Angela Nimah: Ok, and how do
you find the crowd or rather the people here different from the crowd/people in
Pretoria?
Ms Isis: Well, they’re
laid back. Here there’s not a big difference in terms of like people’s vibes
and stuff. People are the same in term of meeting them and talking to them,
everyone’s nice, everyone’s sweet, the vibe is cool. Uhm, there’s not much of
difference – there’s a lot of love, people give you a lot of love and maybe I’d
say the amount of people because here you can get a lot of people more than you
get in Pretoria. I think people here are more open to different things, uhm, but
yeah, basically I always get the same reaction, it’s always a good vibe.
Angela Nimah: As far as your
journey in hip hop and music in general where does the producer in you
originate and what’s the story behind wanting to make beats?
Ms Isis: Tjo! What
happened? Well, I had this thing that I wanted to sing, I can sing, but I’m not
sure, I didn’t know if this was something I really wanted to do, something I
could live off of, you know? Well everyone just discouraged me, they always
thought it was a hobby, but I decided
that I do wanted to sing but getting someone to support you was always very
hard especially coming to Jo’burg you’re fresh, coming to Pretoria you’re fresh
and I didn’t know anyone. People needed beats, people had beats and that was
very hard for me to get in.
So
one day I was like yo! Friend of mine, show me how to do this and he showed me.
Uhm, how to move the mouse here, keep this here, cut this there and eventually
I started playing and it was interesting and I started liking it and I was like
maybe this is something I could do, and then it started turning from a hobby to
something that I liked. I began making people listen and they were like wow
your beats are actually quite cool. So I’ve always had that music thing but the
producing thing is just a step ahead.
Angela Nimah: Was that when
you decided you wanted to this. Did it lead you to that conclusion?
Ms Isis: Yah! Not
necessarily because of producing or anything like that, but from when I was
young – I don’t remember but from a small age people were always like, oh you
have such a beautiful voice, but I would never take it seriously and only when
I was very old when I would going to gigs, watching that space, being in that
space – I was like maybe I can do this and I actually fitted in and I gave it a
try. I think it was back in 2000 or ’99; I was like music is something that I
wanted to do.
Although
I tried to study it, it didn’t work out so well – in those times maybe I was 22
-23. I was always surrounded by musicians, my brother was doing this music
thing, uhm, so it was very easy…well hard…well, I don’t know whether to say
easy or hard but it was always comfortable to be around the musicians and I was
like this is home for me and this is what I wanna do – I wanna do music. And
I’ve been pushing, well, since now. [giggles]
Angela Nimah: What are you
currently studying?
Ms Isis: Now I’m studying
bass guitar at Vusi Mahlasela – it’s
called Vuma, uhm, I’m doing theory 1,
so I’m back to basics. I’m like a kid in school. So I’m doing theory 1 and
hopefully we’ll gradually get to 2, 3, 4, and 9. Because me liking producing… I
like to produce music but I don’t think it’ll help me get there, so bass guitar
is a sort of instrumental foundation. I chose the instrument and I loved it, I
still love it, and I’m hoping one day obviously I’ll do my thing on stage with
my bass, and that’s the plan really. I just progress like that.
Angela Nimah: How would you
describe your relationship with hip hop?
Ms Isis: Wow! I don’t
know why, but I’m finding it hard to step out of it because I think I’m just
used to it too much. I like the fact that hip
hop has always had a message; it’s always had meaning, because you won’t just
listen to a song and it’s telling you to go out and do this and that, uhm some
people that you listen to they tell you to go to school, you can do it, pick
yourself up, uh brush yourself off, it doesn’t matter where you come from,
whether you’re rich or poor, believe in who you are. So hip hop for me has
always been comfortable; I didn’t find it in Kwaito, I didn’t find it in uhm,
jazz in a way, I didn’t find it in a lot of music but with hip hop I thought I
fit in here.
But
since my brother introduced it to me, that’s just all we used to listen to and
I was automatically attached to it. Until today I’m still that ‘hip hop girl’,
I mean I don’t rap; I’m not an emcee, I don’t necessarily consider myself a hip
hop head but I love hip hop to bits and I think that’s where I fit in the most.
Angela Nimah: How do you
remain consistent and relevant, because as a musician you’re only as good as
your last performance?
Ms Isis: I think you
just have to always be working. It’s even tough for me because sometimes you
get tired, you get frustrated, you get annoyed at the situation especially if
you don’t have a certain surname you can’t get anywhere, if you don’t have
money you can’t get anywhere. An I consider myself a normal human being in
terms of fitting with everybody, so
trynna push the music is quite hard for me, but it’s something that I wanna do,
it’s something to live for – it’s a living. That’s why I even decided to branch
away from just being a musician by hosting shows where I’m doing poetry and
people come, so it’s embracing the whole hip hop art, soul music culture, and
it’s a slow, slow journey, I mean some people get there faster some people are
slower, but I’m getting there and I’m having a lot of fun – a lot of
complications, but a lot of fun [giggles].
Angela Nimah: Do you write
your own music?
Ms Isis: I write my own
music, uhm…
Angela Nimah: What goes into
the whole creative process of writing a good song or making a tight beat?
Ms Isis: Uh, let’s see.
Well, I never have a day, but sometimes you feel compelled, ‘ok, today I’m
gonna sit down and write a song’, sometimes it comes to you because of how
you’re feeling and if you’re a person who likes to write thoughts you don’t
know how else to express yourself, or you’re a person who’s bottled up or… I
always thought let me write a song, let me write a poem, it’s my thing, no one
is gonna see it, no one is gonna hear it. Until I started saying let me hear
what people had to say about the way that I write and they were like you can
write well. There’s no process really, it’s like a mood thing for me, sometimes
that delays ‘the process’ because you can’t process your moods like ‘hey I
wanna be happy, hey I wanna be sad, I’m
going through this or I’m going through that’, but I think every day there’s
something happening that you can always write about. I try to write everyday
but it doesn’t happen like that, but usually the good songs always come
randomly.
Angela Nimah: Do you ever
feel the need to perform at a peak to try to impress your crowd, to impress
your fans, to impress people who love your music?
Ms Isis: Hmm. I think
definitely you want to impress, you wanna have a good word out there, you wanna
impress people, and you want them to be happy with what you do. You try not to
make it about yourself too much, you try to make it about the people; will the
people enjoy this, will they relate to this, will they understand?
Most
of the time I used to…well, even now, I’m gonna see today what happens, but usually when I sing I get frustrated and I’m like
this is a jamming song, ‘why aren’t you guys moving?’ and it’s ‘cause they’re listening.
I get bumbed out…I don’t know how to explain it but…uhm, but you definitely
always want to impress the people, you want them to leave the place saying
‘wow, that was a great show’, you always want your sound to be 100% so it’s
good to have a good image, to leave the stage clean, to leave people happy. You
can’t give them bad sound, you can’t be late! At least be punctual as an
artist. We’re trying our best to do all of that and one day it’s gonna be
perfect.
The
crowd today is great I can’t wait and it’s about to start – I can’t wait to see
what’s gonna happen. Are people gonna stare at me are they gonna move – it’s
definitely for them. Even now, the place
might be small, you perform at your peak, the place might be big, you perform
at your peak – you give it your best all the time.
Angela Nimah: Tell us about
your influences and how they have contributed to you being at the level that
you are currently at with your craft and what is about them that inspire you?
Ms Isis: I have one
major artist [blushes] – Erykah, I
like her, and I’ve always liked her since I was young. I think she was the one
artist that I connected to immediately because I was like I like this hip hop
but I can’t rap and I like this soulful type of thing but I don’t wanna do RnB
you know… so she was one of those people I was like YES! That is it, that’s
what I wanna do and I’ve always followed her, Amel Lerrieux, uhm, I skip
around; I can go to Common, I can go to Mos’ Def, Fat Freddys Drop, I can go to
Kulture, Reggae. I love every aspect of music; if it’s good music I will love
it. There’s a lot of music that sometimes it’s not good but it’s popular. But I
have this thing of, it’s good music I’ll love it.
I
don’t know, your Ella Fitzgeralled, from rap to soul to Merriam Makeba,
Thandiswa Mazwai but I had to find where I fit in and where I’m comfortable. I
can’t be Thandiswa Mazwai because I can’t speak Xhosa that well, I’m not that
rooted, so this is where I fit in. all those people make sense to me and this
is the product that I come up with because of all of that.
Angela Nimah: How long have
you been part of this music journey and where do you see yourself most
satisfied and content in your career?
Ms Isis: I’m still not
content. I think I’m very far from where I am going, but I’m definitely gonna
get there. Between 1 and 10 I can say I’m at 7 – I feel like I’m at 7. I don’t
know what 10 is, whether 10 means being successful, whether it means you have money
or whatever, but my goal is for everybody
to enjoy the music, listen to the music, love the music, and that’s it really;
if everybody can hear it and if you say ‘hey, there’s that girl called Ms Isis
out there’. That’s just basically what I wanna do, I wanna help other artists
to get on stage and hopefully today I see a lot of people on the open mike and
just do it yeah.
Angela Nimah: What do you
feel you represent in your music within the South African landscape?
Ms Isis: Wow! That one
I can’t really… I’ve always found it hard to relate to South African music. My
music is very internationally influenced, so I don’t know a lot of South
African artists, but I guess that’s what I’m trynna do, is to make South Africa
be like ‘hey there’s this kind of music, hey listen to me you know?’, uhm so I
guess I’m trying to make hip hop fun, make people think that hip hop is not just about being grimy and
wearing long pants. There are kids who can sing and do different things. I’m
just trynna introduce something new and hopefully South Africa will love it and
like it and I’m excited about it.
Angela Nimah: What would you
like your current and future fans, supporters, and lovers of your music to have
insight of on the person behind the mike?
Ms Isis: She’s really
nobody... dramatic… [giggles] she’s very cool, she’s very humble, you can come
to her and talk to her and say ‘hey Ms Isis, I really like your stuff or Ms Isis
I don’t like your stuff’, uhm, she’s a very fun, loving person, she loves to
sing and people mustn’t be shy of her. She’s quite down to earth, easy-going,
and she’s willing to work. She’s got all the time in the world, and if god
blesses her with a lot more time than definitely, I wanna work with anyone and
everyone.
Angela Nimah: What are your
greatest aspirations in this field?
Ms
Isis: Hmmmm, well. Can I say everything?
LOL There’s so much I wanna do, there’s so much I… I don’t wanna be
stuck in one place; I wanna go everywhere and do everything. Some days are
better than others but I’m pushing.
Angela Nimah: In your
understanding of this diverse medium of expression, what do you consider
essential or what makes a great artist?
Ms Isis: A great artist
has to have good sound, must be on time, must look good, feel good, and respect
the people. This whole thing that we’re doing is for the person; that’s why
we’re here, that’s why we’re doing shows and hopefully they’ll enjoy it. But
just be real and I guess it also depends on who you are and what you do and where
you wanna go and where you find yourself. Always be humble as an artist, you
never know where you’ll find.
Angela Nimah: Should we
expect an album soon, any projects or anything you are currency promoting?
Ms Isis: Yes! There’s a
lot, it’s just that I’m giving myself time and hopefully people will also give
me time. But there’s a lot. There’s an album coming out so hopefully the song
will come out, I don’t know, maybe we’ll squeeze it in somehow, between now and
December. Take the music abroad and yah…
Angela Nimah: Any last words
to those reading this interview and have gravitated to your energy?
Ms Isis: I say thank
you for giving me the time of day to interview me and I didn’t even know I was
gonna get interviewed so that’s a
blessing. It means something and hopefully the people who are listening are going out there and supporting local
artists, supporting hip hop music, supporting sistas, supporting sistas in hip
hop and to those sistas, don’t be scared. There’s a lot of brothas out here
putting yall down, saying you can’t do it. I’m doing it so I’m waiting for
yall, let’s work!
Angela Nimah: Where can
people find you?
Thank
you to Ms Isis for allowing us to do this interview for our blog. Supporting
and covering local artists is our priority!
From
me Angela Nimah, signing out! #code NAR Shifting paradigms in South African
crafts and culture in the new generation.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The Yugen Blakrok digital conection - with Thembi Molaba
T - As far as your journey in hip hop,
where does the emcee in you originate? What’s your story...as tho unraveling
the resistance myth of Dionysus, we are about to unravel the myth of Yugen…how
goes with it? What would you like your current and future fans, general
supporters and lovers of your music to have as insight understanding of the
person behind the mic?
Y- I am Blakrok…custodian of
the Yugen Clan of Crow’s Nest, emcee and scholar.
T - How did you find yourself under the
creative umbrella of hip hop? With the options of being a graffiti head,
b-boxer, instrumentalist and beat maker, Dj-ing, emceeing (battle emcee,
freestyle emcee, writer
emcee)and simply becoming a crafts
preserving backpack kat, the options are endless in this beautiful web of
expression… how did you find yourself as a member of this community of thought?
Y -I never really considered
the options much, as far as being an artist was concerned. I had two left feet
and a crummy voice so that was that. In school, The Bard (with his sonnets and
rhyming couplets) helped me figure out hip-hop and I used to rap other people’s
tracks to my friends before eventually writing my own shit and mustering up the
courage to perform in front of a crowd. I met some creative folks during my
stay in Grahamstown and was part of the Hiphocalypse Movement while I was
there; I learn what I can from everyone I encounter.
T - Once in this community of thought
you gravitated to writing the most and then decided to take up emceeing as a
medium of creative expression, from this knowledge….. How would u describe your
relationship with rap?
Y - I deeply love rap, in and
outside of hip-hop. I love language and rhythm and words. Writing rhymes is fun…we
paint verbal kaleidoscopes of Sound…and Silence has been the greatest teacher
so far.
T - In all forms of emceeing we know
that practice is what makes you really good at what u do but with that comes
technique.
With writing technique in mind…what goes into the creative process of actually
writing a good track for Yugen?
Y - Patience, perseverance and
acceptance. I don’t have a specific technique pinned down, yet; I’ve won many
staring competitions with blank pages in my life. Often, I’ll hear a beat and
get an idea of what I’d like to do with it. Sometimes, I get the flow first;
other times, the concept and the other “other” times, I’m too focused on the
technical aspect of writing that I don’t get shit at all so I doodle on the
page. Once in a while, if I can channel the energy well enough, the song’ll
write itself. I try to write every day, so usually I’ll let a track worm itself
into my brain, a line at a time.
T- As an artist, have u ever felt the
pressure to perform at peak and constantly prove yourself? If have, what
example can you share with the audience?
Y -I’m always trying to outdo the
self- image inside the Looking Glass. Who else could be more aware of the
fears, desires and dreams trapped inside my Matrix? When it comes to other
folks though, I am not the Give-A-Fuck type; I just try not to disappoint
myself. Folks can get mad sly, especially with that misogynistic vibe. Ask
LikwidSkillz, she’ll tell you some hilarious shit. During my first few years in
Joburg, we used to pull all kinds of impossible missions just to get on them
stages to begin with. I got skin thicker than a rhino’s when it comes to
bullshit & expectations. Besides, I’ve learnt that some people just don’t
like dope shit.
T- Having to perform at peak, compete
or just constantly having to prove yourself. As an artist, does that not defeat
the self-expressive purpose of your art form as an outlet where you can express
your experiences and ideas?
Y - Not necessarily. Your
intent counts for something. If it is your will to slay monsters to obtain the
jewel you seek, best decapitate. It’s really all on you what you want to do…
T - Do you understand emceeing as an
extension of who you are as a human being? And if you do, how?
Y - I really don’t have a
definite answer for that yet. I’m always so new to it. If emceeing were an
entity you could talk to, I’d wanna know if I was an extension of it.
T - What do you have to say to all the
kats out there who measure the validity of an emcee on how conformist they have
been to the traditional order of doing things? Which is going from the
traditional cypha, into battle and freestyle and then into writing, doesn't
this type of thinking defeat innovation, and what is your opinion on this
matter?
Y - I don’t care much for
dictation and stereotype. El-P comes to mind… “Fuck you, hip-hop just started/Funny
how the most nostalgic cats are the ones who were never part of it/”. I’m not
too crazy about people who would rather discuss things they should be doing
instead. Iap-de-ap is the SQUAD!
T- Tell us about all of your influences
and how they have contributed to you being at the level that you are currently
at with your craft. And exactly what it is about them that inspire you into
Yugen Blakrok?
Y- Mankind is an extraordinary
race. We’re complex beings and in so much darkness regarding our true nature. I
get a big kick trying to figure all that shit out, even just on a small,
personal level. And our beautiful misery feeds me.
T -When did you decide that “this is
what I want to be doing”, what led you to that conclusion? For how long have
you been on this creative journey? Also, where do you see yourself most
satisfied and content in this career?
Y - After high school, I sort
of roamed around a bit…made some half-assed efforts to study for a little while
then dropped out. My heart just wasn’t in anything; that was almost 9 years
ago. At some point, I was in my hometown with no fuckin options, no dough and a
couple of tracks written down in a book – my folks and I weren’t really on such
good terms cause of the choices I wasn’t making, or my wack attitude…I dunno.
I’d featured on the Hiphocalypse Mixtape two years before and I guess I felt
comfortable enough to wanna make something of it. I later met MainVein &
Anon from Recess Poetry (along with some more members of the crew) while I was
doing the loser thing in Queenstown but when those two decided to leave town
and explore J-Sec, I decided I would too. So I bounced. Every hardship I
experienced alone and even as a member of a crew only strengthened my resolve
to be there in the first place. I don’t know if I’ll ever be
satisfied…contentment drifts in and out of my temple as it pleases – we’re cool.
14.) Should we expect a tape soon? Any
upcoming events, gigs or projects where your peoples can heads u up at? Anything
at all that you are promoting…
I know folks that have been
waiting for years for this album, before Kanif & I even knew what it would
sound like. Return of the Astro-Goth is due out at the end of October this year,
physical and digital release. I’m gigging a whole lot more as well, so catch me
with the fam around the usual hip-hop haunts. Hit us up if you want us to come and
blow up your spot. Iapetus Records. Merch, sun? We got it.
15.) What is your twitter handle so all
those who wish to follow and keep up with your movement can catch you on?
@YugenBlakrok on Twitter
and Instagram.
16.) What are your last words to any of
your new supporters who went through this interview and gravitated to you as an
artist and have become new followers of your energy?
I am happy you’ve found me.
Let’s get lost.
(Thank you to Yugen and to Ms Isis for gracing NAR with their presence, shout outs!)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
ART OUT LOUD - Sicknatcha charity report. By Kananaleo Nthorane.
Guess
who? Yeap! Your girl Eye_M. Hope you guys are still fresh and all. Last time I
introduced you to the illest poetry movement in the Free State, yes nartjie
head! Sicknatcha Poetry Movement. Also, I informed you about their charity
session (100 thousand poets for change). I told you I got your back! If you
missed this session *shakes head* I feel sorry for you. Brace yourself!! Here
comes the review :D
So,
before we go any further. I need to fill you in on this whole 100TPC thing. It
is an event that takes place worldwide on the same day. Poets all over the world,
who are for change, stand up for that change and do something about it.
Sicknatcha Poetry believes in feeding the poor, helping the needy in any way
possible. Instead of using their savings for personal needs, they used them to
buy groceries for the needy.
Sicknatcha in partnership with the local radio
presenter Nthabiseng Mangojane managed to feed 15 families. Before the session,
the Sicknatcha guys paid a visit to all the families that were going to receive
groceries. I recall having a chat with Hlox da Rebel poet on that day and he
said “shit is real”, reality hit hard when they saw the living conditions of
those families and heard how they survive every day.
On
Saturday it was ON!! Killer performances I tell you! We had a lot of poets who
were reciting for the first time (virginities were broken), we had love life
poets and then obviously “the in house ma’f*ckers” according to Fana…
Sicknatcha Poets… in the picture below we have Eye_M and Hlox da Rebel poet.
And then Talk sick
The
following day (Sunday), we delivered groceries to the families. I was touched
by the story of this other little dude who stays with his elder brother. They
do not have any kind of income and people around them do not really care.
Other
families we visited:
I
am sure you guys are wondering who organises all these sessions... a big thank
you to the guys who made it possible. Meet the organising team: Fana, Mydo, Talk Sick and Hlox da Rebel
respectively.
A
big thank you also to Hlox da rebel, Nteboheng (Swazi),Fana and Eye_M for doing
the grocery shopping:
that
is all I have for you today!! Goodbye!! Ooh! I have a surprise for you guys:D
be on the lookout yea? Cheers
