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Johannesburg - Hip-hop head Sway Calloway’s YouTube channel, SwaysUniverse, has some of the most interesting hip-hop interviews out there, and one of the best parts features rappers spitting verses live. Four local rappers have appeared on Sway in the Morning, and each of them got to spit a verse.
The social script dictates that at such moments, an emcee should freestyle – one of the older methods of delivery. This is the true mark of a lyricist. However, lyrics don’t really mean jack these days. Let’s break down which local artist did the best Sway slot:
AKA
2 stars out of 5
Hardest dart: “N****! Touch down and they whole voice switched up, so I ain’t about to start calling tomato sauce ketchup.”
Super Mega begins by confessing that he wrote what he’s about to spit the night before and you can see Sway is a tad bit let down. Whatever though, he makes references to American basketball player Moses Malone and speaks a bit about his daughter. There’s very little punch fam, but the flow is educated. He gets a little vulnerable, talking about how he never really wanted to be famous and then tries to step up the hardness with a line about a black flag and Isis, but it falls flat.
CASSPER NYOVEST
2 stars out of 5
Hardest dart: “A drop-out with the mind of a college kid, I never had an office job – I built my own offices.”
That isn’t even a rhyme fam. Your strongest dart didn’t rhyme. Nyovest talks about his daddy from the jump, about wanting to be American and how the rap ancestors chose him and his team. He then tells us that the whole continent is on his back. That’s cool if he thinks so. Rapping in English was maybe an issue, because he runs out of words and looks like he’s reading off a teleprompter.
KWESTA
3 stars out of 5
Hardest dart: “Time flies boy, mind your hours, look we some fly boys minding ours.”
The young raspy-voiced dude plays with his words on some fly tip. Steps to the session with Sway and even dares to spit out a few bars in vernac. He references soapie actress Sophie Ndaba and mentions how he’s a veteran in the game. Some of his bars fall flat, but at least he’s skilled enough to deliver a few bars off the top of his head. Like Cassper and AKA, he tries to show a little vulnerability by talking about someone who was once his boy and very similar to him: “I was proud of your debut.” At least he brought the emotions back to some hard-sounding spit, but I expected more.
NASTY C
3.5 stars out of 5
Hardest darts: “My middle finger is like my second child, I raise it well” and “Will not need for any besides Jesus, my girl got a Khaled album body, nice features.”
Sway starts off by saying he feels some of the young lad’s tracks. Nasty then steps to the mic, checking his lyrics every now and then on his phone. He makes use of this new age supa-dupa-type choppy flow in parts, and channels Drake by speaking about his ex-girlfriends right after a verse about chilling in hell with his feet up. I don’t even know how, youngsters these days have their thoughts all over the place. He did, however, have more quotables than AKA, Cassper and Kwesta, and probably got the best reaction from Sway. Props due, ya’ll got outspat by one of the youngest dudes in it. Durban stand up!
