HYPE Mag APR/MAY Issue - OUT NOW

[GreenBat]

Some of us do it for da cash others for da love i know why i'm doing it.See you have emcees & rappers emcees spit cos they can rappers cos they have to.

[K9 tha Pedigree]

@ Cash you a funny nigga man those are sum dope bars, Les killed it man Maggz 2, is it me or are there sum Prokid references from Les. N I heard there is a story about Amakipkip and Dankie San its about the Repertoires.

[cash]

Some of us do it for da cash others for da love i know why i'm doing it.See you have emcees & rappers emcees spit cos they can rappers cos they have to.

not too flexible,that statement!
See i do it for the love and for the money,the love keeps me goin when the money is low, and the money funds me to do what i love!

I am an Emcee,Rapper,Producer, and a young black Entrepreneur.
I rap cos i can and think on a money tip because i have to! every living being has to! even Bill Gates!
I will never be in a position where i HAVE TO RAP(So wud that mean im not a rapper?)

Maybe im jus not gettin ur point

Hahaha@K9....u know what that MEANS..... Les was on point man! dead all the talk about Les cant rap! he proved himself!

[rob_one]

Les was on point man! dead all the talk about Les cant rap! he proved himself!

Big talk from someone who has yet to do that himself.

[mizi.]

How do we compile HYPE Session?

We get demos flying in from all over the country. Have a stack of about 50 CDs at any given time. We go through them all and shortlist those that make some kind of sense in terms of sound quality, verses and overall production. From there we start eliminating what doesnt work. We also have to cover the entire country and dispite CASH's statement, cater for all musical taste in the country (using what we get of course). That is why in this issue you have Nqondo who represents KZN with his Zulu raps, Natives From The Sun repping Cape Town with their jazzy laid back style followed by Glitterati and Jozi with the new age fresh style which appeals to CASH. Then Molly who is from Mpumalanga and appeals to the vernac cats who also like a bit of crunk, maybe appeals to CASH's gardener. Then a new Motswalo crew you heard here for the first time, Wrecked Cru, who may appeal to the Motswakolisto who likes a bit of crunk too. Then we have Black Moss and Arano, which is a collaboration between a KZN guy and a German MC, appealing to the underground guy who likes exchanges between different countries. Cream appeals to those interested in Cape Afrikaans raps. Savage is for the dusty cats. Navio... not sure which ear he appeals to but he is an orthodox rapper. The two tracks produced by Lungelo are dark. There are cats that feel that kind of hip hop. Ras killed that beat and thats that.

Who have we left out? Most of the country is covered. All styles present in SA are covered. From English raps, to Motswako, to spaza, to Zulu, to Afrikaans, to new age, to jazzy, to cheerful to dark.

[K9 tha Pedigree]

Yo Mizi stop it man I swear I fell off the couch. Molly appeals too CASHs GARDENER LMAO.
Yo Mizi Ras killed that beat Period man

[SUPER RUTHLESS]

Then Molly who is from Mpumalanga and appeals to the vernac cats who also like a bit of crunk, maybe appeals to CASH's gardener.

hahahahahaha  that was a dope line man....
How bout if hype drop a double disc special edition, then u can have leave alot more people happy...

How do we compile HYPE Session?

We get demos flying in from all over the country. Have a stack of about 50 CDs at any given time.

So what do yall do with the tracks that doent make it on the disc... do they get thrown out?

[cash]

i think mizi,what ur sayin is that u got Underground hiphop represented in diff areas. there is still only ONE track with that new shit!
u covered that Kwai-hop as well(but that shit is practically dead, in terms of stayin current)

Its still 95% underground hiphop but from diff regions of SA!
I like the fact that you got cats reppin all areas of SA! i commend that! I jus think u cater for the FRESH shit the least and LAST!

But i aint complainin. I luv bein the underdog!!!

U say that uv covered everybody, but 90% of cats still think the mixtape is not worth listening to. Surely u must see that ur going the wrong direction with it? I dunno,maybe ur takin the Mugabe approach(its MY mixtape!! LOL)

Im jus sayin KEEP IT CURRENT!
99% of whats on the mixtapes is not whats hot right now!

Yes u had Jozi(meaning LES) and THe Gliteratti, but that was an Underground track that u selected from them!

If i gave yall cats a Crunk track,a ladies track, a club banger and a underground track! i bet the Underground(or more in tune to the Underground head) wud be the track u select!

A lot of cats have been complaining a bout the tracks they submit and WANT to be selected VS the ultimate one that gets selected!(90% of the time its the joint with no hook,no radio/car/club friendliness.....the one that doesnt really grab the listener/consumer....the track aimed for the HEADS)

to be honest most cats want their SINGLES/VIDEO/RADIO tracks on the tape - lets go half and half on the selection, GIVE THE ARTISTS A SAY TOO!
They jus scared to say sumn cos maybe then yall gon exclude them from the mixtape sessions. i wont say any names. they must come forward if they want to.

But u must feel my sincerity here. this cant be how ur gonna do this mixtape forever!

even in the latest mag,sum dude wrote yall to complain about this!
even when i spoke to Simone,she said a lot of peeps aint happy with the mixtape!

All im sayin is look into it. Maybe get sum1 with a fresh ear to a**ist with the mixtape! an A&R type cat(not another HEAD), by A&R type cat, i mean a cat whose listening for HITS,catchy tunes,Nice hooks and all the other aspects of a hiphop song other than a nice PUNCHLINE and a RAW beat!

Thats all i ask, jus a lil lee-way

[Bondizzo]

Check out the Hype Mag party in the upcoming Crack Boys DVD, its that Crack

[Killa Merc]

All im sayin is look into it. Maybe get sum1 with a fresh ear to a**ist with the mixtape! an A&R type cat(not another HEAD), by A&R type cat, i mean a cat whose listening for HITS,catchy tunes,Nice hooks and all the other aspects of a hiphop song other than a nice PUNCHLINE and a RAW beat!

Oh flip, you mean TBO Touch?

[cash]

touch? hmmm...maybe sumone younger. but yes, it wud be good to have different type of cats compiling the mixtape(A mizi,a TBo,a Waxxy,etc)
Touch wud be good cos he knows how to MARKET a new artist so if u got a slot in the mixtape and also got playlisted on his show that wud be a good look. Its always cool when a DJ is involved in puttin out mixtapes,cos u get the streets and radio on lock!

Its hard for an underground cat to look further than what they define to be on point. U say u cater for the likes of me(But im about the HITS...the Ringtone,Dance,Radio tracks - The Glits,Les track has the new breed niggas on it yes, but that was a lyrical track(i liked it fa sho - nice flows n rhymes - but if u really wana cater to me, i need that CLub HOOK,that Catchy melody,that DANCE,that Radio music,that ring tone shit!!!) i dont get that from the mixtapes.
the last memorabke track i felt was nice was BREAK, with Maggs, i liked it, i cud hear that on Radio, i cud be in the whip mackin wit dat joint.......Not Molly

Im not tryin to piss nobody off, i just think its a subject worth debating right now!
No beef intended whatso ever!

ps. u know my gardener only listens to CRACK

[TNGlive]

All im sayin is look into it. Maybe get sum1 with a fresh ear to a**ist with the mixtape! an A&R type cat(not another HEAD), by A&R type cat, i mean a cat whose listening for HITS,catchy tunes,Nice hooks and all the other aspects of a hiphop song other than a nice PUNCHLINE and a RAW beat!

Oh flip, you mean TBO Touch?

LMAO.

But on the real though, A&Rs can sometimes be like >>

[mizi.]

I hear you there CASH.
The mixtape is being compiled as an alternative to TV and radio. Its meant to fit in somewhere and give hip hop lovers a clear perspective of the SA hip hop landscape. As a hip hop supporter, I switch on MTV Base and Channel O and I see the Monopoly or jozi videos. I switch the radio on and I hear singles from Jozi or HHP. Now, when including Monopoly, Jozi or HHP on HYPE Sessions, why would we want to put the radio/tv singles on? Not only are we not interested in radio singles, record labels block us from using their singles. I spoke to DJ Sbu about using Pro's 'Uthini Ngo Pro?' from his latest album and money blocked us saying it would damage the marketing of the album, and gave us a list of other tracks we could use. Thats one of the things we are faced with. Back to the point though, the mixtape forms part of a system where you would have your radio tracks on radio, and an alternative to radio on the HYPE Sessions. This just creates choice. If you want singles, tune in, if you want to hear what cats are doing (whats not making it on radio), pop the cd in. Emagine the session was full of 'Music And Lights', 'Whats With The Attitude' and 'Bampa'. They already have a platform. Although we dont block major artists, we would rather put a track on which is different to what you hear on radio. That shows supporter a different side of the artist. A side they may like. EG, Biggie had the single 'More Money More Problems' right. To a lot of people, that was the only reference of Biggie. Now, I went to a friend's krib and he played me 'Kick In the Door'. I went out and copped Life After Death on the strength of Kick In The Door, even though More Money More Problems had been on tv and radio for over 2 months. If my friend had played me More Money... again I wouldnt have copped it. Now, emagine if there was an outlet at the time that focused on highlighting dope album cuts instead of popular singles. I would have seen a different side of the artist and copped earlier while the fickle ma** market cop the record on the strength of the popular radio single.

This is the poit of the tape. Bottom line (and I respect that) is you dont like the tape. But what platform is there for this music? Radio wont touch it because it doesnt sound like Chingy. Just making the game fair and creating opportunities.

[cash]

i feel u Mizi.
This definitely was a topic worth debating. i see ur side and methodology towards compiling the tape. it makes sense.
With big artists with marketing teams it makes sense they will block stuff cos they already have set up the mediums to promote their joints that catch the ma**es.

For US struggling cats tho! the hype mixtape is a great platform for us to catch the ma**es(ie. 30 - 40k Hype mag buyers!)
Id like to see u push the non-singles from established cats, but also jus go half n half with the bottom of the food chain cats like me, to push the non single stuff(cool,not complaining at all), but to also help us build hype(no pun intended) for our upcoming releases, by dropping our singles on the tape now and again(cos our independant marketing strategies involve HYPE mag a lot more)

I dont like the bulk of the content of the tape(true). im sure if niggas can be honest fo a minute,they will all agree,the average amount of tracks most cats like in each tape is about 2-5 tracks.(theres a problem)

I agree tho, where else can niggas get this type of hiphop. Thats a good cause. I respect that!
But dont u think u are sending out a message to underground cats that ITS OKAY TO STAY UNDERGROUND and they must continue to fight against the system(radio,tv,media,technology). its a good fight, but for how long can they sustain themselves and remain behind as hiphop progresses into the future.

I think we need more singles,radio hits,pop crossover,ringtone, etc.from our many talented artists in SA! how else will this thing grow if were not tryin to grow the hiphop market!
we need to make hiphop system friendly as this is how u attract attention from the corporates and investors!

They want a marketable product thru the mediums they use(Radio,Tv,etc)

I love the way u addressed my questions this time around tho, the first response seemed like a defensive stance, but now i see u are more open to healthy discussion.

I appreciate the insight as to what you see the mixtape as a tool for! it is a pretty clear mission.

[rob_one]

You can't please everybody. I do think the methodology of compiling the tapes is sound; the problem is that because of the wide range of styles and artists the average person probably isn't going to like more than two-five tracks, as Cash says.

There is no reason to alter the selection method (there is a journalistic duty to represent as wide an audience as possible) but I can't help thinking that there must be other ways...