Enoch: 

Does your name have a specific meaning or significance attached to it or was it just chosen for its controversy?

Mandrakz:

My full name is the Proudly South African: Lebohang Molema Hendrik Mochudi. In high school a friend of mine, Lloyd, called me Mandrakz instead of Hendrik and I found it quite funny. I started using it as a stage name and it's stuck with me ever since.

Enoch: 

Where did you grow up and do you think that that particular environment has contributed to who Mandrakz the person is today?

Mandrakz: 

My grandmother managed my formative years in Motimposo, Maseru. She taught me about the fundamentals of life: Respect, Honesty, Humility… and yes, it's a big part of who I am today.

Enoch: 

So when exactly did you first get involved in hip-hop?

Mandrakz:

The first time I penned a rhyme for performance was for a remake of the nativity play in 1994. After that I just wrote more and more verses, but I only started performing original material in the last five years.

Enoch: 

I have been fortunate enough to be at one of your shows and I noticed that the is constant use of poetry in your shows, is there a specific message you are tying to present to the listeners through the use of poetry or is poetry just part of the show?

Mandrakz:

Hip-Hop has its origins in traditional poetry, and I was writing poems years before I heard my first rap song. As a result, I see the emergence of performance poetry as an alternative podium from which I can try and get my message across to different receptors… it's as much a part of me as singing or rapping.

Enoch: 

Which hip-hop song was your first love and who sang it and where were you when you first heard it?

Mandrakz:

"For the Love of Money" by Eazy E and a relatively unknown Bone Thugs 'n Harmony. My cousin listened to a lot of Hip-Hop I would sponge it up while doing the house chores.

Enoch: 

From where or whom do you draw inspiration to do what you do and is there anyone in particular that inspires your lyrics?

Mandrakz

For a large part of my early development, I quarantined myself from mainstream Hip-Hop to avoid sounding like anyone. As a result, I came to learn to use life and the human condition as a mine for my ideas… I find solace in the personal element in most of my songs.

Enoch:

In terms of artists in general, is there any artist you particularly look up to both locally and internationally and why?

Mandrakz:

Locally, I admire Proverb and Tumi for their lyrical genius and willingness to push musical boundaries, e.g. Tumi working with 340ml… Proverb working with Tweak. Overall, I respect Mos Def because I see him as the quintessential artist: actor, playwright, rapper, singer and producer. And all of that not only with great success, but a healthy dose of humility as well.

Enoch: 

Do you think that the South African music community has been receptive to what hip-hop has had to offer musically in this country?

Mandrakz:

The sad possibility is that this is about as receptive as it's going to get for the foreseeable future… a category at the SAMA's doesn't convince me that they've changed their tune. It seems Hip-Hop is being used by the corporate side of the industry to boost their "street credibility". As long as fellow musicians view us as a sect of pretenders trying to pull off an art form that doesn't belong to us… we will never be fully embraced.

Enoch: 

According to your opinion has the media in general played a prominent role in the grooming of (SA) hip-hop, have they done enough to support SA hip-hop?

Mandrakz:

I'll be the first to sympathise with the foot soldiers within the media. Those who seek to promote local Hip-Hop still have to get past all the red tape of the media houses and sh*t. That's why it's the responsibility of platforms such as Africasgateway and others that already HAVE a voice to now shout at the top of those voices.

Enoch: 

Have you released anything lately and when is your next project and with whom will you be working with?

Mandrakz: 

I'm working on my solo debut right now… “Harlequin”. I roped in a lot of emcees that I've known from back home to feature on some tracks. You're going to be hearing a lot soon, from names like Sega T, Captain Clapmen, Jimmy Stein, and Switch. There's also a strong vocal element with some singers being brought in for the melodic element of the album. I'm also trying to work with producers from the Gauteng area like Daz and Nyambz.

Enoch: Your track “Mahala Style”, what does the track talk about?

Mandrakz:

Sega and I got together one day for a freestyle session but we couldn't freestyle for sh*t back then so we decided to write a track in as short a period of time as possible. 15 minutes later we were sitting with these verses and I was like “You know, this is almost like a WRITTEN freestyle” but because nobody's defined that concept yet, let's personalise it and call it MAHALA-style. It's really just a light, fun track that the live crowds love to see us perform.

Enoch: 

What is your take on statements like “SA hip-hop stems from kwaito” and do you think that kwaito is morphing into hip-hop?

Mandrakz: 

Trying to avoid inbreeding between Kwaito and Hip-Hop in South Africa is like trying to stop siblings from picking up each other's nuances even though they share a room. They both have their place on the scene, as does all music, but I think quotes like the aforementioned are just sweeping statements by people who obviously lean towards one or the other. Open-minded musicians recognise the potential for a decidedly South African sound through the merger of the different forms… and others such as rock, jazz, whatever man. But still, though:

"I hate cats that repeat the same old cycle/
No King of Kwaito will ever claim my title/
Still a street-fighter addressing the beat-biters and one-line repeaters/
… Don't bite - this rhyme will feed ya'" 

(Quiet, Ou: Drugglawd - 1999)

So this is basically what Mandrakz is about and I had a very enjoyable time talking to him and I hope you found this interview with him insightful because I did.

Interview By Enoch.

---