It is undeniable that The Qwellers are currently the front runners of the current crop emerging from the South African Hip-Hop scene as they continue to release music and blaze a trail that will be spoken about for years to come. If you are familiar with them it would not be a surprise to you that all members of the group release music as individuals apart from the street anthems they create as a collective, similar to The Wrecking Crew. Sastii, a prominent member of the group, released an EP titled Impi yeKakapani which is his second body of work of 2024 with him releasing a collaborative album with Dusse Wavy titled AMA-N*GGA EZWE just under a month before the release of the EP.
Kakapani makes use of the 20-minute runtime, 6 songs in total, to illustrate to the listener what has brought him such critical acclaim which is his ability to be vulnerable and let everyone know how he may be feeling. This can be heard on:
Izingalo; Nawe (feat. Benny Chill; Umemulo (feat. BabyDaiz) and Intimidated. It is on songs like this where Sastii shines best even being given the nickname Justin Bieber by those who listen to his music. This is due to his delivery of RnB-esque choruses which create an emotional experience for the listener. Lyrically in these songs, he chooses to walk with you through your heartbreak or realization that you truly love a person. This continues the style of music that can be heard on his album Uthando Oluspiritual, and songs like December.
If you aren’t a fan of RnB and would prefer to hear trap-focused production then you might feel underserved on this project as the project only features two songs that will scratch that itch which are iPHUMA k’MINA (feat. Jabz Tha Plug) & Nkabi yami (feat. Lowfeye & C-SIDE BOYZ). The EP features production by Sir. Ivani, Audio Simz, Starbless, Lucent.exe and Skatle. The cover art was created by Sinalo Ngcaba which sees Kakapani wearing full Zulu regalia and holding a spear with Sinalo’s signature art style behind the photograph of him. He started teasing the EP from the 3rd of October with it culminating with a listening party hosted at Empty Space Gallery in Braamfontein.
Interestingly the EP was released on Sastii’s birthday and under his record label, Kakapani Records. Sastii wrote this via Instagram post the release of the EP and the listening party “Thanks to everyone Who pulled up to my listening party.. I love u a lot ❤️ for real.” This EP is one of those that work well as material that fans of a musician can cherish while they work on an album or other projects while also introducing a new listener to their music in a bite-size portion where they can decide if they will dive into their discography or not. Will you be giving Impi yeKakapani a listen?
