoping they catch traction, and trust me the kids are talented and are dropping at an unprecedented rate.
But the bad part about hip hop in my hood is content and support, certain rappers just be saying shit which there's nothing wrong with honestly but you have a hood story to tell and that's the story you could be telling us "but we all trapping and shooting N*ggrs"
Support
As much as we got good music as hip hop artists in the hood, nobody gives a single nickel or pays any attention to us or to support us. You'll find big events happening near by but there's no local artist not a single one booked. Radio stations hardly ever promote us or play us but hey bottom line is we gonna have to break a low off doors to get our music out there.
• What do you write about on most of your songs?
My life, what I live, what I do, what is happening, What I'm experiencing, who I've fell for. I basically find fun ways to express how I'm feeling on beat and leave the rest to the listener to enjoy
• What is the One Song that Made a lot of People know or Love TaGz Wilder?
Classick ft Xxbomnsquad, Perplexity was the decider song and my favorite song cause it make people realize the movement and culture I'm coming with, I was now recognized in certain crowds and it became a favorite song for most my fans. All and all the song represented Who Wilder is.
• How is the response from your fellow Univen Mates towards your Music Journey?
It's Just been love hey, Gang love after a recent performance I did in the Univen Auditorium, I've gotten recognition and love from students rather than people from my hood or the internet.
• TaGz Wilder; What’s the Story behind this Stage Name?
TaGz been my name since I chose it back in grade 8 when people used to give me dumb names like Tboy and Tebo charge so I chose TaGz. After that a few years later I was regarded as one of the wilders boys in parties and when people would be talking I would always find a way to make it sound dirty and I always had a wild imagination and dream.
• How Do You Balance Your Music and Your Studies?
I'm a busy person already with a job on to of Music and studies. I just squeeze in that little free time I get and enjoy the art. There's always time problem is people love to rest too much and you ain't gone get none if you sleeping Mr West.
• Few Years to Come, Where will TaGz Wilder be?
International with a die hard fan base that understands who and what I am and what I'm building which a love filled empire (More details as life goes) cant give you the blue print.
Follow TaGz Wider On:
Facebook - TaGz Wilder
Instagram - @tagz_wilder
• Shout Outs
Shout out to Physilmic Dwayne, Zey Love Keys, Mike Tuney, Mate Klate, Fais yung, Perplexity, Yung TJ SA and hey Mass The Difference. And Lastly My Niece she's 8 Years old and she's my biggest fan. love yalls, Spread it.
✌ Peace out
Vutlhari Ubisi aka Truce-Tee is a rapper from Bushbucridge (in Mpumalanga) but currently stays at Thohoyandou (in Limpopo)
• Who Got you into hip hop?
I always had the love for Hip hop since I was a little kid
• What is the Good and the Bad thing about hip hop around your hood?
The good thing about it is that it inspires us to follow our purpose but on the other hand it influences the youth to take drugs on the process
• What do you write about on most of your songs?
I write about Love, peace and prosperity
• How’s is the response from your fellow Univen Mates towards your Music Journey?
The response is great and most of the time I get motivation from them that I must never quit.
Truce-Tee; What’s the Story behind this Stage Name?
Truce-Tee it is simple as it implies the ideal meaning of truce. the word truce means peace between two sworn enemies and since I'm a civil guy I decided to name myself Truce to ignite peace
How Do You Balance Your Music and Your Studies?
I study for two hours and take a break just to write a few words on my notebook, then after; I go back to studying. Most of the time I get motivation from my schoolwork, that I gotta push on the music side if it happens school doesn't work out.
Few Years to Come, Where will Truce-Tee be?
Truce is going to be your Favorite artist. One of the biggest in my area is where I see myself in few years.
Follow Truce-Tee On:
Facebook - Truce-Tee
Instagram - @trucetee
Shout Outs
S/O to Steezy Jayde and of course Truce-tee for always being Truce-tee
Tshifhiwa Munalisi aka Yung tj SA; born in 2001/3rd/August is a young venda rapper from Hamutsha in Limpopo. The rapper grew up with interest for music from a young age, He claim that he was inspired by the likes of Eminem, Juice WRLD, XxxTentacion, Nasty C, Cassper Nyovest and many more. The rapper releasd his first studio album on the 3rd of August 2022. The album focuses more on his personal life like dealing with depression, losing his Aunt who raised him from birth and many more. The rapper takes this project as his diary as it reveals a lot of inner pains and his plans for the future with songs like “if I had a billion”
Who Got you into hip hop?
It’s gotta be my dad, my big man has always been a fan of hip hop and played a lot of 50 Cent, Eminem, Dre etc but I was drawn more to the Eminem music from his catalog and I would dream of rapping as fast as him, that’s how I started trying rapping.
What is the Good and the Bad thing about hip hop around your hood?
I think the bad thing is that the hood got “gate owners” you know, like they limit who gets a shot in this music thing, we’ve got plenty of talents especially here in Venda but if you know Mizo Phyll your chances are guaranteed and you just a chancer you know, you gotta be verified by “the kings” in order to get big which honestly sucks. But the good thing is that the music… well it keeps fighting for us to get up there.
Your Album - Reality brings Pain; How did the whole project come about?
RBP was my first studio. Album and my most anticipated project, it was all about Tshifhiwa in particular I was talking about my mental health and everything of my surrounding you know, Anxiety and depression, as an artist I believe you have to paint every pain and joy in your art and make the best of it and yea that’s what I did there.
How is the response from your fellow Univen Mates towards your Music Journey?
First time shot on this album I got to perform two of its songs on stage last year and honestly the crowd went crazy, the following day my Spotify streams were boosted, people reacted well to *If I Had A Billion*, after that performance I made like 1.6k streams so I can say the response was super awesome and I appreciate it
Yung tj ; What’s the Story behind this Stage Name?
Well my name is Tshifhiwa Junior; so I took my initials to make the name, then the “Yung” came from my highschoool biggest fan, I wanted to honour him for being so real with me you know, so I called myself Yung tj SA from Killervibe
How Do You Balance Your Music and Your Studies?
Well personally, my degree is time consuming already. Because of that, I merely get studio time, so I steal recesses, holidays and less packed weekend to make music, that way it doesn’t disturb my school work you know.
Few Years to Come, Where will Yung tj be?
I give myself 2 years and ONLY 2 years to make an impact, take over Venda music industry then go bully the whole SA industry you know, step by step
Follow Yung tj On:
Facebook - Yung tj SA
Twitter - @YungtjSA
Instagram - @yung_tj_sa
Shout Outs
I’d love to send a S/O to my sis, dad, mom, my brother inlaw and all my friends but most importantly my late aunt for always believing in me
Sinethemba Siyasanga Booi aka Y.o.uNG_sa from Eastern Cape, I study Environmental Science and I'm a Rapper
• Who Got you into hip hop?
My older brother got me in to hip hop, He's 2 years older than me. he's no longer a Rapper though, He's now my manager and my producer
• What is the Good and the Bad thing about hip hop around your hood?
The good thing about hip hop is that it's the “next wave”, the bad bad part of it is that people don't believe in it
• Your EP - Attitude and Values ; How did the whole project come about?
The project was to tell people that with the values and the attitude we have, we gotta strive even during the struggle. we were broke waiting for NSFAS money, we made close to 13 songs, we only chose 6
• How is the response from your fellow Univen Mates towards your Music Journey?
They really believe in me, that's why I'm always trying to build myself
• Y.o.uNG_sa ; What’s the Story behind this Stage Name?
I probably look 26 or something, and im younger than that, I'm the youngest from my team "w.Bullyz and BO¥ZN GvNG" it's the 14 of us on the team
• How Do You Balance Your Music and Your Studies?
It's a balanced equation bro, but for now I’m prioritising school just to get the degree and go hustle freely
• Few Years to Come, Where will Y.o.uNG_sa be?
If few years to come I'll be on the map, changing lives, the whole world will know me
Follow Y.o.uNG_sa On:
Facebook - Y.o.uNG SA
Instagram - @y.o.ung_sa
• Shout Outs
Shout to my Mother, to my clique "w.Bullyz and Boyzn Gang", my cenamentographer "Swarae @wrgp_krew", & A-Reece
Success Phumudzo Mulaudzi aka Trippie Dollar is a Trapper from Venda in Limpopo but Was Raised in Midrand (Gauteng)
Trippie has been doing Music for a while and currently studying B.Com in Accounting.
• Who Got you into hip hop?
I would say I got the influence from a place I grew up in, Midrand is a place where hip hop dominates and I got inspired by the likes of Migos, J.Cole, Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Baby
• What is the Good and the Bad thing about hip hop around your hood?
I would say; the Good thing about hip hop is that… it has given a lot of people opportunities to express their talents, it has given hope to people with no hope through the messages that they receive from the songs, I would say it has motivated a lot of people, however ; the bad thing is, it influences a lot of young stars to take drug substances thinking they are “cool” and everything...
• Your EP - Did it for Venda Today; How the whole project come about?
Did it for Venda Today is a project that took me a lot of time to bring together, the songs in it are personal, it's all about me exposing the talent in venda, I feel like it tells a story that even those from the deep hidden rural side can make it. it's more like… it is the voice of people who feel like they can express their feelings because of their backgrounds. That one is my next EP and it is entitled “Venda to the World”
• How is the response from your fellow Univen Mates towards your Music Journey?
They really love the music that I bring because it's different, it can motivate and make you realize how far you have come to quite now, and I really appreciate the love I get
• Trippie Dollar; What’s the Story behind this Stage Name?
The name Trippie Dollar name… I’m an ambitious man and I always wanna trippie every dollar. I would say “trippie” means energy because I have too much energy myself. dollar would say wen it comes to money, I’m energetic homie, it makes sense but before “trippie dollar” it was just “dollar”
• How Do You Balance Your Music and Your Studies?
I would say the music takes much of my time you know but recently I have came with a strategy that I should do my music during weekend and my school work during the week. Sometimes it's hard to balance the two but at the end of the day, I wanna succeed in both things but mostly in music
• Few Years to Come, Where will Trippie Dollar be?
I feel like my music is elevating each and everyday, the more i make music, the more I get better. surely would say I see me on a different league that I’m in right now
• Who do You want to Send Your Shout Outs to?
Shout out to Malumuz, Hunchos Munchies, Big Nikker, Chiz Nuz, everyone showing me love, all my fans from the south to the east, my fam and last but not least… Rap type Mag for this opportunity
Follow Trippie Dollar On:
Facebook - Trippie Dollar SA
Instagram - @trippie_dollar
Rapper, Singer and Song writer Dollar Cream takes us to his Musical Journey where he talks about the ups and downs, challenges and achievements.
He talks about how he managed to engage and worked with some of the Biggest Xitsonga musicians including the likes of Papa Penny and Joe Shirimani. Watch the video on YouTube and Enjoy
Follow Dollar Cream on:
Facebook – Nhlanhla Kubayi
Facebook page: Dollar_Cream
Instagram: @Dollar_Cream
Relo, Shugela, Bozza, Nemza, Slikour… Hauweng!!
When did Mzansi Hip hop evolve and who were the few artists to be on the Spotlight by the time around the area where Skwatta Kamp come from?
I think… That’s a broad question because it’s either commercially or just in the space but like Prophets of Da City and Black Noise literally were the pioneers of hip hop in South Africa and they were travelling the world and Skwatta Kamp introduced the mainstream as the South African hip hop and that’s when started seeing greater participation because we were rooted in Johannesburg where things happened while Prophets of Da City and Black Noise where from Cape Town
So easily, one could say it started really evolving commercially around 2003/4 but from existing; it could have easily been like 1990… something like that, I mean we are on 40 years of hip hop in South Africa this year
What were the Good and Bad things about Mzansi Hip hop back in the Days according to Your Experiences?
At a time when we started, we were trying to convince everyone in the market that hip hop is valuable, the challenges were that the market thought it was an American thing because they had experienced hip hop from international acts. So we almost looked like copycats and it looked like it was not original. So first we got resistance from your community, radio, consumers and business, so it was the first thing that we needed to do with hip hop; and that was to convert people to see hip hop from a South African lands through South African artists and I think that was really the challenges when we started back then,
And the good thing was that it was highly communicative, the people who were doing hip hop, literally stuck together, although we had to do that factions of guys who were competing cos it’s competitive but essentially we stuck together and we had one goal and we all wanted to have one voice as we shared the same platforms, so I think that was the really the most powerful part of it when it started, it was the unity as different clans in different people from different areas, it brought communities together
Back in the days, Crews used to be Stronger, Nowadays Artists Prefer going Solo, How did you guys manage to survive as Skwatta Kamp?
I think everything is a sign of time that you don’t know you, don’t know… the bigger group at the time was Wu- Tang Clan, you know, we had groups like, Onyx, De La Soul… I mean there were so many hip hop groups that it felt like it was a norm, and yes you had your solo artists, but the group thing was more of a thing back then, so I guess it wasn’t a matter of survival because we weren’t in it for money, we were in it because we enjoyed the spot and firstly, we never even thought we would make money from it, so we then started making money, the money that we made was a lot for us, even though it was little when we split it, but it was still a lot and we figured out how to survive. It’s not like we were looking at some at the benchmark of this is how much we should have and we don’t have enough so we struggling, nah it’s never like that. So that was it, the survival wasn’t like a question, it’s like you weren’t get the money, you getting it now, how do you use it best
How did Hip hop manage to survive in the Midst of Kwaito back in the days ?
I don’t think hip hop literally survived, they Co-existed.
The question of how anything survives is almost like saying; how did the group of young people survive in an environment where there was a larger group of other young people who were interested in something else. It was just Co-existing, you know, there was no need to survive. It’s taste, you know, we see the world of social media, world of algorithms. People have different tastes you know and you can have a small community that has a certain taste, so I don’t think it was a matter of surviving, it was just a community that was Co-Existing and was also gradually growing at the same time
One of the Greatest Hits “Umoya”, how did the song come about and what did it mean to you guys that the song took the whole South Africa by a storm?
Umoya is an example of a song that was in part of our creative process, it wasn’t even a song that was like earmarked as a single, we were looking at a song just like “Animal” in the album to release as a single, the album was “Mkhukhu Funkshen”
So Umoya wasn’t even a song we had foreseen to becoming a single because the sound was different you know, it never sounded like the hip hop songs that were out there at the time. We had “Animal” which had the aggression of hip hop and the bounce of hip hop and the metaphorical approach.
So that’s what we thought was gonna be our song, because when people heard it, they just caught it right?
But Umoya Radio played and we saw how the crowd received it, it was really the song that changed the trajectory and the perception of South African hip hop from an audio perspective for the Masses. So we never saw that coming, Everything is in highsight at this point, in the process saying we know what the song was gonna say
https://youtu.be/nNLOSjC2jd4
Would you Say Amapiano is slowly Silencing or Killing Mzansi Hip hop?
I think that every genre has it’s s phase, similarly to kwaito has its phase and hip hop has its phase then there was Afro pop… Afro pop was a thing, then hip hop came back, then house a little bit, then we had Gqom, then now it’s amapiano.
Everything has its phase and window of existence. Sometimes it is not the genre that dying but actually the youth that’s evolving, you find a new group of young people who have a particular sound (that is amapiano) and there’s a new generation of young people who will have another sound.
But what we see today is that kids are not even basing their interests in music based on one genre ,
We have this variety of interests in music right now, where people are doing different genres, so I don’t think it’s dying but once again it’s co-existing but it is not Co-existing with the momentum it had a few years ago and it’s the natural cause of consumer and music genres
Do I think the genre dies? It will never die because you find the amapiano guys dressing like the hip hop guys, it’s just the sound that literally evolves. You look at Uncle Waffles, she looks completely like she’s a hip hop chick you know, so it’s just a sound but the hip hop will never die if you look at the culture, hip hop won’t die, hip hop will always be the wardrobe, it will always be the move, a mind state, it will always be Co-existing in young people’s minds, it will always be the rebel which is what hip hop is.
So… maybe the sound not impactful as it was but I don’t see it dying,
Follow Skwatta Kamp On:
Facebook – Skwatta Kamp
Twitter – @Skwattakamp
Instagram – @Skwattakampofficial
Stream / Download / Order their Music on the Link Below
