COLANI "SooPurB" Nkosi is a siSwati rapper born and raised in one of Mpumalanga's townships, Nhlazasthe. The 25 year old youngster fell in love with music at a young age. He grew looking to SA's legendary stars such as Zola, Mandoza, Brenda among others. He developed his love for Hip Hop when vernacular rap pioneers like Teargas, Skwata Kamp, the late Pro and HHP injected the genre into the SA music industry.
SooPurB began to write his own rhymes in primary school and learnt more about the craft from friends in high school. He began to test the mic with friends and never looked back. When friends gave up, he persisted as a solo artist until today.
2017 saw SooPurB propelling in the music business. He managed to get his first official single "Nkebelele" played on radio stations including SABC's Ligwalagwala FM. His follow up single "Skelem" is also loved by many as well. He then earned recognition from different corners of Mzansi and mostly in his province, Mpumalanga. He also contested on 5FM's Rap Factor Battle and reigned supreme for 5 consecutive weeks.
In 2018, SooPurB pushed a little harder to expose his talent via social media and got recognized on Twitter by eTV's Shiz Live producer who invited him to the show and he made his first ever TV appearance. As he continued to hustle for more recognition, SooPurB scored himself another TV feature on SABC 1's biggest youth show, YoTV Live on the 18th of February 2019. He also got featured on SA's biggest newspaper, Daily Sun. And he also made it to Mpumalanga News, Eswatini's Times of Swaziland to name a few. "Taking SiSwati to the world through hip hop" - SooPurB
What Motivated you to move to Hard-core Hip Hop since you were first exposed to Kwaito related type of Music Genre?
Well, I grew up listening to radio in the early 2000s and kwaito was the biggest music genre in the country, it was music for iKasi by kasi artists. Then SA rappers such as Pro, HHP, Teargas, F-Eazy and others started to inject hip hop into the industry and I fell in love with it the same way fell in love with kwaito. Kwaito was mostly music for the dance floor and hip hop is more about storytelling so I decided to try it out and as it evolves on a daily, I am still here trying to adapt and grow at the same time.
What is the Theme behind Most of your Writings?
I write mostly about my life experiences and of those around me. As much as I do music for myself, I do it for the people. Through my music, I tell kasi stories, I address kasi issues that affect kasi people and I try to use my mother tongue, siSwati, as much as possible.
Would you describe yourself as King of SiSwati Rap or You are in the process building the blocks?
? [laughs] Most of the time, rappers like to give themselves titles; which is not a bad thing, I believe it's how they feel and it boosts their confidence in a way. But I simply refer to myself as a "King" because of my family name "Nkosi" which means king. I then decided to add it on my social media username / handle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram it's @SooPurBtheking. The people will crown me once they deem me fit for the title, for now I am building the blocks.
How is the response from Family and Friends towards your Music?
To be honest with you, my mom didn't buy it when I started and I couldn't blame her because where we come from nobody ever made a living out of music and we reside far away from people who did it and appear on TV, papers and other big platforms so it kinda seemed almost impossible. But now that I began to appear on big TV shows and newspapers, my mom is proud and very supportive. She even borrows money to pay for my trips to Jozi now. Well, friends have been liking music even when it was still immature so they've always been there since day one.
What Changes is SooPurB bringing to the Hip Hop Game?
First and foremost, I aim to inject siSwati into the mainstream and take it to the world. SiSwati is one of the few official languages in the country that are not prevalent in the entertainment industry, not only in music even in acting and other fields. I wanna change that. Secondly I wanna change the content. Hip Hop music is known to be about girls, drugs, cars and the fast life. I wanna bring content that's about ordinary SA people's everyday lives.
Few years from now, Where will SooPurB be?
In few years from now, I visualise SooPurB swimming with the sharks. I see myself doing big, doing sold out shows, breaking records with sales, touring around Africa and the world and most importantly, INSPIRING kids with my life story. I come from zero and I wanna change that, not only for me and my family but to encourage and bring hope to other kids who are as less privileged as me.
What is the Story behind your Stage Name SooPurB?
The name "SooPurB" is a stylish twist of the English word "Superb" which synonymously means excellent. It is a benchmark I use to grade my art and everything I do along this music journey. I strive to keep up with the meaning of the word, whatever move I make must be superb "SooPurB." ?
If you were not into Hip hop, What would you do?
Well, I am in possession of a Bachelor's degree in communication. Media and Communication are my playgrounds. I have experience in Radio Content Production and social media management, which I gained as an intern producer as SABC's Ligwalagwala FM in 2017. I love working with or in the media. I can enjoy doing anything within the media profession, be it print, TV or radio.
What are the Few tips of becoming The Best Freestyler?
Take rap as a fun game, don't think too much and just play with the words popping up your head. ?
What Wise Words can You share to those who look up to you and All upcoming rappers?
Dear up coming rappers, invest in your craft and start to learn about the business side of music. The industry is not about making good music and blowing up after. There are processes involved and if you lack knowledge about them, you'll hardly ever make it. Learn about marketing / promotion and PR (public relations) skills and tactics. Learn what's needed when you send your music to radio and TV stations. Learn how to communicate properly with media people.
Shout Outs
I'd like to send a S/o to Rap type Mag for putting me on, my supporters and all those who believe in me as an artist and a brand, my mom, friends, family and the lady I'm in a romantic relationship with. ? I Love You All.
Achievements:
On Social ? Media: @SooPurBtheking
Facebook |Twitter | Instagram
Bookings and PR : [email protected] ?? 072 0138 921
https://m.soundcloud.com/soopurb/skelem
