BALLERGANG: The New Success Of The West Coast

With a strong production force and a growing aspiration to rhyme, the BALLERGANG, has swiftly took stage to the West Coast music scene, with its first five releases.

Debuting a few months back with 'All Good' the song which featured a comeback of local washouts ILL SCRIPTS, definantly revived the name of rappers Pang & INSAiN. Not just that, the song is currently BALLERGANG's most downloaded release with 53 downloads on Kasimp3.

Along with the bad rep ILLSCRIPTS has been getting, came some success, with its debut 'Ons Is Bevok' still firmly gaining views on YouTube. In total BALLERGANG is undoubtedly the most downloaded Hip-Hop group/crew on the West Coast so far, with a total of 170 downloads. 





BALLERGANG statistics derived from www.kasimp3.com

With all this at the brink, Radio De Touch exclusively interviewed 16 year-old Saldanha rapper, INSAiN, firmly a menber of ILLSCRIPTS and the BALLERGANG, to uncover the truth behind this mysterious group and furthermore understand the degree of change occurring in the young rapper's career.

 

1) How many members are in the BALLERGANG and who are they?

 

 

6 members. Its me Insain, Pang, Arnie, Anyboy, B-boy and the latest member Drizzle. Other than that, Junio-A was also suppose to join but apparently his too busy.

 

2) Where did you derive this name?

 

"Man it has nothing behind it - just a name I thought of when I was still a kid... like 11 years old, when I started rapping then I just grew up with the name...but if u will listen to ma track you would know that thy don't call me 'insain' for nothing LOL* just joking bra.."

 

3) How does it feel being the only artist in two groups?

 

 

"It's kinda difficult but not much, I just have to make sure I deliver my best for both crews and as long as they cool with it, I'm committed to both crews"

 

 

4) What made you join the Ballergang or what formed it?

 

Pang and I along with Junio A! were offered to join seeing that we already existed as a group (ILLSCRIPTS).

 

We then agreed since BALLERGANG has better production quality and with a bunch of good kids in the crew we couldn't refuse. 

 

I jus joined a dope crew that had a name of "BALLERGANG" but from what I've heard the name came from my homies Arnie, Anyboy & B-Boy. The three were in a clique before Ballergang and all shared one thing in common: they all loved the music of the greatest rapper of all time, 2PAC.

 

With that, there's a verse in his song 'Life Goes On' from which the three heard him say the following words "live as a BALLER alcohol and bootycalls."

 

The group liked that so the name of the clique came quite easily; but as for me, me and the boys go way back...

 

 

5) Whose responsible for the production, distribution and other efforts of the group?

 

Most popular producer in Saldanha the one an only DJ Brandon. The whole clique works together to make it work though.

 

6) Does the group belong to label/brand and what is it's aim production wise?

 

Arnie answered this question saying:

 

We belong to a label that's well known in Saldanha bay called 'YA GA YO STUDIO' and were building the label from the ground up. The aim is mostly to say that we're keeping the name WEST COAST high and to put out good music

 

 

7) After these first few singles, what does the group plan in future?

 

Just to be heard and keep pushing, feature other crews and perform at different places - we would love that but yeah... we just wana be heard and make the production bigger so that there is dope tracks out there for the people.

 

 

8) After winning 2nd place in the high school talent show and performing publicly, does that encourage you or discourage you to continue making music and how did that experience feel for you?

 

That encourages me a lot man and it makes me wana make more music. It felt great being on stage, it's something I enjoy doing - performing. Before I got on stage I was nervous though but when I got out there... I just done my thing an enjoyed it.

 

It happened to be my 1st performance, ever... and with that, me and Junio-A! killed it, seeing that we got second place... so yeah, it was great!

 

 

9) How did ILL SCRIPTS deal with the controversy around its debut release?

 

Like we laughed a lot about it because it wasn't even serious. We just done that to see if they were stupid enough to reply and so well we couldn't careless... it doesn't really matter we don't hate the guys, they're on their level and they're doing it big yet I believe ballergang or ill scripts is the only crew in West Coast hip-hop that could really give them a run for their lyrics...lol

 

• FULL INTERVIEW COMING SOON...

More on the BALLERGANG:

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD BALLERGANG'S LATEST SINGLE 'READY'
• 'LIKE' BALLERGANG ON FACEBOOK
• FOLLOW INSAiN (@LlewenInSaIN) ON TWITTER

 

Real U Wears The Crown For The Underground

West Coast Hip-Hop raised the banner high this week as Saint Helena Bay rapper, Tha Real U reps his town and region well. The conscious rapper released his follow up to 'That I'm Dreaming' which reached a record breaking 100 downloads in 2 weeks, but that was nothing compared to this week’s happenings. The song 'Underground Kings' was produced by Shaloma Muzik following a similar production procedure of 'November 28 Girl' and a hard-core message echoing that of 'Long Nights' - the West Coast Conscious Hip-Hop banger which left many speechless after its release about 2 months ago.

Johannesburg rapper, TiTan Kai from the Eldorado Park Christian Hip-Hop group, UNIQUE, joined Real U on this groundbreaking new single. As another heat-seeker following Real U's two successful releases, 'Underground Kings' rapidly gained downloads and plays within just an hour of release. According to Shaloma Muzik's posts on Tha Real U's Facebook page, the song gathered 12 plays within 45 minutes and 10 downloads within 50, a number which normally takes some artists roundabout a day, sometimes a week or even a month to achieve.

The song then went on to beat its sister, 'Long Nights' by accumulating 60 downloads in just 19 hours, compared to the 56 — 'Long Nights' has after 2 months. Followed by an abundance of thanks from Tha Real U, the song initially reached 98 downloads at 18h00 (GMT+2) on Wednesday, December 19th; 24 hours from when it was subject to release. However, due to its actual release at 18h06 the previous day this result did not reflect the full 24 hours which at just a few minutes later saw the song officially reach the 100 downloads mark at 18h10.

In respect to the songs release, mobile music-site Swagcity (swagcity.wen.ru), introduced a new feature, entitled 'Featured Song' which places a selected track located on the site, on its home page for a week. Granted that 'Underground Kings' was a brand new addition, the song became the first to be featured in this promotion.

Reflecting some of Real U's work on his mixtape, the song is recorded on a Drake instrumental of the same title. Real U stated that he found the instrumental a few months back online and felt the urge to record on it instantly. He found the title appropriate to the message he (at that time) wanted to present. This occurred after he felt a little discouraged due to the fact that some suggested that they disliked Real U's rapping in comparison to other local rappers. A few others stated that his message is different causing him not be as good as the rest. Real U however did not record this song as a response to his haters, but rather an indirect message to other rappers and their fans, which vividly compare his work to theirs.

The center aim of the song is bringing consciousness to artists, particularly rappers in the West Coast region. Real U states that he is an Underground King, not because of status but because of his position. His message of faith through Conscious Rap is a way of repping his superhero, Jesus as stated. As Galatians 4:7 in the Bible states that they are heirs in the Kingdom of God and co-heirs in Christ, Real U suggests that they should be considered kings on Earth as the Bible identities them as princes in Heaven.

This Christian perspective is evident throughout the song and stretches till the end, where Real U concludes that those who exalt themselves, considering themselves to be better than the rest, will be humbled.

As initially intended Shaloma Muzik will soon release a lyrical video for the song on YouTube. Other than this, it has not yet been confirmed as to whether or not the song will be uploaded on KasiMp3, as it will follow the release procedure of its two predecessors, appearing on Zamob and other connected sites of the Wapload network.

Real U keeps it Real COOL! One Truth and One Mixtape.

Former DJ, Real U (also known as Real Mixwell) dropped his revolutionary mixtape 50/50: The Vision last week, on the very first day of Spring on the African continent. With this 1st September release, there were no delays in getting it! Regardless of how the tape was pushed back 2 weeks since it's proposed release date, the mixtape received instant download numbers and positive comments from various listeners.



Photo courtesy of Shaloma Muzik.

Its promotion however was kept to a low, as Real U intends to provide his listeners with quality lyrics and sound. The production of The Vision can be criticised, but for many it has been overlooked as the editing and lyrically content filled the tape with a potential flow.

Feats from Lil' Beats and LiLReD helped narrow the solo feel of the release, with Kristie Alexandra vocally supporting the mixtape in its introductory stage on Crash Down.

Bonus songs Last Goodbye & Got Me Down paved a smooth ending to the 25-track Christian-based Conscious Hip-Hop fiasco. Local beat maker, Lee-Rick and musician Noel Kearns, helped as well as Real U thankfully credits them for their work. The mixtape is certainly a must hear for many. The question is not really 'who is Real U?' but rather 'what can he do?'

Title based on 1 Corinthians 13:12, '50/50' reflects both an uncertain image of life and the hope of a fulfilled vision in Christ.

Inspired to serve, this 18 year old lyricst, speaks either truth or a really brutal message to the youth. Days after the tape's release, Real U decided to tweet his expressive flow, under the hashtag #5050TheVision. No stranger to tweeting rhymes, the youngin' promotes Christian Hip Hop from the likes of Lecrae, Trip Lee & Bizzle, regularly through socially networking.

What lies in store for his artistic future? Only God knows.

To download Tha Real U '50/50: The Vision' visit www.tharealu.tk.
Download is free.