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Interview with Fungayi ‘Fungz’ Kanyuchi

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15 November 2004 No Comment

His experience ranges from producing and presenting a TV Show, launching his own magazine to working at Zimbabwe’s The Sunday Standard. But today he is the editor for South Africa’s nationally distributed hip hop magazine – Hype. We wanted to find out more, so here it is…

What’s up man how’s life?

Cool dawg, life is beautiful especially now that my ‘inaug’ issue of HYPE has hit the streets.

Your age?

29.

Where were you born?

Zimbabwe.

Which primary school and high school did you go to?

Stanley School and Nashville High (Gweru, Zimbabwe).

Which tertiary institutions did you attend? 

Christian College of Southern Africa. 

What’s your favourite alcoholic beverage? 

Oude Meester, Jack D, Sambuca – I’m solid like that!

Do you smoke, if so what is your favourite brand?

Can’t call myself a smoker really- but me and Cuban cigars have our moments.

Favourite type of foods? 

Pap with steak, beetroot and chakalaka from the vending caravan outside Hype offices.

Can you start off by giving us a breakdown of your experience in the hip hop community and which elements of the culture do you practice?

I grew up on Public Enemy, KRS One (there is no one like him), Ice Cube and Arrested Development.  I was into break dancing until I fed my top eye-bone to the tarmac.  After that I took to watching and cheering from the sides. I loved graffiti as well and dabbed peoples’ walls with paint during school holidays. Currently I’m deep into the musical element of hip hop which I believe has been hijacked by opportunistic elements who don’t have the art form at heart. Debates and analytical pieces on the state of rap music and hip hop as a whole collective will be addressed intensely in future issues.

What experience in publishing do you have? 

I have been in the biz for the past nine years specialising in entertainment journalism. My first break was producing and presenting a talent television show TMZ which had a strong bias towards hip hop. At the same time I launched my own magazine called What’s Up, then a 20 page gloss art monthly mag which dealt with hip hop, fashion and young culture. I published and edited this magazine for nine months and since it was a self sponsored magazine, it’s sales failed to sustain it. I then joined The Sunday Standard (Zimbabwe’s only independent national paper and became its first entertainment Editor at 24 years of age). 

What has your experience been of Hype Magazine so far? 

Cool Stuff.  I love it to bits.

What role does Hype Magazine play?

Well I see HYPE playing a unifying role in presenting the four elements of hip hop on one platter. I also see it as a platform to ignite debate, provoke and inspire the growing youth with the artistic richness embedded in the whole culture.

How many copies did the first issue sell and was there an increase or decrease for the recent second issue? 

The first issue sold 80% of the print run and we haven’t gathered figures for the second one since it recently went off the shelves. What I can tell you though is that the response and interest has moved multiple notches up from the first one.

Are you hoping to offer subscriptions in the future?

4 sho!

Who is your target market? 

The 18 to 35 impressionable, hip, inquisitive and analytical young adults who do not take everything at face value but thrive on debate, research and upliftment of hip hop as a culture.

What has the feedback been like?

Bomb diggy!

What other things will Hype magazine be doing? 

That’s still under wraps but we have big ideas in store for the new year.

What is a typical day like for you?

I’m up at 5:45am tune to YFM, hop into a shower and by 7 I’m driving to work. 

My office day starts at 7:45 and ends when itz over (6, 7, 8, 9 or 10pm), depending on the time of the month.  I make time to attend launches and functions too. Week ends I do gym and love to kick back at home and watch DVDs, sample music that gets sent to me from record labels. At night I might go out but on weekends I try to shut out work except for relevant functions I need to attend.

If an artist wants to get reviewed or featured in Hype Magazine, what do they need to do?

They can send us mail on hype@hypemagazine.co.za but publishing or follow ups are at our discretion. Obviously they must have an album on the shelves that people can go and buy, or if its for the King Of The Bedrooms they must have a demo that we can sample. 

What do you find different about editing Hype as opposed to working at the Sunday Standard? 

Both experiences have been phenomenal in their own ways, at The Standard I pioneered the Standard Plus eight page pull out which became a big draw card since the newspaper was viewed as strictly hard news type of paper. Standard Plus brought the leisure Sunday read element to it. 

HYPE on the other end is a blast to work on from cover to cover and that feeling of creating an 80 page publication from ideas and photographs is a blast. 

What makes a good editor?

Credibility: Always make sure your facts and sources are credible and accurate.
Depth: Intense research and correct date and time frames.
Iron Rule: There are no sacred cows when it comes to news writing, but by the same token making sure that personal feelings do not interfere with your judgement. 

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to get to know to you and what you about. Any last words or shout outs?

Last words: Your attitude determines your altitude. 
Shout outs: Big ups to a super rawkus team at HYPE and SL Magazine, to all the people who put me on in different ways in my career so far, you know who you are and to the haters thanks for the inspiration, I have elevated!

Hype Magazine is available in most stores countrywide.

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