When we look back on the 2010’s as a period in South African music history, I believe that Muzi is a name that is going to come up in countless conversations, articles and lists. While many of you will know Muzi from his breakout 2018 album, Afrovision, he spent most of the last decade steadily…
Raised in rural Ndwedwe in KwaZulu-Natal, Johannesburg-based crooner Thoba Ndlovu’s debut release, the “Black Moses” EP, is an exploration of who he is as an artist and person. The title is a reference to Isaac Hayes and how he saw himself as a Black Moses that would lead black people out of the ghetto and…
The work of Sandiso Ngubane [who performs under the moniker Mx Blouse] is something I was first introduced to in my infancy as an intern at Bubblegum Club when I was asked to review their single ‘No Match’ which was released in January, earlier this year. Needless to say, I was impressed not only by…
Thabiso Ngubeni, better known by his stage-name Fireman R5 is an independent rapper and artist from Vosloorus in the East Rand. His latest single, “Black Tax”, speaks of the social issues faced by young unemployed and working-class black South Africans and the aspirations to change this cycle. The song was born out of a personal…
Albany Lore might just be showing his age by naming his latest release ‘Payphone’. Nobody under the age of 30 knows that if you wanted to have a phone call in a place other than your lounge, we used to have to use our pocket money to make private phone calls on public payphones. A…
In merely a decade, the release of a new Kanye West album has gone from being an eagerly anticipated cultural event to a frustrating exercise in trolling. I’m writing this on Monday, 30 September and the new Jesus is King, announced for the previous week, has failed to arrive. By the time you read this…
After a 4-year hiatus, Cape Town-based neo-soul singer and songwriter, Amarafleur returns with her new electronic soul single, “DontLetGo”. Recorded in Johannesburg and produced by Aule Whan, writing the track was Amarafleur’s way of processing a traumatic relationship. Having grown up in Tanzania, India and New Zealand, Amarafleur has been making music as a solo…
Zara Julius is a graduate of social anthropology, religious studies and photography. She’s gone on to become a multidisciplinary artist who produces visual art in the form of photography and film in detail-oriented ways that are specific to her focus on creatively presenting her findings on post-apartheid and diasporic identity. In a chat about her…
The universe, in its entirety and all its glory, truly gained star when all-round saint, River Moon first decided to post her plush music remixes online. The popularity of her music production spread like wildfire and has seen her share credits with names like Queezy, dJinns, Angel-Ho, FAKA and Lizzo’s Truth Hurts producer, Jesse Saint…
With the release of their debut single “Wasa Bibi”, the Montréal-based duo Boogieman & Samito are introducing the world to their new fusion genre they describe as ‘Kussom’. It is comprised of thick and gritty, analog dance elements mixed with Portuguese vocals and rhythms reminiscent of kuduro. Samito explains, “the word Kussom itself is a…
Consistency is key to the success of most artists. I don’t mean doing the same thing over and over (although it’s a strategy that works for some) but rather regularly putting out engaging work that builds on what you’ve done before and shows your growth as an artist. Sure, there are one-hit wonders, but unless…
Baltimore rapper JPEGMAFIA or Peggy for short, is back with a new studio album that is despondent, self-aware, darkly humorous, all while showcasing the off the wall, glitchy and hard-hitting production fans adored on Peggy’s sophomore project ‘Veteran’. Although ‘Veteran’ received widespread critical acclaim and boosted the MC from relatively unknown underground industrial hip-hop obscurity,…
