By Sabelo Mkhabela

Five years since the release of her debut EP, 2017’s In Good Faith, Kay Faith finally dropped her debut album this month. Antithesis packs 10 tracks that showcase Kay Faith’s range and her scholarly approach to curation.

Cape Town’s new wave – Owethu, Kashcpt, Hanna, Holy Alpha – spazzes on ‘Top Ten’ over a crashing trap beat. Each artist represents a different demographic of Cape Town hip-hop, from the suburbs to the hood, and expat UCT students in the case of Hanna, who raps, “Now that my face is on the internet, that is her favourite seat,” in her verse – a standout among other solid verses.

Spreading more Cape Town flavour are Phresh Clique and Bandannie, who connect on the playful ‘Slay Queen’, which aims to reclaim the titular descriptor by an all-queer line-up. Bravo Le Roux slides effortlessly through a bumpy bassline on ‘Amamenemene’ alongside VenusRaps.

‘PROUDLY CAPETONIAN’, one of the oldest songs on Antithesis, isn’t only a leap forward for Kay Faith who passes YoungstaCPT a drill-leaning beat, but a song in which she brings together day-ones YoungstaCPT and E-Jay for a notable Y?Gen reunion of sorts; E-Jay was behind bars when the song was recorded, and the hook was repurposed from an old recording.

‘Township Deluxe’, a new age kwaito posse cut, featuring OGs like Blaklez, Kaygizm and KiD X, and young bucks like Maglera Doe Boy and AirDee, shows just how much of a student Kay Faith is, and how measured she is in her curation. She told Apple Music, “All the artists, in their own capacity, have birthed a style of rap that wouldn’t have existed if it wasn’t for kwaito music. Blaklez is the founding father of the Sepitori-type raps that you see in Pretoria. KiD X is from [skhanda rap]; Maglera Doe Boy and KayGizm [rep motswako].”

‘On Life’, which sits midway through Antithesis, is a necessary reality check in an otherwise light-hearted project. Both Reason’s and Sipho The Gift’s verses are poignant reflections on their personal journeys, which is a lane both artists have run with eloquence and outstanding penmanship. Reason opens the song with the lines, “I just had a fight with my stepdad over money/ The back and forth over what he gave and what he owe me/ Conversation had me thinking if he ever love me/ That’s the kind of stupid sh*t you think when you just hungry,” before stating he’s operating in his own orbit and taking care of what matters the most to him. Sipho The Gift recounts the pain of witnessing dreams die while he perseveres in his own journey. He raps, “Cemeteries are my inspiration/ When I’m feeling like I’ll never make it/ I think of all those who lacked in patience/ and gave up early while still chasing greatness.” All this as muffled guitar strings scream in the background, contributing to the intensity of the record. Not overlooking the beautiful job done by vocalists Faith K and Nyokks.

‘Shark Week’, featuring Maglera Doe Boy, is a raw street banger where the leader of straata growls over a trap beat with a pulverising bassline; home turf for MDB, who handles the song without the aid of any other rapper.

The majority of the artists on Antithesis hail from Cape Town but also have a presence nationally, which is a far cry from how things were when In Good Faith dropped in 2017. Today, Cape Town hip-hop is the most visible it has ever been, nationally. And it would have been a travesty not to pay homage to the scene’s pioneers and complete the picture. Kay Faith’s got you covered. Towards the end of Antitheses, Uno July, a long-serving icon of Cape Town hip-hop, pays homage to his roots as a member of the duo Ill Skillz over a vintage boom bap beat embellished by cuts by Grandmaster Ready D, a true pioneer of South African hip-hop as a member of one of the country’s oldest hip-hop crews, Prophets of the City, and an active artist, DJ and community builder.

Antithesis closes with the sunny R&B-pop jam ‘Cinderella’ whose drums are imported from reggae, just like the dubbed-up guitar licks that dance around Nathan Blurr’s R&B vocals as he sings about a Cinderella who’s been doing him dirty.

Stream Antithesis by Kay Faith on Apple Music, Spotify and other platforms.

The post Album of the Month: Kay Faith ‘Antithesis’ appeared first on HYPE Magazine.

By ubereatzz

After dropping his critically acclaimed project Members Only, an extraordinary collab tape If You Know, You Know with Mashbeatz and was featured recently on the producer’s street banger ‘Never Ride’ alongside Maglera Doe Boy, Thato Saul’s latest offering Life Is Gangsta cements his position in hip-hop as one of the best storytellers and lyricists in the country.

The tape lets the listener in on growing up in Thato Saul’s hood Atteridgeville, popularly known as Pheli, west of Pretoria, with ‘Modimo Ohla Pheli’ where he speaks on his growth as an artist and as a person while he states that people didn’t believe he would get this far.

He carries this energy into ‘Pick It Up’ where he raps about a deep conversation with a friend who tells him a life of crime is the only way he can put food on the table. “I pray that they give it up easy/ Don’t be Superman and be throwin’ a fit up/ Don’t really like pullin’ the trigger/ even though that sh*t don’t make me shiver/ Give up the keys and give up the monies/ I be prayin’ to God, ‘don’t make me pull the trigger/ Don’t really like being that n*gga,” Thato Saul raps from the perspective of his subject.

He recruits rap superstar A-Reece on ‘Put It on Me’. Saul addresses his peers, fans, and haters about how he is here to stay, and is cautious of who he keeps around him as he takes the game on. A-Reece comes in smooth letting his naysayers know he is aware of all that talk and how they are in their feelings, but they must respect his position in the rap game as he raps, “Just like the ex-con Jimmy, I thought I’d better call Saul/ Sky’s the limit and we takin’ off/ I don’t wanna see my mama cryin’ anymore, this who I do it for.”

‘Big Steppa’ reinforces Thato Saul’s stance on how people swear to be gangsta but they’re just claiming, but he sees that life every day in his hood, and knows how it goes. He continues to call himself a big deal as he is for the streets, by the streets with a reputation to match. This goes hand-in-hand with the Mashbeatz-produced ‘Kwa Bofello’ in which he mentions he’s the last of a dying breed with the stripes to prove it.

My favourite track ‘Kick It with You’, featuring Marcus Harvey, changes the mood from gully to romantic. It’s a beautiful love song that sees him rap over a melodic beat, confessing the things he is willing to do to be with her while addressing his foes. “You got the best rapper in the land, how you turnin’ me to a fan?/ If a n*gga ever try capture you like a cam/ they’ll arrest me, put in a can,” he raps. Marcus Harvey’s vocals bolster the gangsta love anthem.

The song comes with a comical skit which has a woman complaining to her friend about boys in her hood not going out anymore, but rather just sit at home and watch Big Brother.

‘Deep in The Mix’ with R&B artist and producer TRON PYRE is the best track on this tape sonically. The beat, the flow, the cadence, the writing and TRON’s vocals are all top notch. It’s my second favourite on the project.

The interlude ‘Tau Street’ brings the listener back to the harsh realities faced by Saul as he maneuvers his daily life in Pheli. The hard-hitting ‘R.I.P Fat Cat’ is a dedication to one of the well-known car spinners in his area who he seemed to admire a lot; he lets the listener in on how street politics get settled. “Nakwe Fat Cat asa park-ile pere,” he raps, “Dilo diya change-a ke spina ka pen/ Solo ako tshaba lo dwadla le pleke enemy di meme/ Street politics seti fetotsi sport/ Sae jump-a treni wa tshosa ke sporo.”

He brings this same context to ‘Back On My Bullsh*t’ as he lays down how he has been through so much to get this far, and he does not need anyone questioning his decisions.

Read: [Cover Story] Thato Saul: From Saulsville to the spotlight

It would not be a Thato Saul project without a Tyson Sybateli feature; the two have collaborated on a tape called At Your Service, a few songs like ‘Chauncy’, ‘Trust Nothing’ and ‘Home & Away Games’ to name a few. Lil Snake comes in on ‘What’s Goin On’ handling the hook and addressing different complications of the life they live as rappers. I would have loved to hear a verse from him but the song still works as it is.

Thato brings on fellow street rapper Maglera Doe Boy on ‘Okay’, where they continue off their ‘Never Ride’ wave in a song about their aspirations, dreams, and the direction they want their careers to go. Maglera Doe Boy lets everyone know he and Thato are the hottest rappers out right now and how they grew up in similar circumstances. The beat switch is the icing on the cake for this banger as Saul flaunts his lyrical capabilities.

Life Is Gangsta ends with the title track, a smooth rap record that outlines the past that shaped Thato. He reminisces about school days, counting dirty money with his momma and adds that the hood is bad for his mental health, as he has been burying many of his closest friends.

This must be an “ah-ha” moment for him on this project. The Riky Rick skit where he says, “So my depression took, uhm, you know, took form in being angry at the guys who were doing it.  And, uh, I always said my first album would be my last album ‘cause I didn’t expect to make it past 25. I didn’t expect to make it past 26,” sums up the rapper’s overall feelings about his chosen path.

Life Is Gangsta raised the bar on storytelling with a consistent message of staying true to one’s roots, producers like Mashbeatz, Feziekk, and Beatshoven outdid themselves by providing Saul with the best musical production in the country that ranges from trap to soulful boom bap.

It is a flawless project that could mark as a turning point for Thato Saul; the album hit number one on Apple Music All Genres charts upon release which is an impressive achievement, especially for an independent artist.

Stream Thato Saul’s Life Is Gangsta on Apple Music, Spotify and other platforms.

The post Album of the Month: Thato Saul ‘Life Is Gangsta’ appeared first on HYPE Magazine.

By The Observer

In his latest album titled HOME, Tyson Sybateli sincerely tells personal stories of growing up and existing in this world, which ties in nicely with the title: HOME. In a note Tyson shared on his website prior to the release of HOME, he explained that, on the album, he would tell stories describing what home is to him. “I define it for myself, my community and maybe I will help you define it, too,” he wrote.

In the first verse of the song ‘Growth’, the gifted wordsmith paints a complex picture that begins on the road with a flat tyre that became a life lesson. The verse takes you into his household and extends to his community when he touches on the complexities of South Africa’s history of segregation and how the current generation is dealing with it. He also touches on his journey as an artist, looking at the struggles musicians are dealing with.

On ‘Homecoming’, which features R&B star Una Rams, Tyson extends the idea of home beyond the self into the realm of love, rapping, “You won’t be lonely, you home with me.” ‘Homecoming’ is one of several love songs on HOME that contribute to the home theme: he connects with singers Amarafleur and Marcus Harvey on ‘House’ and ‘Riddle Me’ featuring Feziekk.

Tyson Syabateli, who was born in Umlazi, Durban, grew up in Pretoria, a city that played a huge role in the rapper he has become. He’s part of a new crop of PTA rappers who make sincere rap music, an aesthetic one has grown to expect from the city’s MCs since the days of OGs such as Blaklez and PDotO. Currently, the likes of A-Reece, Wordz, Jay Jody, Thato Saul and IMP THA DON are carrying the torch. A majority of them appear on HOME.

Read: Thato Saul: From Saulsville to the spotlight

‘Chauncy II’ is a heartfelt posse cut in which Tyson, Mass The Difference, Wordz and IMP THA DON rap about their vulnerabilities as artists. “… your sister looks up to you/ And your friends’ boyfriends tryna fuck with you/ You face the mirror knowing you don’t trust in you,” Tyson bleeds over a muffled vocal sample and warm drums and bassline.

It’s the same case on the album’s lead single ‘If Found, Bring Home’, a collaboration with Jay Jody which sees both MCs bare their souls about the game over a drum-less beat built on mellow piano keys. Jay Jody makes the declaration, “After The Anvills, we the best shit that ever happened to the city.” ‘If Found, Bring Home’ is one of the finest rap moments of HOME (and there’s plenty of those) alongside ‘Home & Away Games’, a 6-minute-long rap-off between Tyson and fellow PTA spitta Thato Saul.

Tyson tells his story with an unmatched conviction, and he picked great beats that allowed him to speak from the heart without any disruptions. As a result, HOME will keep the listener engaged from track 1 to 12; Tyson tells serious stories with sprinkles of humour and rapper bravado. HOME is accessible; Tyson’s raps are clear and the sung hooks contribute to the palatability. It’s an album that will impress the hip-hop fan without being overly technical.

It’s safe to say HOME is the best South African hip-hop album of 2022 so far. We are only five months into the year, so it’s too early to declare it AOTY yet, so for now, HOME is our album of the month.

Stream HOME by Tyson Sybateli on Apple Music, Spotify and other platforms.

The post Album of the month: ‘HOME’ by Tyson Sybateli appeared first on HYPE Magazine.