September 29, 2003
By Bontle Moeng
SOWETAN hip-hop duo, H2O, captured the top prize - financing for a music video - from underneath the nose of crowd favourite Skwatta Kamp at the Hip-Hop Showdown on Sunday at the Johannesburg Zoo.
There was a mixed reaction from the crowd when Y-Fm radio's Thomas "Bad Boy T" Msengana announced the winners of the R100 000 sponsorship from Tedelex to produce a music video. Some of the audience cheered, others stood in surprised silence.
H2O members, Sphiwe Norten (25) and Menzi Dludla (24), met in Soweto and discovered they had a lot in common, like their love of hip-hop. "It's the streets, and it represents the way we live," they said.
Singing in their home language is important to the duo. "If we sing in isiZulu and Sesotho, it doesn't mean we are singing kwaito music, we just express ourselves better in our own language," said Norten.
The two, who describe their music as different, focus on their own lives, their upbringing and personal experiences. They blend the music with a hard beat and township language.
"Language is important. We realise some people may not understand our music, but who understands Nigerian singer Lagbaja? He is world-renowned and sings in his own language. We are trying to be proudly South African and our country caters for 11 official languages. Our music is about the townships, we know the lifestyle in the ghetto and we represent it," said Dludla.
Sunday's showdown saw some of the country's top hip-hop groups in competition: Cashless Society, 5th Floor, H2O, Hip Hop Pantsula, Tumi and the Volume, Skwatta Kamp, Trinity, Amu, Optical Illusion, Proverb, Ramesh, Stagga, and Sifiso Sudan.
South Africa's biggest hip-hop sensation, Skwatta Kamp, rocked the crowd as they performed songs from their newest album, Mkhukhu Funkshen, including their hit uMoya.
Lebogang "Shugasmakx" Mothibe, one of the members of Skwatta Kamp, said he was happy to have taken part in the showdown and congratulated H2O on their win. "We had a great time. Hip-hop has united and it was a beautiful occasion. The show was for everyone, and allowed more people to understand hip-hop music."
Cashless Society's Dave "Draztik" Balscher, from Gaborone in Botswana, was thrilled by the event and the fact that "people came from as far as Botswana and Zimbabwe to support us".
"This is the first show that has all the hip-hop artists in South Africa," he said.
"Cashless Society is already well known in southern Africa and our plan is to spread through the rest of the continent. I also want hip-hop to be more honest, and come from the heart rather than being about the money," Balscher added.
Gemini, a band member from Pimville, Soweto, said Cashless Society's lyrics were about South African social issues. "Our name represents all the people who have no money. We are moving to a virtual plastic world, since most people are spending more than they have in the bank," Gemini added.
Their latest album, African War Material, addresses the turmoil on the African continent.
Hip-hop icon, Amu, fell for genre during a visit to the US in 1984. "Hip-hop was really big at the time - there was b-booing, lyrical MC's, DJ's, everything that can be associated with the music."
Originally in the group Muthaload, which pioneered the genre in South Africa, Amu has now gone solo and released an album entitled The Life, Rap and the Drama, which speaks about his life as a hip-hop artist.
"Hip-hop in this country should be about the local people and their daily lives. If you go overseas, people want to know about the South African lifestyle, so it is important to be able to express that," Amu said.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
