Back To The City is a hip-hop and street fashion festival held in Johannesburg's Newtown Precinct every year on April 27th, South Africa's Freedom Day. The festival has seen unprecedented growth since its inception in 2006. From a free festival held on one stage under the M1 highway, Back To The City now boasts, among other things, three performance stages, a skateboard rig, and a 20, 000-plus audience. This videos is a photojournal of some moments captured at this year's festival. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqtP39fBRB4 * Music by Becomingphill. Check out his soundcloud.

With no Volume to his name, it seemed almost impossible to imagine South Africa-based self-proclaimed poet/emcee Tumi Molekane as a solo artist. He had released two albums before forming a band: A dream led to this and Tao of Tumi, the latter which, if memory serves right, had an accompanying anthology. Yet it's the years between 2002 and 2012 that Tumi's profile rose to admirable heights. As Tumi of Tumi and the Volume, he recorded music and toured extensively with Paulo Chibanga (drums), Dave Bergman (bass) and Tiago Correia-Paulo (guitars). After ten years, the majority of which were spent on the road in Europe, Tumi put a lid on a part of his life which had not only come to define him, but had also loomed large over the other projects released outside of the quartet – notably his own A dream led to this (2007) and Whole worlds (2011). A mere six months after the break-up, Tumi had assembled a new backing band and begun performing songs from his soon-to-be-released album Rob the Church. A while afterwards, he appeared in front of a full house at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg to present the same set of songs, some of which had gained traction among audiences through their accessibility on-line. It was hard to not draw parallels to a night almost twelve years ago when, backed by The Volume, and with guests including trumpeter Marcus Wyatt and vocalist Pebbles, Tumi and his Volume recorded their seminal Live @ the Bassline album. Tiago talks about those years here. The night at the Market Theatre felt new; a promise of something else; something untested and daunting and seemingly-insurmountable. It's when telling stories that Tumi is most in his element. Those are the songs which stick; songs like Yvonne or People of the light; or Bophelo ba me and Villages and Malls; songs which deal with fully-formed human beings and lend nuance to their lives, like the housewife living her life vicariously through television soapie characters on Moving picture frames, or the BBEE high-flyer gunning for a better future of the cost on Mr Gogetit. Feel so good is Tumi in sexy mode. Ziyon, known better as the vocalist from house music collective Liquid Deep, proviceds the musical and vocal accompaninent. "Tumi and Ziyon had a mutual admiration for each other's talents and wanted to lend them to a sexy ballad about courtship and philandering," reads the blurb on soundcloud. Molekane represents a class of rappers not afraid to takes risks and chances; he'll feature on a song with L-Tido, then go head-to-head with a battle emcee of the calibre of Ness Lee and easily hold his own ground. In short, he's the emcee's emcee, and this collaboration is further proof of his range. * I did the images too.

Lesotho's Prime Minister and leader of the coalition government Tom Thabane has found love: ‘It is one of the best decisions that I ever made in my entire life,’ the statesman said in a recent newspaper interview (in Sotho). The circumstances in which the news was revealed, was less rosy: a bomb explosion and unidentified gunmen shooting at his lover's house.

I discovered the three piece Afrikaans outfit Bittereinder through the internet and fell in love with them because of their live performance. Their music, a bass-heavy flurry of high-energy drops and subdued melodies, develops a different personality on stage, often in stark contrast to the studio recordings. Bleeps become filtered echoes; drum patterns change, or disappear completely. Bittereinder is Afrikaans for 'bitter ender'.

I’ve had Shane Cooper's "Oscillations" in my possession for the past four months. From the onset, it was clear that it wasn’t music I’d be content with listening passively to. It was necessary for me to live with it; to let it disturb me and put me in a state of unrest. This I did because the magnitude of the compositions demanded it of me; they weren’t easy melodic passages but complex and layered meditations on jazz and its many forms. Who was I to not oblige? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkn2MkbL3vY As last year’s Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year for Jazz, an honor which has been bestowed to regular collaborator Kyle Shepherd for the forthcoming year, Shane Cooper had the financial backing to record and release compositions which, as he noted in our interview earlier this year, had been laying around for over three years. When we had a chat again recently prior the release of “Oscillations,” Cooper pointed out that there were only two ‘old’ songs on the album--material he’d been playing in the many band formations he’s active in. So instead of sharing the countless stream-of-consciousness notes I wrote while spending time with “Oscillations,” I thought it best to share bits of what Cooper revealed about some of the songs on the album. It is, by any stretch of the imagination, an excellent project. Carlo Mombelli, that scientist and experimental frontier-leader who brought us “Prisoners of Strange,” oversaw production duties. This is the very same man responsible for Cooper’s instrument of choice. In fact, as Cooper himself revealed, Mombelli is the reason why he chose to pursue music. Below are some ruminations, courtesy of Shane Cooper, about some songs on the album. The personnel, which includes two past recipients of the Standard Bank nod, speaks volumes of the calibre of musicians Cooper is associated with: Bokani Dyer (piano, rhodes, electric organ); Kesivan Naidoo (drums, cymbals, cowbells); Reza Khota (guitar); Justin Bellairs (alto saxophone); and Buddy Wells (Tenor saxophone).

Broken Blues: I co-wrote that song with Reza [Kota, guitarist]. I started with the bassline and then took it to him, and we developed the melody together. Destination unknown: I wrote a lot of that on the piano. Dead Letters: I wrote it on an old analog synthesizer. I just came up with this melody that evolves; it's based on a very simple theme, but it evolves and moves through different chords. Shadowplay: I wrote it on an electric bass. I changed the tuning of the bass. I downtuned some of the strings and tried to write a structure on the bass without thinking  about the theory of it. I didn't know what the chord would be, so I moved my hands around and just found a whole bunch of chord sequences that made sense to me sonically. And then I wrote the melody for that. That was putting myself in a place where I didn't think about theory or common chord sequences. Funnily enough, when you look at it the chord sequences are quite common, but I wouldn't have probably come up with them if I didn't tune the bass like that. Drop Down Deconstruct: I wrote that on the guitar. I had different songs sketched out. I went back and looked at a whole bunch of things and chose a melody from one, another melody from the other, and tried to combine them. That didn't work, so I replaced one with another, basically combining all these melodies. If you listen to Drop Down, there are a bunch of different sections. It's like a drop-down menu. I cut and pasted a whole bunch of ideas that seemed to work together somehow without that being the original intention.

Cooper says that the process of composing varies. He’ll usually sit on an instrument and have a jam session until something sticks out, then record the interesting bits onto his computer or mobile phone--whichever is most convenient at that moment. He often composes on instruments he’s not very good at. “It breaks me out of my comfort zone and makes me think of different patterns,” he says in conclusion. Shane Cooper’s album “Oscillations” is out on iTunes.

Few rappers on the continent have been as prolific as Sarkodie this year. The Ghanaian emcee has released a steady stream of songs and videos, all in the lead-up to his album which will be titled Sarkology. So we found it necessary to touch base with him during a video shoot in Johannesburg for "Pon Da Thing", his collaborative song with Nigeria's Banky W. This is how the chop-up went. I sort of feel that your last album didn't get the type of push it deserved, despite the GOOD Music link-up. Why do you think that was? Sarkodie: I think rap is a bit hard to break to international markets. Rap is a subset of music; it's more of an option. But music is more of singing, no matter what the genre is, the moment the vocal comes in you need to sing. Rap is the only different thing in music; it's a bit more of what people like. If someone doesn’t like hip-hop, they don't want to listen to you. It's a bit hard for every African rapper, not just me. We're all trying our best to take it out there. But I'm not that content of a human being, I don't go with 'I've done the best already!' That album was dope, but I think there are doper things about to happen, I believe in that. There's nothing going to waste, it's more of a preparation towards bigger things. Rapperholic was my previous album. To me it was really dope, and it made some waves across Africa. We have a new structure for the new album. I'm still looking at my fifth or sixth album to do the magic that I want to do. I normally don't release my album without expectations that 'oh, this year I want to be the best artist in the whole world!' But I think it takes time. You don't wanna miss that journey of going from nothing to something; you don't wanna cut it short. You're gonna be nervous, you're gonna be disappointed...you don't wanna miss that. I think that was a start from Sarkodie. Is there a circuit which enables you to tour as a musician in Ghana? That's what we do after every release, or even before a release. Big ups to D-Black, he was the first person to do that. I was on board with him. We were brainwashed into believing that you're supposed to have a big company doing a show before you can fill up a stadium anywhere. But one thing we forget is that the fans like you even more than the companies do. So why don't you do it yourself? So for now, I've been doing tours back in Ghana. I'm still on the Rapperholic tour. When I go back I still have some shows to do. It's pretty cool doing tours back in Ghana, and I do it. The Ghanaian rap scene seems to be in a good state at the moment. Where do you see it headed? I have a plan. I don't know about others, but for me, it's about staying original and trying to be yourself and trying to make people accept you for who you are. I started rapping in English, and I can really rap in English. But I feel like when you rap with these Americans, that's where you can see the gap, and I don't want that. I want to be a king in my own zone. When I meet you, we're doing a king-king thing, we're not doing like 'I'm helping Sarkodie.' No, it’s not gonna be that way. The hip-hop scene back in Ghana has a future, there are a couple of guys coming up. I was scared because I was not hearing people rapping again. I didn't have time to really sit down and think about it, but when I had a moment, I tried to point out rappers back in Ghana, and there were none! Everybody was shifting to singing because that was what was making it across borders. As I told you, rap is really hard to cut across. So everybody stopped rapping, and it was just me and I think Adam, he's really dope! But now we have some people coming in, people like Kofi Kinaata, you need to check him out, and he’s dope! And we have T-Flow... What about a crew like Bradez? They're like my old school mates, we started together. They've been there since I started, so Bradez is old school. I'm talking about the new cats who are taking the Ghanaian hip-hop to the next level. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLTnt_-Mr3U What was the thinking behind starting your own clothing label? There was a point in time where I felt like fans were really appreciating my music, not just my music but me as a person. People were just making clothes without informing me, and just wearing them -- just to have my face on the clothes, which was touching. So it was good timing: at least move away from the music and do something a bit personal. They wanna live Sarkodie; they wanna wear something like what Sarkodie's wearing; they want good business partners to come in, so that's what we started doing. Why should I buy your new album when it comes out? I can see you're a hip-hop fan, you're gonna love this album! I forgot to mention Joey B; he's a dope rapper from Ghana and he's on the album as well. (Listen to 'Tonga' here.) The album is called Sarkology. Trust me, a lot went into the album. It's thirty tracks, you can't go wrong! Of course I needed dance music, like the one you've just heard with me and Banky, that's more for the ladies. But you know me, I like to go hard, so I have dope songs! "Illuminati" (video above) is on the album as well. It’s crazy, I don't even have a word for it. It's dope! Lastly, how do you write your raps? Do you come up with the melody/flow first, or do the words take precedence? First I was more focused on what I was saying. That was when I was limited to Ghana because they understand what I'm saying. So don’t need a style, I just have to say...when I have a beat, I'll just say whatever I have to say. If it's funny, then people will laugh. But then I started to attract people from outside of Ghana, so I had to change my style. That's when you go with the skill. So when you have a beat going beatboxes -- a mean 4/4 pattern -- when you put that down and you put the words in it, you have a dope rap right there.

Two years ago, South African rapper and former frontman of The Volume, Tumi Molekane (stagename: Tumi) released 'POWA', a song which was as much a rally against women abuse as it was speculative banter in which the rapper imagined a post-Mandela South African dystopia. "When Mandela dies, who gon' really care about us?", he mused. That refrain has assumed various incarnations for the past six weeks of the old man's stay in hospital. The media frenzy has been unparalleled, with (some) international news organisations rehashing the tired rhetoric of a warzone (here's another example) where the natives drive the white man back to the sea sans Madiba. Mandela, the stately figure who became co-opted by the world as a symbol of the triumph of good over evil, has been transformed into little more than an extra in a soapie featuring ambulance breakdowns, exhumations, and ousted chiefs. In this media frenzy, the voices of artists have been mute, at least in mass media. So we decided to reach out to three hip-hop artists in order to get their perspective: Black Noise founder and African Hip-Hop Indaba organiser Emile YX; graf artist and spoken word mastermind Ewok; and self-proclaimed 'legend of the golden mic' Zubz. Ewok, what are your thoughts on Mandela being deified in popular discourse (his presence on South African money, for instance)? Ewok: I don't dig the money vibe. South Africa is bigger then one man, even Mandela, and I'm sure he would agree. When we get reduced to a symbol as simple as a single figure then it becomes easier for those in power to manipulate that image for their own ends. It's easy to fly a flag, it's hard to fold it up and put it away and still get up and get to work. I think we are seeing that happen now. It's like reducing the whole struggle against apartheid to a couple of songs. Madiba is being used to sell a pretty picture. It's rainbow nation propaganda. As cynical as that sounds, that's the reality. When we recognize the reality behind the picture that politicians would paint for potential investors, that's when we become truly South African. We become a people who aren't scared to face the truth of how segregated and fear filled our society is, and in true South African-style we make a plan and carry on. That right to reality is denied to us when those who can choose to make a man more than a man. Madiba on money is like Che Guevara on t-shirts, the commodification of spirit and strength and struggle into a product that pacifies those aspects of human nature. It's a way of not having to deal with the problems that are prevalent and putting the past into a package that can be promoted prematurely. Madiba on money is a way of ensuring that his smile can stop being genuine and start being generic enough to print and produce whenever necessary. And what of this underlying narrative that people are going to go buckwild and start rioting and killing each other after he passes away; where do you think that line of thinking comes from? Ewok: That's the old Swart Gevaar mentality all over again and it's only really a small demographic of the population that perpetuate it. I think that white people need to realize that most black South Africans recognize that the biggest threat to their existence is more likely an unchecked police force being deployed by a corrupt government to silence and subdue a populace. If most white people scared of some kind of black revenge-fueled uprising stripped their blinkers they might see that the violence they fear is already a daily reality for the majority of the poorest South Africans. There is a dangerous level of ignorance inherent in that line of thought that betrays a significant disconnection with or distance from the reality of most South African lives. There is also a subliminal racism there that sees the poor black populace as uneducated savages, a colonial mentality manifesting in an exaggerated fear of "the other" without recognizing any common humanity. That's what Mandela lived for, humanity, and those who rely on him and his amazing human quality for some kind of protection from a riotous onslaught, lack that humanity themselves.

***

Emile, what did Mandela symbolise on the Cape Flats during the political commotion of the eighties? Emile YX: Initially Nelson Mandela represented the face of our liberation as he did to most people throughout the world. As we grew older he also acted as a symbol representing all those people that struggled for our freedom. As a statesman he often said that he was but one man that stood on the shoulders of giants and that was the faceless multitude of South Africans from all backgrounds that faced-off against the force of Apartheid. He was the symbol of our resistance. I have witten a story about my thoughts about Mandela, for example, called "Captive Sunbeams." There is a perception that coloureds have been sidelined post-1994, and there's been a systematic operation to erase First Peoples' status in South Africa. Is there anyone to blame for this? Could Mandela have done better to preserve the heritage of indigenous people in general during his presidency? Emile YX: This is a difficult question to answer, as I do not see Mandela as the saint that can walk on water nor give houses to all South Africans. He is a man like all of us. I agree that the so-called coloured people have been side-lined and that first people aka "Boesman" (so-called Khoisan) have been purposefully "played" or bamboozled by the [attempts to write the wrongs of the] 1913 Land Act. This land belongs to the Bushman, as the first people, but now everyone else is claiming ownership because of the consideration of white settlers first instead of the first nations of this country. The secondary immigrants also saw that they could benefit from land that belonged to others and it was proof in the Afrophobic attacks that took place when their very not so distant relatives tried to come and settle in Southern Africa as well. Suddenly Apartheid lines and borders and racial language were okay. They were successfully enslaved to enslave others who looked like them ... other Africans. The malls and other white-looking shops were acceptable because they are used to being oppressed by those types. The negotiations [of the late 1980s and early 1990s] are to blame. The capitalist power that strong-armed Mandela-them into being too friendly is to blame. Their violence that they showed through the Witdoeke  [in Cape Town as well as the] IFP before the first election. There's also the violence of drugs, AIDS and gang warfare which occupied the poor's minds so much that we did not see the implementation of trade benefits for the same slave masters and their international criminals of capitalism. Yes, we could blame the ANC and their negotiated freedom, but we are to blame for dropping the ball on [fighting for] a government for and by the people. That's what we fought for, yet as soon as we got it, we handed it over to people we thought we could trust. Political parties have the parties interest before that of the people. Yet, we trusted them with our future and we also made the usage of us and them easier to blame anyone but ourselves for the exploitation. It is a global safety mechanism that "We the people" do. We place the responsibility elsewhere so that we are never blamed. It is never too late I feel and I know that South Africans will create the same civics [that flourished in the 1980s and] that are more important than political parties to take care of their own communities instead of trusting a few massive political parties that seem to have more time to party with big business than to take care of the people. We are all to blame. In closing on this question, I don't think that we can blame one single man for the decision of his party, because if the majority are greedy capitalist minded tribal fools, then the idiots rule and win the decision. That's a capitalistic democracy, where the party interest is satisfying its financial backers more than to take care of the people that vote them into power. What do you make of the way Mandela's story is playing out in mass media now that he's nearing the end? Also, do you think it was a wise decision to put his face on South African money? Emile YX: It's really sad that he has been blown up this way by their corporate machines above that of the many that made him who he is. I do understand that this is what capitalism does, they take a hero and they make him saintly and then they destroy the image of anyone close to him so that people think that the man is an island and that no others like him can come from South Africa. I have news for them. We had a few others from the same street in Soweto Vilakazi Street. Imagine the greatness of our people in South Africa if that is possible? To me they had to make it seem that it was impossible for that to become a reality again. They had to make South Africans feel small in the over-manufactured legacy of Madiba. It is not his creation, but theirs. Carefully done so for the benefit of their silencing a potential revolutionary like him to rise up again from South Africa to take the peoples minds and hearts by storm. Capitalism cannot afford that. It is for this reason that they also played down Winnie Mandela's role in our revolution or that of Steve Biko or Chris Hani. Capitalism sells servitude and they found the best version of it to sell Mandela. Never his leadership of Umkonto We Sizwe, nor commands that brought about the deaths of the people's enemy. No! They will sell what is safe and promote the "scandal" of his children to destroy potential revolutionaries from believing that another could come from this magnificent country of ours. I say wake up and smell the reality TV show that is nullifying South African revolutionary greatness.

***

Zubz, you're one of the artists who've contributed to the canon of great (and not-so-great) songs about Madiba. What emotion(s) were you trying to convey when you penned "My distress"?

Zubz: A not-so-biographical, sonic biography. When we did “My Distress” we really just wanted to portray to my audience at the time the human being behind the name Nelson Mandela. Sure, we get that he was an ordinary man doing extraordinary things with his life, but do we really get how ordinary he was? The key with “My Distress” and doing it all in 1st person was in understanding that we can all be Nelson Mandela, ordinary choosing to be great and impactful, just as we are. I wrote it in my language, Hip-Hop, as me, Zubz. So like when he’s imagining being out of prison after so long, what would he be thinking? I’d be thinking: “how the world’s got/ man, I’d even get to see the Italia World Cup/ But what would really blow my head the most is/ if we were so free we’d even get to host it...” We must never forget tata Madiba is a regular man. That’s one of the reasons I wrote the song that way.

What are your thoughts/feelings about how mass media has covered Madiba's story? Do you think the reporting has been fair?  Zubz: Of course we understand that the Madiba legacy goes beyond his life, his truth as a man, his native country SA and even his time. We also understand that the Madiba phenomenon has gone from a rallying flag for a movement, to a talismanic, magical motivator, to an ideology. As with many ideologies it has lent itself up for scrutiny, discussion and most importantly, selfish utilization. Media use the Madiba story as a smoke screen for subtext at best and a fishing hook worm for remotely related agendas at worst. Today you are more likely to read a Madiba piece focused on the failings of the Health Ministry or the petty in-fighting amongst close relatives to Mandela than about tata’s inspirational story of triumph over oppression or even illness. I also feel like perhaps the world has been given ample time to prepare themselves emotionally for any outcome regarding our great leader, and in mass media’s eyes the only real way to make a greater story of it, is to stir up issues that lend themselves towards more animated responses to Madiba. I’ve always felt like the media goes too far in their probes of public figures and does not know where to draw the line. Tata has been no exception here. The medical records released were unnecessary and aimed to incite. Just as the story on Ambulances breaking down was also meant to incite, as well as the in-fighting among close relatives...all of this in my opinion is meant to add more drama to what would otherwise be a relatively drama-free, healthy and soul-easing transition into a new era in SA’s ( and the world’s) continued walk to freedom. What does Madiba represent to you as a human being? To some people he's a symbol of hope. Is it the same for you? Zubz: To me, Madiba is a man who played a key role in creating the SA that exists today; one that allows me to exist here, make music, fall in love, watch movies, eat out with my friends, live for the most part free. For that I will always revere and honour him. Symbolically, tata Mandela reminds me of who we are (black Africans) where we came from (colonialism and oppressive rule) where we are (post-colonial, global Africa) and where we are headed. It’s so easy to forget the key lessons of the past, sacrifices made, strides made etc in a world wrapped in social network chatter, medical and scientific wonder and the pursuit of that “baller” life. It’s easy to lose sight of what the goal was for what Mandela and his peers did. Personally Madiba reminds me to take a second to remember that we are who we are, where we are, not by accident but by deliberate effort. It’s sobering and inspiring for me, not to mention grounding. * Ewok is part of a French-South African collaboration called Blue Gene. They will release their debut album "These Meditations" and will tour in France 17th-31st July. Emile YX is having an event at Princess Vlei on the Cape Flats on Saturday, July 20th. Details here. Zubz's latest project is a Digital only release called "DragonLion_FullCircle." You can follow Zubz on twitter: @zubzlastletta. This article originally appeared on July 12, 2013.

We kick off our weekly installment of new music videos with OttawaParis-based Mélissa Laveaux riding the crunchy electronics with flair on her new offering, 'Triggers', in a video directed by Terence Nance -- remember also this other video he shot for her earlier this year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnwAksWTACQ Some trippy and transcendental downtempo music from YellowStraps (that's Yvan Murenzi, Alban Murenzi, Ludovic Petermann and Thomas Delire) alongside Moodprint: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjMnYe6cnkQ A boom-bap retrospective from Soular Razye, the Zimbabwean duo comprised of Depth and Synik. They're working on a soon-to-be-released EP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaU087FDtj4 Eighties-style fashion and joyous dance styles adorn this video from Uganda's Fantom Lovins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKv-vCAMUoc Life suddenly makes sense when this song by Kalawa Jazmee's Uhuru plays in the club. Oskido, who makes a cameo, is celebrating his birthday today. Bless up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SESe7M9XtY Still in South Africa, new work by Zola: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZLpW6MRjkU A catchy Bob Marley make-over from Senegal. Visuals courtesy of the illustrious Lionel Mendeix. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5fOpI176Ho Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack collides with Congolese musician Jupiter on this subterranean robotic banger. The pair met on the Afrika Express adventure in 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csopvw-SMfk A visual and musical collaboration between dj Khalab and Malian talking drum master Baba Sissoko: http://vimeo.com/80826412 And to round it all off, a bit of kuduro never hurt anyone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTfBFb2Dc1s

I followed The Brother Moves On around South Africa once. True story, I even wrote about it here. I've seen them many more times after that, and each time was a trip. On their recent trip to Cape Town, they stopped over to record some songs for the Big Leap sessions, an initiative by Assembly Radio described as "a series of intimate performances from some of South Africa's most exciting new and established artists." The idea is to do two songs and one original cover. The Brother decided to cover Madala Kunene's 'Da Tom' (third track in their set below). It's worth going to their show just to see them perform that one song live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJoU3g8WTN4 * Featured image by Greg Marinovich.

Shortly before the release of Ghana-born emcee Blitz the Ambassador's "The Warm Up" EP, we reached out to him to discuss his career and the aspects involved in the making of the album. He described the EP as a a teaser for what is to come on "Afropolitan Dreams", his third offering since 2009's "Stereotype" and 2011's "Native Sun" (which made it onto our end-of-year list). We thought to share bits of the interview seeing that he's performing at the Webster Hall tonight (heads up to all our New York people). Our man Boima is also on the line-up. On why he made the EP readily available... I think that music today is synonymous with an audio flyer. I don't think that music has the same purpose that it had 20 years ago. I think that now what it is, is an advantage for people to sample you and to see if you are in fact the kind of artist that they will like. A lot of people will argue it's not the smartest business move to release music for free. I think that it's only not a smart business move if you cannot attract return customers. I feel like if you have music that is good enough, that will make people return and become fans, then it's in your best interest to make that music as available as possible. I did a test of that when I released "Native Sun" in 2011; I put the entire album on YouTube for free. I got a bunch of e-mails and everywhere I went people wanted to know why I'd do that, [that] it makes no sense. In about a year I realised that, one, people started coming to my concerts knowing the music already, knowing the words to the music and being absorbed in the music because it's YouTube, they could just play the entire thing without pause; two, it encouraged them to purchase the physical copy, it encouraged them to purchase the merchandise, like t-shirts and other things, because they had already heard the music. So I feel like I was vindicated in that process of making the music readily available and for free because it ended up creating a fanbase that would probably not have had the chance to sample my work and become fans of my work. I'm doing the same with "The Warm Up" EP, which is a prelude to "Afropolitan Dreamss". In my opinion, I think that giving it away for free only raises the anticipation for "Afropolitan Dreams". On the topics discussed on "The Warm Up" EP... [I put out my last album] in 2011. For a lot of people, it's been a while. Some people have never heard of me. "The Warm Up" is really just to get people interested and excited about "Afropolitan Dreams", which is really the story. What I was able to do on this EP was to give people sample ideas of where "Afropolitan Dreams" is going -- whether it's sonic, or whether it's lyrical. Everything that you're hearing on "The Warm Up" EP is part and parcel of "Afropolitan Dreams"; pretty much an extension, a prelude. 'African in New York' is the arrival into this city, which most of us have had to go through; of trying to figure out where you fit, and where your culture fits in all of this. Lyrically, it's self-explanatory. A song like 'Bisa' is also something that's very typical among expats who are trying to go home. It's almost like you become a self-appointed conduit between the rest of the world and where you're from. Some of what we go through back home has to almost be explained to the rest of the world. Most people back home may not have the platform or even the analysis. The thing is, a lot of us living overseas have the privilege of time, and the fact that we're not necessarily living hand-to-mouth. We're able to absorb these ideas and interpret them in a better way, just because we have more time. If I was back home, I doubt that I would have as much time to analyse, because my life would be much faster-paced; it would be based solely on another level of survival. That's why it's so important that those living overseas -- or even when you're home but you have a better situation that allows you the time -- it's our jobs to be the analyzers, to be the ones who try to create this dialogue. So 'Bisa' was an example [of that]. That's why Nneka makes so much sense, that's why TY makes so much sense. When I link with Nneka, that's all we talk about. We're talking about 'how do we go back home?', 'how do we go back properly?', 'how do we connect with the local [crew] that's been building for [a while] and be able to encourage what we've done with what's happening locally?' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxwIjootylA On performing live... I've never had a musical director, I've always directed my own music. Maybe it's just the control freak in me. But more importantly, I just feel like I have a vision, I know where I want this vision to go, and I don't stop until I get that vision. If you're an independent artist, I don't think you have much else in terms of your investment. What is the first point of contact with the audience? It's often almost live; that's the only time that they're gonna go 'I believe in you!' Any other time they have a choice, you're not in control. The only time you're in control of [whether] people like you is when you're on stage. I've always spent so much time and so much effort into creating such an amazing show, because I found out really quickly -- especially when I started touring -- that it doesn't matter if you have hits! For an hour or an hour and thirty minutes, that's my sales pitch, that is my 'you've GOT to love me!' You cannot leave without picking up the t-shirt, without finding out what my facebook is so that you can check me out later. That effort is extreme, almost to the point of obsession! That's why I watch so many live shows; to me it's critical that my live show is on par with not these guys today, but [with] when live shows were live shows. Everything else was an addition. To me, I don't think you'll find [anyone] better than a Michael Jackson, a Prince, a James Brown, a Fela. In terms of what I try to convey, one thing I figured out early is that the best way to keep people interest in anything you do, and this goes beyond a live show, is when you're telling a story. A story is the only time you can have my attention from beginning to end. Tonight at The Studio at Webster Hall: Blitz The Ambassador, Old Money, Boima and Caktuz. Listen to the "The Warm Up" below. *This post is part of our Liner Notes series, where musicians talk about making music.

Flex Boogie, featured on this song by producer/radio deejay The Prince, is a Pretoria-based hip-hop artist who was part of the pioneering hip-hop group Ba4za at one point. He has undergone numerous changes since then - from an overhaul of his image, to recently appearing in a liquor advert on national television (Flex Boogie's real name is Hakeem, and he's Muslim). But he doesn't rap this song. Instead, he provides fillers over sparse house beats, hollering "tsokotsa" (dance) every so often. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhW_-zb45iU In the lead-up to her new album entitled "Ticket to the world", German-Ghanaian vocalist Ayo collaborates with Congolese-French emcee Youssoupha for a bit of social commentary. "The city's burning down/ but there's no water" she sings before her rap/spoken word crusade. It must be pointed out that Youssoupha's verse is very similar in structure to this song of his. (P.S.: Her facebook page is somewhat of a gem.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqxU8FcsR2g “My new album is more involved. It takes you on a spiritual trip. It is about good and bad, about body and soul, and about finding the balance. It takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you feel part of the music” says vocalist Ntjam Rosie. This music is the perfect backdrop for the Southern Hemisphere's transition into Spring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMY4y6DEYYA A Professor song has become standard in any house club in South Africa. He ropes in kwaito artist Brickz for yet another club-friendly heater. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c3EdrtPhMU Lesotho's Charles Alvin possesses an effortless flow which is expertly complemented by the music. The video, shot around the surrounds of Maseru by upcoming director Sehlabaka Rampeta, is not half-bad either. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI7y7nKsYvI Fredy Massamba was in South Africa in September last year. That is when him and Tumi (formerly of Tumi and the Volume) linked up to record this song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESmgEBe_6kc Big FKN Gun enlist the help of Cuss Group co-conspirateur Ravi Govender to direct this stark look into the realities of a drug currently causing turf wars in Durban. The video features an appearance by artist Evl Jon, whose exhibition "Ward 56" opened this past week. http://youtu.be/HyjNYaF6ucU Johannesburg party rap comes to the fore on this club banger-assured collaboration between DJ Switch and Reason. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCjQQ49RNDA This Starz-produced collaboration between surefire Nigerian heavyweights follows hot on the heels of Shank's victorious Music Video of the Year nod at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards. Expect beautifully haunting visuals courtesy of Patrick Elis. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKkUFddlg8U And straight from Belgium to the world, the duo of Joy Adegoke and Wim Janssens (better known as Joy Wellboy) makes exquisite electronic funk for outstanding music connoisseurs and occasional listeners alike. We dig it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnO1OYQa200

Cape Town, South Africa, has been undergoing somewhat of an electronic music revival over the past five years. The initial boom happened in the early 2000s when, aided by the pioneering African Dope record label, artists such as Felix Laband and The Constructus Corporation (an earlier incarnation of Die Antwoord) suddenly found themselves at the centre of discussions at high school and college campuses across South Africa. The label's roster of gifted musicians demolished club shows and festivals everywhere they went, leaving critics with no choice but to declare the entire operation 'the future of South African music'. Yet Fletcher, dub maestro and co-founder of the label, says that it wasn't so easy. "The market just wasn't ready for it", he revealed during a chat we had recently. However, judging from the talent emerging currently, it is hard to imagine a more receptive scene than Cape Town for all things electronic. Names such as Dank, Christian Tiger School and Card On Spokes (who also plays jazz as Shane Cooper) gig regularly on the club circuit. An interesting facet of the scene has been the rise of dub. Pioneered by Lee "Scratch" Perry, the music has gone on to influence a range of genres across the globe. Cape Town also has its small but increasingly-influential set of producers; the afore-mentioned Fletcher, Pure Solid, and 7FT Soundsystem are all names worthy of consideration in this regard. Here's a taste of 7FT: For Damian Stephens, music and mission go hand-in-hand; they are the yin-yang brothers who confide in each other, sharing ancient secrets of meditative techniques and means to undercut the system. This England born-and-bred designer/producer/deejay started off as China White, releasing minimal techno tunes under the now-defunct Djaxed Up Beats label in the early nineties. After moving to South Africa in 1994, he lay low from music, re-emerging in 2003/4 as Dplanet, a name he's gone on to reveal was influenced by Afrika Bambaata and Soul Sonic Force's "Planet Rock". When Dplanet's not busy being an artist or running his design firm, he handles Pioneer Unit, a six year-old independently-run imprint based in Cape Town. In the Max Joseph-directed short film "12 Years of DFA: Too Old To Be New, Too New To Be Classic", the narrating voice informs us that "the entire global operation of DFA is currently run by two people." This is exactly how Pioneer Unit operates. Dplanet handles the musical side of the label, while Spo0ky, his partner, casts a keen eye on its visual output - from the elegant packaging of Driemanskap's 2009 breakthrough album, "Iqghabukil'inyongo", to the series of intriguing videos from the likes of Ben Sharpa, Rattex, Jaak, and the afore-mentioned Driemanskap whose video, "Camagu" (a phrase often used by traditional healers to pay homage to the ancestors), currently sits at around 59, 000 views on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QLDaTHrnq4 Dplanet and Spo0ky are also musical accomplices, collaborating as the DJ/VJ duo Pure Solid, a dubwise manifestation of Dplanet's roots in early dub, techno, and Hip-Hop releases of the eighties and nineties. He once told the story of how he'd go to dances organised by two white Nyabhingi Rastas. "They spoke in a heavy patois accent, yet had never been to Jamaica", he said. Jah Shaka's soundsystem is still a vital point of reference for him. Pure Solid sees Dplanet utilising the template of dub, "the drum and the bass", to make overtly-political commentary on the state of affairs in South Africa. If indeed the music is the message, then Pure Solid are worthy contenders in the category of bands who deliver it capably. In December 2012, Pure Solid performed at Synergy, a music festival in Cape Town. Below are the notes I took while watching their set on a sunny Sunday morning: "Alternating seamlessly between real-life imagery and technicolour vectors and geometric figures, Spo0ky's work is both appealing to the senses, serving as the perfect counterpart and companion to Dplanet's audio mash-ups. Dplanet's a maverick at audio manipulation. Listening to a live Pure Solid set is akin to witnessing the planets collide, only in hyper sped-up time; the panning, the sirens - soundsystem culture version 2.0. Witness current political commentary when Pure Solid's refix of Alborosie's "Police" as Spo0ky's visual cut between live footage and re-enactments of the toyi-toyi with the caption Marikana strike serving as the chilling undercurrent." Six months have elapsed since that performance; Pure Solid have done two tours, recorded a French-South Africa exchange project featuring Konfab, Jaak, and Driemanskap's El-Nino - all of whom are, it must be pointed out, Pioneer Unit recording artists - to celebrate the tenth year the French-based Jarring FX label has been doing work with Cape Town-based artists. Electronic music wunderkids Markus Wormstorm and Sibot are among some of the artists with whom the French have done work. Pure Solid also performed at this year's Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Recounting how the booking happened, Dplanet says: "We were at the end of our first 4DLS European tour. It was our last gig, which was at IOMMA on Réunion Island. We had to change venue because the organisers realised that we couldn't do video projections at the venue they originally intended for us to be at - which was outside. "The change in line-up meant that we were performing after a Maloya (traditional music from Réunion) band and before Susheela Raman, which we thought was going to be quite a culture shock. The venue was packed to it's 1000 person capacity with families and, I'm assuming, Susheela Raman fans. "Anyway, we did our thing and it was quite disconcerting because, while no one left, people didn't exactly go wild with excitement either. We got a small polite round of applause after each track. Most people just stared in what looked like disbelief. "We came off stage thinking it was a bit of a disaster, but we gave it our best so what could we do? We went to the VIP lounge to get a beer and the large delegation of South Africans gave us a standing ovation. We literally looked behind us to see if someone famous had walked in behind us. One of the South African delegation was Rashid Lombard who immediately told us that he wanted to book us for the JazzFest. We thought that maybe he'd got carried away with the spirit of the occasion and it would never really happen. We saw him again the next day and he was still claiming that he loved our show and would definitely book us. He obviously saw the skeptical look on my face because he immediately called his daughter, Yana, who handles all the bookings, and she confirmed that he wasn't joking." The "Cape Town Effects" project, a result of that French connection, is ready; in fact, the artists involved have just recently returned from their European tour. For a teaser, listen to Konfab and El-Nino's "All rise" below. Fletcher (above) has also just released a free project of seventeen dubs, or rather according to his website, "subsonic rumblings, glitched out melodies and frequencies from other dimensions." He shared the following on working with Cape Town reggae godfather, Zolile Matikinga (alias Zoro): "Everyone's come up under Zoro; Teba, Dillinger, Crosby, they all learned from Zoro. Zoro's special, [he] doesn't write nothing down, ever! [He] steps up, does his choruses, and then he says 'play it back, play it back'. And then he listens to it again, and then he does his harmonies; high, medium, low. Then he's like 'cool, run the verse'. [He] gets his words inside his head, lays it down. So Zoro's a pleasure to work with, because you've finished a tune in thirty minutes. If you've got a riddim and you give him five minutes with the riddim, he's got the tune. Zoro's amazing, that's how Zoro works!"  

Art Melody, the Burkina Faso-based gruff-voiced emcee who also completes the high-octane duo Waga3000, came to my attention through the group's 2012 song entitled "Dal fo yikin bao", which translates to "remain strong and feisty". Their furious spit-fire flow, reminiscent of what had attracted me to Senegalese emcees, invited me into their world. Then a bit over a month ago, I received a copy of Art Melody's Wogdog Blues, his third since his breakthrough debut in 2009. He was taken off of Ouaga's taxi ranks, where he used to work and would kick the odd rhyme every now and then, into Europe, the continent that once landed him in prison attempting to reach it. "I left Burkina Faso in 1998," he shot back in an e-mail conversation. His intention was to go to Côte d'Ivoire, perhaps even settle there. Two years down the line, and after he had already written his first raps, Art Melody had a change of heart. "I left Côte d'Ivoire for Mali, then Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania...", he says of the  journey which saw him end up in an Algerian prison for weeks. He was shuttered! He admits to being bitter  because of the experience. He does, however, have what he refers to as "inspiring memories". Art Melody returned to Burkina Faso with a strong resolve. "I made the decision to fully concentrate on rap, and now I can come to France in the 'right' way," he says of his life at this point in time. "Wogdog Blues" is a sonic trip, a design process made manifest before the listener's audio nexus, an expertly-crafted minimalist artwork which should be hung on the Internet's walls, exhibited for technophobes and cell-phone freaks across the continent to experience. At its core, the album has producer Redrum holding it together. Art Melody narrates how their meeting came about: "It wasn't easy since he was in France and I was in Burkina Faso. Everything happened via email. That said, I don't think the 'easy  projects' are as much appreciated as the complicated ones – when one always gets to make something good. We're as much a family as we are a team." I am yet to hear the first album, "Giling Duni Kanga", but "Wogdog Blues" (a metaphor for "Dreaming up a Ouaga Blues with Hip-Hop that's been influenced for a long time by ancestral music" according to the rapper) is, sonically, more mature than "Zound Zandè",  his 2011 release. Waga 3000's self-titled project emerged in April 2012. But how did he and Joey le Soldat meet? "Waga 3000 was born when Joey and I met each other during a radio show, some four years ago, in Ouagadougou." Both emcees  understood their power as a collective. "Waga 2000 is the name of Ouagadougou's rich quarter, while all other poor neighbourhoods around it – to us – are named Waga 3000," he offers, shedding light on the origins of the name. Burkina Faso, land of the upright people, Sankara's land. Alas, just as Sankara's ideals led to his ultimate betrayal, so has the  government continued to fail its citizens. Art Melody recalls: "I was born here and I live here among my people – often without any  education or nutritions...that's the kind of place I come from." Sadly, Burkina Faso is not solitary in its social predicaments; he could be in Lesotho, Kenya, Ghana, or Madagascar, and the statement would hold. Erstwhile Black Uhuru vocalist Michael Rose once crooned about the whole world being Africa, about how it has been 'divided into  continent states'; about the soul-stripped concrete jungles that we increasingly find ourselves having to navigate – cities without pity. "It's the same flesh and bone," adds Rose, as if to ensure that his point is drilled into our consciousness. If Black Uhuru's observation was accurate, then why are we still so segregated? Why is Melody's fan base stronger overseas than at home? Is it always necessary to be around for as long as Awadi or Smockey have for him to move within the continent? Anyway, I digress. Art Melody grew up on the fodder of late-eighties and early-to-mid nineties rap music. He lists among his influences the likes of Public Enemy, Nas, and IAM. His flow, however, has hints of an old RZA. He is unrelenting, fuelled by the rage sparked by his people's travails. His given name is Mamadou Konkobo. He grew up in a rough environment with parents who were peasants, "a few terminals away from Bobo Dioulasso" he recalls. This is where Burkina Faso's economic capital is located. Despite the challenges his family faced, he managed to go to school. Like many thinkers across the African continent and abroad, Art Melody is aware of Thomas Sankara. But he has a deeper connection to his story, and shares his memories of the people's president: "I hold good memories of Sankara. He was murdered one day while I was leaving for school." Melody was still a wee lad then, yet  recalls the day vividly. He tells of the impact of Sankara's philosophies: "they marked me big time. His discourse, his Pan-African actions, his ideology inspire me a lot and influence my music heavily. It's by living as Africans that we will become free and independent." Art Melody name-checks the likes of Ben Sharpa and Spoek Mathambo, and still counts IAM in his list of influences. He also possesses an immense awareness of his culture outside of rap, embracing and engaging with it expertly in his songs. When he's not spitting strident raps harkening back to the raw, 90s-era sound of rap music, he's paying homage to a style of singing his mother passed onto him. "Yes, my flow's ancestral; I owe it to my mother, a singer of rituals, so I was initiated, and that's that," he says. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrQKYNNaIe4 Success, that elusive thread which tickles our fancy as human beings. Ambition. Art Melody has paid for his ambitious exploits in the past, but his situation is different now: "I discovered the world 'en route'. I worked with some really great musicians in France. I live, I produce, I have a family that is proud, which is reassuring, but I have not reached my objectives yet. Time and again it feels good and new to them, to see what they have in Europe. To live in Europe is part of my project – the problem is not to leave Africa but to build it." He argues that every person "should be free everywhere and should live anywhere they want to." This, he proposes, will possibly foster freer minds and spirits among African youths. But would he consider relocating to Europe? "If my work demands me to live in Europe and to help my country, I would." Redrum's production is hard to pin down. He samples in the Hip-Hop tradition, favouring sparse samples and big drums to achieve a bare-bones song structure which fits the artist's voice. Says Art Melody: "I have the sound a beat maker needs. Over time one gets closer and closer to ancestral sounds while keeping it Hip-Hop, but also adding blues and even jazz – while still staying real to Hip-Hop." Back in Ouaga, the voiceless and downtrodden continue to live without access to basic health and education. "Portrait de Art Melody", a film by Nicolas Guibert, is just about the realest portrayal of a rapper's life I've ever seen: [vimeo 5079023 w=800&h=400]
I tell him this and ask him about what his intentions were during that period, and his reply – that he did it to "have fun" – reveals vestiges of a rapper who does not necessarily take himself too seriously. He does continue, though, by saying that it was also to be discovered by someone, anyone. And he was. Now his fortunes have turned around for the better, and he is able to provide better for his family. (For another video portrait, by Droit Libre TV, see here.) Concluding our exchange, I ask him about the state of rap music globally. Does he deem it important for artists to be honest in their exchange with the listeners of their music? "I think we should reflect the image of where we come from in our music, not to pretend as if all is well in Burkina Faso while the people are struggling. Today's young people want music that makes them dance, and drink but not to think. Young people need education, and a real integration – not false promises; and that is the mission of today's artists. The fans are our mirrors." "Wogdog Blues" is out on Tentacule Records. Listen to the record over at Akwaaba Music. Art Melody has two gigs coming up in France this week (11 April in Beauvais - L'Ouvre Boîte + Gael Faye, and on the 12th in Paris at La Péniche Antipode). He will be back in France in June this year.

A harp hard-panned to either side of the speakers constantly loops while a flute sample pulsates in lock-step with the reverb-drenched hi-hats sounding off on every fourth beat. The drums kick in; snare; bassline. Suddenly the listener is placed squarely in Mo'Molemi's (real name Molemi Morule) territory, arguably one of the most revolutionary rappers in South Africa. I got introduced to Molemi (or Mr. Mo as he’s sometimes known), through a hidden song on HHP's YBA2NW album. HHP is one of the most recognisable entertainers in South Africa, having been catapulted to fame by two things: his fourth album, "O Mang?" (who are you?/what are your roots?) with its lead single “Harambe”, as well as winning a dance competition which was beamed to television sets across South Africa via the country's SABC2 channel. Molemi, on the other hand, has charted his own course with varying degrees of commercial success since his formative days as a member of the group Morafe. What he has not done though, and I stand corrected, is to compromise on his message; he has not given in to commercial pressure; he has not succumbed to the trappings of fame. Mr. Mo's politically-charged content is as incisive on "Lemphorwana" off of his second album "Motsamai" as it was on "Blu Collar" from a collection of songs which got leaked in the lead-up to his debut, "Amantsi". In “Blu collar”, he raps

Bo-ausi ba di-kichini bo kareng bo botlhe le ma-kontraka, ke re pop the blue collar now / bo-rametlakase, di-plaas joppie le bo-mme ba fielang straata, amandla, come on, ha! ("ladies who clean kitchens, including contract workers, I say pop the blue collar now / electricians, farm workers and ladies who sweep the streets, more power to you, come on!")

http://soundcloud.com/smondofiya/molemi-blu-collar In essence, the song is a rallying call for all the blue collar workers – street sweepers, kitchen maids, contract workers – across the South African landscape to come together in unison towards one single cause. What that cause is, however, is not made explicit. Perhaps Molemi is not a one-dimensional rapper, opting for multi-faceted, non-bigoted, and informed views on any issue he tackles. While songs like "Blu collar" and "Vokaf" are aimed at addressing South Africa's social condition at large, there are still more, such as "Apulaene" and "Mmabanyana" which further endeavour to invite the listener into the world of his people, the Batswana of Botswana – the different tribes, their chiefs, and their customs and rituals. Hip-hop in South Africa needs more artists like Molemi – a farmer (his name translates to ‘one who plants') who is also a very talented rapper. A legionnaire, a lone rider in the canon of Motswako – a genre increasingly associated with care-free, party-friendly music. In an interview snippet with Leslie Kasumba which can be found on his first album, Molemi said the following after being asked what he feels that he is bringing to hip-hop:

[I bring] stories that can provoke debates, not nice songs. I’m bringing in things that the government will ask ‘what’s this hip-hop?’ Hence ‘Blu Collar’, because ‘Blu Collar’ will talk about the experience of people who work the hardest but earn the least; those that freedom is not really reaching that much. I’m one of them! Not just talking to them from a distance, but sharing the stories from within. There’s a certain section of society in general that we’re not doing enough to reach out to. Capitalism is having a very negative effect on the general people, the people at the bottom level, because they’re not benefitting anything from what’s supposed to be ours.