Big ups to you for dropping in for your scoop of articles written by heads for heads!
In this once off special edition offering, we do things a little differently.
On the line up, our first track review of music from Chef Toast and Vincent Kheswa. Our new writer who joined the team 2 weeks ago has her first column running covering sicknatcha poetry. We managed to scoop tabs on two artists so this is certainly one crazi serving making up for lost time. Caught up with Fossil records Bhekithemba Simelani, Pux and Dr. Equinox about Funk Blazer together with Swrdz X for the sounding EP!!
Talk about a triple offering ...
As an alternative for subscription, a NAR twitter and facebook account has been set up for the developing press. Keep up with everything happening, We'll put out urgent bulletins over twitter. A place where heads could reach us to get their jams reviewed by our team. (we prefer you email them) So before you dive into the lineup of articles make sure you got us on twitter @NutsAboutRap and facebook also under Nutsaboutrap.... Find us!!!
- Track reviews (2)
- Swrdz X 'The sounding EP'
- Fossil Records 'Funk Blazer EP'
-'Art out loud'column by Kananelo N.
From the NAR team: ENJOY!!!!!
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A) 2 TRACK REVIEWS.....
Once music is submitted for reviews (NutsAboutRap@gmail.com)
Our team selects two jams from the lot and then we give input and ratings based on content, creativity, construction and over-all presentation of the work.
1) Music by:
Vincent Kheswa ft. Moho Katalyst, Golden Shovel and Principle.
Title:
Diamond Standard (Remix) Produced by Battlekat.
Project/Mixtape:
Resilient Ash 016: Poetry Meets Hip Hop.
Download link:
http://www1.datafilehost.com/d/04f95c9e
Work by Vincent Kheswa is sentimental for its poetic kicks and you feel like you are listening to a recital, the Second verse was on point and smashed the whole jam!!! I'm guessing that was Moho.
Quoted "on a hunger strike while I'm feeding my entire fam/ and if u don't recognise than you'r in need of an eye exam/ I plan to carey the music like a Mariah fan" coolest stuff brugga brug!!
Lyricism wasn't experimental but the jam still lived up to expectation, beat was complimentary... not your typical combination of styles but a well put together collaboration. This is the type of jam you will not enjoy if you don't listen attentively to keep with the concept and catch every pattern, every punchline and every turn and twist that each artist brings to the joint.
We gave the diamond standard remix a 6/10 Lyricism didn't disappoint.
We gave the joint 5/10 for creative credibility, the collaboration didn't explore any type of innovation and followed in the form of your typical mix of verses with nothing out of the ordinary.
We gave the beat 7/10 it was a perfect fit for the type of content that came with this jam.
2) Music by:
Chef Toast
Title:
I Got The Power (Prod By PatMedic)
Project/Mixtape:
*Random
Download link:
http://www.datafilehost.com/d/9e226549
Very unconventional, We appreciated the playfulness of this jam right here, the whole time listening to that track your mind will process images of Austin Powers losing and finding his mojo. Chef Toast is a battle kat trying to bring snap groove back "I'm just trying to get my listeners more inspired in what they do and making them dance at the same time because if you can listen to the sound it's not the normal underground vibe"
We gave Toast's jam a 5/10 vote for lyricism, the jam was light and enjoyable and for that chilled vibe he came through with scored him an 8/10 for the courage it took to defy convention in a Hip Hop landscape where criticism is hectic still. An 8 for effort, kat is out there doing his own thing. The beat got a chilled vote also on 6/10 for complimented the playfulness and lightness of the content.
Very different from what we are used to._________________________________________________________________________
B) 'THE SOUNDING EP' SWRDZ X............
Now to end your life knock out style we got one other guest Swrdz X!!! The first time I listened to dudes music I had to go out and hunt him down for him to do this profile with us.. it was crayzziii!!! Rest in beats is still of exquisite lyricism. We caught up with him too to find out what he was up to and you know how we do..... Question tablet first (Of which Swrdz did justice to) and conversation next, we are that digital generation and we make that connection even in our sleep. this was how that went....
An MC from the Free State, a town called Masilo, dedicated to Hip Hop, not just the Music but the whole lifestyle. I'm a regular guy, humble and cool headed, vicious on the mic though, I'm currently laying the foundation to help me do what's never been done with Hip Hop in SA, I want my supporters to know that this whole thing is bigger than me selling a copy and making a quick buck, I wanna build schools out here and make people self sufficient.
How Swrdz ended up as an emcee:
Blame it on Wutang's "Triumph" video and Canibus' 2ndRound K.O. I've loved Hip Hop since! and MC'eing sort'a became the first love because I could do it without needing too many resources or space, sure the b-boxing as well.. But you cannot b-box in silence!! I can write rhymes in silence.
How would you describe your relationship with rap?
Escapism, sometimes I write stuff that doesn't make sense intentionally cos I know I'm not gonna record it, I write it for the hell of it sometimes.
Any special writing techniques?
I check what I'm feeling, I could be tipsy, I could be sober drinking water, I could be high, or I could be high and drinking..those different states put me in different thought patterns(but I don't encourage excessive drinking or smoking), am I fresh from a Hip Hop session or was I chilling alone for the whole weekend? My thing is all about the opening line..if I can get a good opening line then the rest of the verse follows naturally, to a point where I don't write words that rhyme consciously, it sort of happens by itself to a point where it makes me wonder if all mc's experience this, was it written somewhere that we are gonna use some words in songs that explain the situation so well they rhyme with one another, nah mean?
Have u ever felt the pressure to perform at peak and constantly prove yourself?
You always have to prove Yourself in Hip Hop, there's always a new audience somewhere waiting to hear new stuff and they are already in a bad mood because of "the swagger" movement or whatever they feel is killing Hip Hop.
Proving yourself does not mean writing what those people want to hear..for me it means creating my little corner and whoever looks around the room long enough will eventually come to the corner and see something different
Your influences and how they have contributed to you being at the level that you are currently at with your craft...
My influences are different from time to time, I chill in my room and my room's vibe influences me, I chill with my childhood friends and I get a certain influence, I build with my father on some subject and I get influenced
What do you feel that you represent through your music, within the South African landscape?
A New Movement, taking Hip Hop to a new light in SA, in the Free State, particularly in Small towns, you still get the "Yo yo yo my nigga" comments, but you don't see us jumping up and down whenever a member of the ZCC church walks past, or we don't start singing when church members pass us by, why is that? Why do people try to clown our culture? Because people don't see Hip Hop as something that can be used in SA for the greater good, they still see us as people who flash cash and sing infront of half naked girls, cliche but true.
And one other thing...
its always been the cats from Jhb or Cape Town at the forefront of things, and I've been saying this since I was a kid that I'm gonna change all that and I'm working with the people that share the same vision as me, so its going to happen soon.
Your greatest aspirations within this field?
Create something that will exist long after I'm worm food.
What do u consider essential or what makes up a potent emcee?
I've realized that you can't call somebody completely dope or another one completely wack..it all goes according to what you relate to..people always like what reminds them of themselves..I guess humans are shallow in that regard...so to answer your question I'd say, good delivery, and being able to capture the audience
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
Yes, THE SOUNDING is about to drop, its an EP, no features on it..its me purely on the vocals, most of the production is handled by Sellkat & Kritik Beats and its Mixed and Mastered by Fact (all from OTO(Out_The_Oven Music)
Twitter:
@Swrdz_X. FB: Swrdz X Clbr
....Let's realize that whatever we do or create will go on to have a life of its own, so be careful what You create, let it be uplifting and inspirational, we are all learning at the end of the Day.
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C) 'FUNK BLAZER EP' FOSSIL RECORDS........
And now for the next item on our line up, We caught up with Bhekithemba Simelane, Pharksmanis and Dr. Equinox of Fossil Records and plastered them with our infamous question tablet lol.. there really is no running away from the NAR team at all folks!!
Make sure you catch up with Funk Blazer, I had it posted to me months ago and it still bangs in my playlist coz its that good, Here is how that roll went down...
What would you like your current supporter’s n lovers of the music that you produce to know about Fossil?
At Fossil, our music has grown to be known as music that connects deeply with the spirits of people we live around. What we say on the mic as a reflection of the situations we see and go through every day. Our people need solutions for the troubles they face on the daily. We try to bring about those solutions through our passions in music and art.
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What project is Fossil currently pushing?
The Fossil All Stars - Funk Blazer mix tape is out and available on a number of platforms include some online stores and on hand. To those wanting to buy the physical tape, its available from our street teams which you will be linked up with.
What does Fossil represent in music, within the South
African landscape?
We represent realism. We do so in a positive way though. We are given a chance to write history - as artists. We have to develop each other’s identities and we can only do so by doing what is true to us as individuals. That’s where proper communication with other people comes from connecting with the rest of the world without filtering or distorting anything. We gotta represent that which we dream about on a regular, to us its all about providing for our communities.
What are Fossils greatest aspirations within this field of arts and culture?
We would like to write books that share with cats abilities to dream and venture. Hence creating platforms for art to take place.
Any last words:
Thanks to our loyal buyers, the guys in Newcastle, Secunda, Durban and JHB.
Let’s keep it locked high above, we moving beyond, great things coming up,
Promotional shows, an all-night Fossil show coming up.
More videos coming up, more remixes coming up.
Thanks to DR Equinox, for sharing his perspective with our audience, (on behalf of Fossil Records corp.).
For more information
Email me at: myinbox49@live.comcall 0727002502
And now its time for SICKWAHHHHH!!!!!
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D)'ART OUT LOUD'CORNER............
Time to art out loud playa!! Ahoy my Free State people. This is your girl Eye_M still feeding
your mind with that stuff you know you want to hear about. told you to trust in
me ya loyal Freestate poetry and hip hop scout and reporter. Left right
soldier!! We keep going. Today I’m introducing you to a movement making a lot
of noise in the Free State! If you haven’t heard about them you must be from
another planet or have been living under some rock for real. Sickwahhh? you
have no idea what I am talking? Don’t relax kill yaself…!
With Sicknatcha we had TNV (Thoko-Nu-Verbs)
that started around 2007. TNV was dismantled because most of its elite members
moved away so it could not be sustained. This however did not mean the “death
of poetry” in QwaQwa. The likes of
Lebajwa, Hlox da Rebel, Tank and other poets who still had the burning desire
to perform joined thoughts and started the sick sessions. Hlox da Rebel poet
was the founder and organiser of Sicknatcha sessions. These sessions are one of
a kind. They dress naked minds with
wisdom, fill empty promises with trust and also they fill your empty tummy with
muffins and coffee!! Hahaha How cool is that?
In 2012 Hlox da Rebel moved to PTA and left the
movement in the hands of Tank. As time progressed Tank conversed with Fana who
brought his ill organising skills which made sessions what they are today. Before Fana became linked to Sicknatcha, they
used to hold session outside the library or wherever they could… it was poets
amongst poets, poets reciting for poets without an audience… Fana came into the picture and started
organising KILLER sessions. They started having people come through to watch
them and the number of audience has been increasing madly since then. From zero
audience to +100 people coming through to their sessions, 1079 Facebook like,
199 twitter followers and numerous supporters! All gained in a year!!
Without any financial assistance they still pull
through. The only direction they know is “forward” that’s where they are
heading, just by using cash made from sessions and sick t-shirts. The atmosphere you get at Sicknatcha sessions cannot
be found anywhere else, music and poetry …
that’s how they roll!
co-founder of the movement defines Sicknatcha poetry
as “An open stage for artists. A place where tongues are liberated, minds are
transformed and freedom of speech is fully practiced”. To prove that, they have
open mic sessions where 20 poets slam till their saliva dries out!! Whoever
gets the crown walks away with R500.00 cash! The top 10 will be in their soon
to be recorded mixtape Babaaa!!
Current Top 10
100 Thousand Poets for Change!!
Sicknatcha poets aren’t just poets, they are poets for change. They are
a part of an international event that originates in Mexico. They try by all
means to give back to the community by helping the less fortunate. Last year
they managed to feed 5 families, this year they are going for 15!! You can also
help by attending the show, bringing groceries for donation or pay R20.00 at
the door. If you want to come through,
check out the details on this poster:
You can like “Sicknatcha Poetry Movement” on Facebook,
Follow “Sick_whaaaa”on twitter. If you want to send an email you can send it to
Sicknatchapoetry@yahoo.com.
From your girl Eye_M! That is all I have for you. Adios
amigos *winks*
