You might have heard them on the Kunta Kinte mixtape or maybe you’ve heard some of their tracks on our forums and wanted to know what these people are all about. So Fah Fee spoke to the Third World Riders aka 3WR about how they got started, their views of the South African and African scenes and the album "Products of Circumstance" with who will be producing and who will be featuring. Read on for the entire interview…

Q. Everyone wants to know who is 3rd World Riders? Why that Name?

3WR: Third World Riders has three members namely Cone, Maradona and Blasphemy. The first part of the name is informed by our geo-economic position and the latter expresses what we’re about. 

Q. What’s your objective with this Hip-hop gig?

Cone: It is to reclaim Hip Hop as a culture and an art form of forgotten people and hopefully with time to be recognized as serious lyricists that can compete with whomever and wherever.

Maradona: To create credible music by documenting our stories honestly and creatively as we possibly can. We hope through that we can begin to share our music with people beyond our borders. 

Blasphemy: To document what otherwise would be meaningless lives and bridge the gap between us the artists and people who find themselves in our music.

Q. Is it accurate to say that since its conception 3wR has undergone a lot of transition in terms of group members? Why is that?

3WR: In retrospect it’s obvious to us now that a crew of eight people was never going to work, there were simply too many egos that collided and got bruised for the crew to work.

Q. So right now who is officially 3wR and who is Not?

3WR: Members of 3WR are Cone the Major, Maradona the hood embassodor and Blasphemy the street’s Thespian.

Q. How did the individual members start rapping?

Cone: In Nima, Ghana where I’m from Hip Hop is a dominant genre. I ignored it until I was in the seventh grade, when I met a Liberian boy, Scientific, who took me under his wing and as they say, the rest is history. The crazy thing though is that in the beginning I didn’t like writing because I didn’t know what to write about. So, I concentrated on freestyles where I could get away with gibberish. 

Maradona: I got into Hip Hop because the stories I was hearing from American ghettos seemed to chronicle what was happening in my own hood, Daveyton. And then came the club metropolis and yfm thing, that’s where I got anointed. But it was not until my legendary battles with seven members of Asylum Tribe, which for the record I won, that I began to take Hip Hop seriously.

Blasphemy: I came to Jozi at a very young age with no parents or guardian, and practically raised myself in Hillbrow and Yeoville. I soon into the streets and done what I had to do to survive and that’s when I began to be drawn to Hip Hop because it was the only genre that documented the life I was living. The writing part came fairly easy because I’ve always been the one with something to say. 

Q. What do you think about the South African hip-hop scene and Africa in general?

Cone: The scene in SA is really stagnant and there is nothing exciting coming out of here. Unfortunately I don’t know much about the scene in the rest of the continent, the only sh*t we hear is the wack sh*t we see on TV.

Maradona: Like Cone said it’s stagnant and disappointing. Disappointing because a lot of these dudes that are in the lime light now are people we used to cipher with and many of them were wack even back then. However, a few were nice but they sound all the same right now.

Blasphemy: What did you expect to get when Hip Hop in SA is run by suburban cheese boys and college kids? Of course it’s going to be fake like it is. I don’t know about the rest of the rest of the continent.

Q. Who are you feeling right now?

Cone: Papoose, Saigon, True Life, Joel Ortiz. And of course Nas and Kool G Rap all day everyday.

Maradona: Papoose, Saigon and Cone.

Blasphemy: Papoose and Saigon are what I’ve been listen to lately but 2Pac will always remain the main man. 

Q. Major Cone’s “Final call” is making waves internationally and I’m most impressed by the lyrical content. Why is it so important for you to be judged as lyricists and not just as rappers relying on a dope beat to save your song?

Cone: I want to be judged primarily on my skills, lyrical dexterity, content and the importance of what I’m saying. I don’t want to be put in these self defeatist box as an ‘African MC’, I want to be judged as an MC period! 

Maradona: That’s the type of track that could move anyone anywhere.

Q. What do you say to people who say hip-hop MC’s in Africa are disjointed from the real issues affecting communities and can only be assessed as being NY “wannabees”?

3WR: For the most part that is true as Blas was saying; most of these dudes are middle class cheese boys, detached from the everyday experience of the majority of South Africans. None of us on the other hand was born with a silver spoon or given any opportunities. All of us come from working class and poor backgrounds and basically we were born to lose. If however, the criticism is that we share a culture and art form which owes its existence from people across the Atlantic, who are materially disenfranchised, socially alienated and psychologically repressed as we are, then we are guilty as charged. We feel absolutely no shame in being participants in the Hip Hop culture.

Q. Lets talk about your album. How long do we still have to wait?

3WR: The folk at Riot Records will have to answer that question but as we know they are in the final stages of cutting a DVD that will accompany the album.

Q. Why did you choose that title (Hell is Home)?

3WR: ‘Hell Is Home’ is the name of the single that we also shot the debut video from. The name of the album is Products of Circumstance. The title Hell is Home came from the period when Blas was arrested late 2004. When he was asked by one of the members of the crew how it was in the holding cell, he responded “Hell Is Home.”

Q. Who’s handling the production on the album?

3WR: Full Metal Jacket has handled most of the production. Cone, Nyambz and Maq have also provided tracks. We still have to conclude business with Nyambz.

Q. Are there any special guests we should look out for?

3WR: Yeah, Snazz and X-Amount from Cashless Society and two unknown cats, Skeptic and Pino.

Q. What’s your favourite tracks (off your album)?

Maradona: a track called ‘What If?’

Cone: I don’t really have a favourite, I feel all of them.

Blasphemy: It just has to be ‘Thug Logic’.

Q. What’s up with your mixtape? When is that coming out?

3WR: We’ve completed most of the recording of that; we are just looking for a suitable DJ to host the mixtape and it’ll come out as soon as we get a suitable distribution deal. Peeps should look for a couple of fresh cats on the mixtape such as G, Beast and Cuba.

Q. Some say Cone is (one of) JHB’s best rappers right now. Are you prepared to defend that title? Will you battle anyone on the street corner?

Cone: I done burnt everyone that has come my way from Hymphatic Thabs to Snazz. So, I’m kinda tired of the whole battle thing. But if duke wanna test me, I’m here.

Q. This one is for Maradonna: What is so ill about Daveyton Township?

Maradona: First of fourth most, it’s my hood and if I don’t rep it, who will. Beyond everything else, Daveyton is more grimier than many hoods that are always talked about.

Q. You have a song called “I’m not a Thug”. Why did you feel like you had to make that track? Do people often misunderstand your music?

Maradona: One of the reasons is that “civilized” society looks down on people who have nothing. I might be looking bad and doing “gully” things but it does not make me a thug – of course that being perceived as an evil and heartless person that society paints. However, should I fall in those realms and with society’s analysis then I won’t deny it and I go on to justify it in the track. It’s got nothing to do with music, it is real life. In 2002 I was arrested for robbery and assault and came out in 2003. Since I came out, people in my hood, especially adults look at me with suspicion and at times revulsion. The crazy thing is other people that have gone through the same sh*t that I have, experience it worse from their family members.

Q. In the late 90’s you had a huge buzz on the East Rand then you kind of went on a low, low profile. What made you decide to come back to this rap shit and strive to make it Work?

Maradona: Like I said I was arrested and anyway at that point I saw local Hip Hop as a hobby for spoilt brats and didn’t want to have any part of it. What made me come back to it is that I don’t have any other choices in life, and it’s something that I can do. I didn’t even finish my high school, so go figure!

Q. Some one commented on the lack of radio spins? Are you beefing with radio or something!?

3WR: No, we don’t have beef with radio. 

Q.I see you on a lot of mixtapes. Can you list them? Where can we Hear more 3WR?

3WR: UK based Kunta Kinte Vol 2 and 3 Mixtapes, especially the third one because we got to be next to cats we respect such as Nas, Dead Prez, Styles P, etc. Local mixtapes are Landmynz and Street Legends.

Q. Are there any other artists signed to Riot Records?

3WR: No.

Q. Message to your fans and hip-hop heads?

3WR: Thanks for the support; we know that the love is real because no radio or TV is convincing you to like us.

Interview by Fah Fee

Submitted by: admin