Hip Hop in SA = Middlecla** phenom

churchofthe latterdayLatte · **Reply #15 on:** July 20, 2006, 09:24:23 AM

Dankie D-Planet- that cormega verse sums up what I mean by gritty and street

DAZ aka-Cyfa Lojik (PPL ON THE STREET) · **Reply #16 on:** July 20, 2006, 10:22:28 AM

Dplanet-"but we don't really have any rappers over here that could compete with that"-
i disagree you have not been exposed to it but where i am from(yeoville, hillbrow,brixton, burea, newtown, windsor east,)there are alot of authentic street rappers that i started spitting with as a youth, i dont really know why people get caught up with the whole whose hardcore and whose not shit, if people wanna be hardcore take it to "gommora" and earn your stripes on the street where it counts this is music. i am not saying that one should not feel free to express themselve jus as long as they got delivery i am game, but dont think that just cuz i heard someone on a cd claiming they hard that i could care a less, i am not from your street you dont know me!!!

jus thought i would het that off my chest.

Dpleezy · **Reply #17 on:** July 20, 2006, 11:06:37 AM

It's more about attitude than being an actual gangsta/ killer/ drug dealer. obviously i don't know every rapper in SA, but I have been around yeoville, hillbrow and newtown on and off since 1996. the real hustlers in those areas are not rappers (from my experience).

where are the rappers with the boss playa attitude and skills to back it up? where's the ghetto fabulous star quality? where's the charisma? Again, it all comes down to personality. many kwaito artists seem to have these qualities.

TATEguru v.2K9 · **Reply #18 on:** July 20, 2006, 07:43:16 PM

yeah certainly S.A rappers pale (read: Preppy backpackers) in comparisson to their Kwaito counterparts when it comes to the ghetto fabulous in your face attitude...

I for one don't think you HAVE to be GRIMEY or STREET to connect with the ma**es. You just gotta make digestable music (think Basemental Platform vs ProKid)..

But really what I was hoping to highlight is that the record-buying middlecla** of SA alone is not enough to sustain the growth needed in SA hip hop industry. Sure it works in America where tha white sub-urban middle-cla** are a substantial market of 10's of millions of consumers. In SA this consumer base is not anywhere near that so in order to truely grow SA hip hop needs to connect with the rest of the populace i.e. rope in them Kwaito fans..

fahfee · **Reply #19 on:** July 20, 2006, 10:49:07 PM

Rakim didnt sell crack.

*shrugs*

how is it in Zim Tate?

TATEguru v.2K9 · **Reply #20 on:** July 20, 2006, 11:04:08 PM

thisthreadissponsoredbyMr.Selwyn'sverseonAttention:

Quote

"...finally dropping an album but no-one would buy it..
What about iKwaito? Why no try it?...
eeeeehhh, but f*ck it I don't like it!"

fahfee · **Reply #21 on:** July 20, 2006, 11:26:27 PM

^^ ahhh, I see.

I think we have to be more creative in marketing and exhibiting the artform so that even people who are not neccessarily into the culture can also enjoy the music and bring in the money for the artists. All this while not selling out, and in the south african context this means switching to kwaito, unless you really do have a pa**ion for kwaito music as well.

just, my pointz of view.

how many copies did his album sell by the way? I would have bought it but I thought it was overpriced when I saw it at the record shop.

TATEguru v.2K9 · **Reply #22 on:** July 24, 2006, 09:07:16 PM

Agreed better marketing is needed. I think we can get there.

But my plea is to the artists making the music. Make good music that is relevant to the people & they will buy it. Not saying sell out or perpetrate to be hard when you not. Just saying people wanna hear about stories/ situations they can relate to (at least I do). So rapping about experiences only a limited niche of the population can relate towill only alienate the rest of the potential audience.

You don't have to be from ekhasi to rap about things relevant to people living ekasi. Long as we living in the same society (I know in SA this is debatable) there will be commonality.

TATEguru v.2K9 · **Reply #23 on:** August 10, 2006, 08:53:51 PM

In SA hip hop industry a project is regarded successful if it sells anymore than 5 000 copies...

meanwhile...DJ Cleo is selling MULTI-platinun we're talking a HUNDRED THOUSAND copies here...whats wrong with the picture?

Dpleezy · **Reply #24 on:** August 10, 2006, 09:08:59 PM

Britney Spears sells more than The Roots,,, what's wrong with the picture is that people like happy, lightweight singalong music.

Actually, there's nothing wrong with that,,, it's just the way it is. The SA market just ain't ready for niche music.

A pimp named Sarkozy · **Reply #25 on:** August 10, 2006, 09:15:42 PM

Tate! could you explain the picture part,im lost!

A pimp named Sarkozy · **Reply #26 on:** February 23, 2007, 09:35:49 AM

Quote from: "Dplanet"

Actually, there's nothing wrong with that,,, it's just the way it is. The SA market just ain't ready for niche music.

Times are changing,New cats are comin up with new shit this year in SA,FRESH SOUND.was listening to Morale's i am track,was impressed.

cash · **Reply #27 on:** February 23, 2007, 09:55:51 AM

moral is nice! co-sign!

this yr gon be totally different from any other yr in hiphop!!!! tate made a lot of valid points about hiphop being soft! in terms of what Dplanet mentioned as well! the charisma! the raw attitude! that grimyness! not gangster(crime), but that "gangsta" - the swagger!!!! the energy!!!!!

this is some constructive shit right here!
ima rep for that street shit till i die!

we gon birth that shit!!!!!

Vexer · **Reply #28 on:** February 23, 2007, 10:23:03 AM

I agree with u 100% Tate & I think the results on the Entity v Teargas poll validate ur position.

@ Latte, I also think SA Hip-Hop is too soft.That was one of my reasons for not feeling Entity.

@ D-Planet, I agree that SA Hip-Hop needs to be gritty and that it needs to convey the struggle on the streets but we need to do it using a paradigm bred right here in SA.

Frankly this middle cla** issue this really concerns me and I think the general sentiment is evident in HYPE ("the SA Hip-Hop Bible") magazine's attitude.

Despite the awards Teargas won, they still haven't had a cover or a decent feature article focusing solely on them.

What is this saying? Is Teargas too Kasi for HYPE and for local Hip-Hop?

Is Teargas kwaito like Cash seems to think? Is music that stays true to the SA street paradigm kwaito? What is SA Hip-Hop then?

Is it just an amusing middle-cla** occupation that middle-cla** kids can afford to indulge in and then drop after they've gotten their college degrees and move on to better ish?

These are the unanswered questions that I have.

At the present moment I think HYPE is pushing a middle-cla** Hip-Hop agenda bcoz that's what Hip-Hop in SA is, a middle-cla** occupation.

cash · **Reply #29 on:** February 23, 2007, 10:50:09 AM

i didnt say Teargas is kwaito dog! i jus stated that they feature in the kwaito section in Musica Stores(go to the musica in Sandton!) true story!
but good point! there seems to be a divide between kasi hiphop and what u may call suburban hiphop!