The city of Cape Town, one of South Africa's biggest music scenes, with a growing number of popular Hip-Hop acts, a continual flow of EDM and a vibrant night-life, has seen some of the nation's top acts start from the bottom and work their way, stage by stage to the top.
As remarkable as this is, a recent fresh sound was discovered on the 10th of May 2014 at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Open Day, an exhibition event introducing prospective students to the various courses on offer for their academic future.
Held at Bellville campus, one of these courses on display had a distinctive vibe around it, a sort of ambiance which seemed to excite those who passed by it. Known as Public Relations Management, a catchy brand name "InstaPR" was displayed instead in respect to their sleek theme and this accompanied a Hip-Hop song by three of the Cape's youngest artists.
The track entitled as '#InstaPR2014 (Insta PR Song)' was downloaded more than 150 times on the very same day of premier. Louie B from Question Mark Movement, a rap group which made it's first big debut on the South Africa reality TV-show 'SA's Got Talent', collaborated with Tha Real U, a South-African-West-Coast based underground rapper from Shaloma Muzik. Additional vocals were provided by the Nambian-raised songstress Taffy Mwaza.
Their efforts in creating a song which could attract more-and-more future university students to study the course, proved to be useful. Their understanding of the course, the Public Relations field and university life, has made this record not only a popular hit with the students but is even said to be enjoyed by the dean of the course.
So far the track has received mixed feedback, mainly positive, and is available on The SA Mark Hip-Hop music site, SwagCity and WapTrick.
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Over the last few months,
the West Coast Hip-Hop scene has seen some changes occur. Some were noticed yet
some might still be ignored as many happen to be uninformed. If you one of
those who don't know or maybe you haven’t been paying close attention, take a
look below:
1. Internet Exposure
With
artists like Goku from War3 Karak3tez, Big Twist, Tha Real U and Legacii on
Soundcloud and Reverbnation, Internet exposure has surely increased. Three
months ago, Tha Real U released 'Underground Kings' which quickly became one of
the top downloaded songs in West Coast Hip-Hop, by reaching 100 downloads in a
day.
Apart from
this, Goku has released a series of music videos online which accompany those
of Bizzy and Zayo, as well as the Major Playaz.
Other than
this Tha Real U happened to release a music video as well. For the coast, this
kind of exposure not only helps artists but it sheds light on the West Coast
Hip-Hop community as well. Online releases help artists get recognised locally
and Internationally quicker and more conveniently.
Last year
mobile-site Swag City, was released in favour of this, so that locally people
can download songs without having to hassle with computers, looking for links
on Google or better yet not knowing where to find music.
2. Collaborations
Recently
Big Twist collaborated with Goku. This created a banger along with Ivaan and
Lazy B who previous also appeared on one of Goku's songs. Not only did this
song ('We Made It') show how West Coast Hip-Hop steps things up, but so did Tha
Real U's 'That I'm Dreaming' and 'Long Nights' which got newcomers Jempas and
Lee Rick further involved in music.
General
and Young Fl!p gained access to the Hip-Hop scene as well when they debuted on
Big Twist's first mixtape, along with Prospect and Double D which gained added
recognition. These collaborations show how West Coast Hip-Hop is transforming.
The scene
is no longer monopolised by a single group of artists or band, but diverse,
with different perspectives, styles and influences.
3. Started From The
Bottom
Like
everyone in the industry, you have to start somewhere even if it is the bottom.
The past year has seen this happen. Not only did Twist come out of his shadow,
but so did Tha Real U who happened to be a mash-up DJ.
Legacii,
Illscripts, WBMG, also formed. These three groups soon started making music
with a passion and are yet fighting for some exposure. With so many
artists popping up out of no where, the West Coast community might soon see a
revolution take place. While other artists remain unknown, the little light
that has become the platform for West Coast Hip-Hop has helped artists grow and
release more and more songs. With this comes better sound quality, lyrics and
production quality.
Although
most artists pushing songs these days are underground and newcomers, their
support structures are constantly expanding. It's might just be a matter of
time until their music is everywhere.
4. The Platform
Before
2013, West Coast Hip-Hop lacked a serious platform. Artists seem to be hidden
in all places, some are popular yet the notorious, remain notorious. This
reality however is starting to change. With Facebook pages and groups, websites
like Swag City and communication structures between artists through these
tools, West Coast Hip Hop now has a growing platform open for new artists and
ready to support existing artists.
One
problem though. Somehow there's always a disadvantage and this is it: some
artists are promoting self with old, outdated procedures, rather then modernising
and keeping up with the new platform. Not only do they aim at creating
fan-bases or added support for themselves, they do this with no intention of
building up the West Coast Hip-Hop community.
Networking
tools like Facebook groups/pages, Websites etc... depend on the whole
communities involvement to become an true success. Not only do artists gain
exposure, while they lend exposure, they also help the whole West Coast Hip-Hop
scene gain exposure and this will either help them cutback at trying to win
fans cause they'll naturally gain support, or cause them to fade out if the
scene becomes quickly populated.
5. Performances
Recently
Big Twist and brand, started hitting a few popular venues. With performances
springing up in local places, West Coast Hip-Hop is becoming much more
engaging.
Although
some regular performances do happen in the West Coast community, they seem to
be aimed at one area, particularly a certain fan-base to please the supporters
of a certain group. This is remarkable as fans will keep coming back for more,
but it doesn't get the Hip-Hop scene to expand into unheard regions of the
coast.
The group,
ILLSCRIPTS took on this attempt however, by performing in a local High School
Talent show, which scored them 2nd place. Not only does this performance help
debut the group, but it also informs the general community about the emerging
Hip-Hop scene within its community.
While some
Hip-Hop artists (unknown to us) do also perform in popular places, it is yet a
mystery on how their music actually engages with the public.
It is said
that more events are being planned for West Coast Hip-Hop artists, especially
the thought of possibly seeing some of these current power-forces work
together. Will that happen? and is this even possible? For now we have no idea,
only the Lord knows.
The once ambitious House DJ, DJ Real U, has set various flames in the underground industry with leaks from his much anticipated mixtape Vandalism. A mixtape which took about half the year to complete, has now officially met its peak, when Real U Productions & the West Coast Finest team decided to distribute it one last time in 2012.
Today, 24 June marks a memorious day as Real U becomes the first Touch Radio artist (amongst the like of Ndwaz10 & DJ D33psoul) to submit a full mixtape online. His mixtape is now available at the official DJ Real U website (realudj.tk) as well as on 4shared.
Following various local feedback, the mixtape has gotten nothing but positive vibes since Real U's previous Greenroom Mixtape was distributed. Following 4 previous mixtapes, Vandalism has become the first to receive full support as rumours suggest Real U will no longer be involved in the House Music industry.
The track entitled as '#InstaPR2014 (Insta PR Song)' was downloaded more than 150 times on the very same day of premier. Louie B from Question Mark Movement, a rap group which made it's first big debut on the South Africa reality TV-show 'SA's Got Talent', collaborated with Tha Real U, a South-African-West-Coast based underground rapper from Shaloma Muzik. Additional vocals were provided by the Nambian-raised songstress Taffy Mwaza.
