Translated from his native isiXhosa, ‘manqoba’ means ‘the winner’. This hungry young emcee from Khayelitsha certainly lived up to his name by cleaning up at a Pioneer Unit open mic talent search competition that was held in association with Kool Out Entertainment and Red Bull in Cape Town in 2010.

Johannesburg, Gauteng, 21 February 2011 – Afrikaans rapper and producer Dokte has released another song ‘Hou Vi Jou Lekke’ from his new upcoming album via his official website dokte.com.

Recovered from the twisted wreckage of charred hard drives, scratched CD-Rs and dusty tape reels, this previously unreleased collection of KONFAB’s work has finally emerged to allow you a glimpse into the mind of one of South Africa’s most accomplished lyricists.

Word Up Ezine is an online “culture” magazine founded by South Africa’s Big Dre and Nash and the second issue is out. Issue No.2 features stunning graffiti from Hungaria’s Mr Zero and a write up on EJ Von Lyrik’s new album. Read on for a download link to the issues.

Solo Freestyle Dancing has been a favourite past time for many youth around the Western Cape, youth see dancing and performance art as their way out of the townships and on to the big theatre, live concert productions or television shows. South Africa has many professional and talented dancers working on cruise ships, 5 star hotels, Broadway theatres and night clubs around the world.

The creative minds at Syntax Records have come together in full force to create a five-song EP entitled “Syntax Records is Justified” inspired by the FX show Justified. With the premiere of the show’s second season tonight at 10 p.m., Syntax is offering the EP as a free download at www.syntaxrecords.com/justified.

Kokayi (Carl Walker) is a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, emcee, producer and educator. Pronounced “Ko-Kah-Yee” (or KOKE for short), this Washington D.C. native takes his name from the Swahili word meaning “to summon the people”.

Selected as one of 106 KMEL’s Top 10 Freshman Rappers of the Bay Area, 21-year-old San Francisco native Roach Gigz has gone from virtually unknown to one of the hottest artists on the West Coast in just four years.

This night is a strong expression of pure music in a complementary setting where the artist is able to connect with you, the audience, live and direct. Street Live Connect will be featuring the internationally acclaimed Canadian/South African Songstress, Zaki Ibrahim and the Cape Town based hip-hop legends, Fifth Floor.

This week Africasgateway talks to Amkoullel, also known as “L’enfant Peulh” or “The little Fulani” in his native Mali. Amkoullel is one of the up and coming hip hop stars in West Africa who takes his stage name from the book “Amkoullel” by the famous west African author Amadou Hampate Ba.