“IF WE ACCEPT THAT MUSIC SHOULD REFLECT WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND US AND THAT OUR EXPERIENCES ARE DIVERSE, IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THAT THERE ARE DIVERSE MUSICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF THE TIMES”

Both AKA and Cassper also have a common theme in their recent career history: African excellence. Coming off two decades when the mass population of rap listeners around the world only had New York and LA relevant things as a reference for rap content, in South Africa, both have been instrumental in instilling pride and putting the cool back into being Africans, as well as taking it abroad and emphasising it to the world. AKA is a South African mascot who all should be proud of. After handling global rap rites of passage like Tim Westwood, a BET performance and countless nods and accolades with finesse and confidence in Africa and overseas, he is the new definition of South African cool. Nyovest’s energy and momentous moves making the likes of Casey Veggies, ­ The Game, Wiz Khalifa and legends like Talib Kweli and DJ Drama recognise his greatness is no small feat, considering there are rappers and artists in the same cities as some of these American rappers who can’t even get them to respond to a tweet. Much of this has been done while not compromising vernac and Cassper’s general Maftown idiosyncrasies like slang and style. Like the bone-chilling track ‘American’ on Refiloe advocated: no fake American accent, no Crip or Blood gang signs and no exaggerated references about 40/40 Clubs that don’t exist where we live.

AKA’s belief against being treated as second-rate artists in SA resulted in protests against opening for Justin Bieber, Schoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar, among other international superstars, essentially sacrificing handsome cheques in order for corporate SA to change its views. Cassper responded to the perceived disrespect of African talent by first going off on Woolworths for booking Pharrell for their green campaign this year, and of course later putting his money where his mouth is by packing up the Ticketpro Dome with 20,000 people without the presence of an international musician. Different strategies and approaches; same cause.

One could look at both the stat sheets, compare them and conclude a winner based on whichever criterion one chooses; that would be the obvious thing to do. ­They are already rivals, we might as well pick a side. Which in the context of epic battles, usually means the demise of the ‘loser’. He becomes a footnote in history and his legacy is reduced to “that rapper who was killin’ it once upon a time.” Or, one could look at both stat sheets and choose to see them in a bigger picture light: valuable contributions to not just local rap and hip-hop culture, but South African and African music and arts.

This competitiveness is what makes them both so compelling; neither will give in. ­ The sheer will to dominate over the other requires showmanship, mental and emotional strength, composure, strategy, skill, intuition, and a little bit of luck too. ­The musical squabbles bring out these qualities in a way that regular music put out with just the intention of performing well on commercial platforms never can. Nas was lukewarm for some time after ‘Illmatic’, but suddenly snapped into his best lyrical shape on ‘Ether’, for instance. It’s great for the culture because up until the mid to late 2000s when vulnerabilities in rap music started to become more accepted, it was almost impossible to separate the direct competitive element from the craft of spitting bars. And we have all been privy to these monumental musical moments from Cassper and AKA in the past two years. “As much as it may look like we have a problem with each other, I won’t sit here and tell you that this battle hasn’t made me a better artist,” Cassper admitted at the #FillUp­TheDome press conference in early October. “And the same applies for him. When we weren’t battling, he released songs like ‘Sim Dope’. I heard ‘Composure’ and I couldn’t front like it wasn’t good. I mean, I’m still the best; I beat him. But what this has done for the culture, no two artists have ever done before. Right now we are the only things that matter.” It doesn’t make sense to only have one at a time. Back in the ‘90s it did, but that was only because the culture emerged from the streets.

And in the streets, everything was about establishing a food chain. ­ The system bred competitors because the conditions required it; it was survival of the fittest. It was about owning the block, having territories and establishing command where there was a definitive don in every block whether it was about crime, selling rocks, playing ball or any other street dream.

Today, no one still rocks the oversized XXXL Pele Pele denim suit, because it’s played out and has little practical use in 2015, so why do we hold on to the archaic belief that only one artist at a time can share their work at the highest level imaginable? Why is there a cap on the amount of good music that can be produced and released at the same time? Yes, some of that lies with the artists involved; there is little one can do as a fan when two people who happen to influence culture through music and are the best at it just simply hate each other. But many times, such as in this case, the consumer’s and the culture’s conditioning force these guys into a do-or-die position because of ‘street cred’ or ‘respect’. Someone has to get murked and someone has to emerge the victor. All that it essentially does is halt the development of the entire industry by a couple of years.

Before 2015, the idea of 20,000 people showing up solely to a local act, especially a hip-hop one, was considered a fallacy in present day and a goal for the next five or so years. Now that it’s a reality, the industry and culture at large have been catapulted forward by a few years. ­ The accomplishment has changed the face of hip-hop; an attribute that so many will benefit from in the right now and in the future. ­That’s why anything beyond musical competition makes no sense. In the event that Cassper, for instance, is annihilated by AKA while in the process of changing the game, everyone loses out on that opportunity. We only get half of the development that would come from AKA, making the journey to African global excellence much longer and more arduous.

And the loss only serves to add to the endless list of hip-hop stereotypes and detractions that the world, where the Sam Smiths and the Taylor Swifts co-exist at the highest level, have of us.

One may appeal more to the Northerner (JHB) whose spectrum of reality is really gold slugs, champagne popping, lavish whips and Margiela kicks mixed in with some social consciousness and a snide sense of humour; while the other might more accurately represent rural ambitions, moral struggle and general progression mixed in with pantsula sensibilities and the kind of rawness associated with true hustler’s ambition. One may have gone to a private school while one may have not even finished school. One may currently be the poster boy for “ain’t sh*t” dudes as far as romantic affairs are concerned and the other may be the glaring public personification of monogamous romance. One might have his sights on being the biggest while one might have his sites on being the best. ­ The reality in all this is that both of them simultaneously represent exactly who the progressive urban listener in South Africa in 2015 is. Sometimes you’re a hybrid of both. And you may not actually have gold in your mouth or sport a long ponytail but the values they represent in being themselves are shared by so many and that’s why beyond having the meanest bars or the best dance moves, they speak to you every time the beat drops. And that’s why they have the power to divide the masses. But if we accept that music should reflect what is going on around us and that our experiences are diverse, it only makes sense that there are diverse musical interpretations of the times. No one is saying rappers need to hold hands and walk off into the sunset together. Competition is inseparable from these bars.

But depriving ourselves advancements helps no one. We are in the presence of an abundance of African greatness from two of the biggest figures to ever do it simultaneously; something that only happens once every couple of decades. And the fans and media need to recognise their part in this cycle. With that said, congratulations to Cassper Nyovest, 2015 HYPE Magazine Man of the Year, for pushing the envelope and setting the new standard for African artistry and business smarts. You are the stuff that dreams are made of. You are African excellence.