Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - YoungstaCPT has been repped for years for abandoning an American twang for the sake of authentic delivery. His output is unmatched and the rhymes he spews are probably the best in the country.
His 28th and 29th mix tapes (that we really should be paying for) are free to download at: slikouronlife.co.za.
Kaapstad’s Revenge:
J Beatz is on the boards for this one. Together they fuse a groovy American West Coast sound with popular trap influences without resorting to tons of features – there are none. I know a few rappers who should take note. It’s like roller music for the car. Just a subtle head nod or diddy bop. He seems to manage dropping a tape with commercial viability but heads can also get something out of it. Track Lowkey has a banging hook, which sounds like it was chopped and screwed, and he uses his voice like an additional instrument on this track. Track The City Was Asleep has an eerie beat that is understated but still knocks. J Beatz seems to be able to encapsulate emotion in his beats, which makes the MC’s job that much easier. The title track for this tape is mad menacing. Conscious but cool – he strikes the balance perfectly.
How To Make It In SA:
Produced by Loopster – who made one of Youngsta’s best tracks, Takkies – this EP is very much of the trap outlook. Think chanty hooks and an ultrawavey soundscape. His raps are a little more brazen on this one, a slightly more immature flow but still loaded with darts of steel. He features a highly slept-on MC from Joburg’s Revivolution, Illy Amin, on Boom Boom Room. He then offers wisdoms from the street on a stirring banger called Better Than Money, which sees him assume the role of a lyrical Robin Hood, rapping for the people without concern for profit gains. The title track should have the streets on smash. He has put extra effort into his work with the hooks, they’re catchy and memorable, which is what a hook is for. But he’s done so without neglecting the stanzas. The songs that knock the hardest are El Chapo Guzman and Hamba, which are straight gangster with both rapper and producer absolutely spazzing. None of this club, booty-shaking raps. Street tings! Get your hands on both these tapes – they’ll only be available for a limited time.
