FRATPACKER WORLD.

It doesn’t matter the year, the generation, the genre, the artist or the culture. One thing that will always have people in arms and debates is what we consider to be a classic. Whether we’re talking TV shows, movies, paintings, clothes, sports stars or even cartoons, these debates always someone how turn into life long arguments. It’s worse in the Hip-Hop culture where the music has been so scrutinised by fans, artists, journalists, media and even those outside of the culture. With Hip-Hop it feels personal and especially if we talking South African Hip-Hop.

Well, I’m about to get really personal with it and give you a list of what I consider to be Classic South African Hip-Hop Albums. I need us all to pay attention to that heading because we’re talking albums; not Eps or mixtapes, and we’re talking Hip-Hop; not RnB or Alternative or Neo-Soul. Now before we go into my list, I’m of a belief that these conversations should always be led with the criteria that was used as the rating system. I’m not going to get into the exact specifics of the criteria but I was looking at the musicality, lyricism, impact (not just music wise but culturally), playback value, popularity, tracklist length, how many skippable songs, longevity (5 years minimum to qualify) and some personal bias. Since that’s out the way let’s begin and to note the list is in alphabetically order according to the name of the artist.

SANGO’s SOUTH AFRICAN HIP-HOP CLASSICS

A-REECE – FROM ME TO YOU ONLY
A shift in culture. There aren’t many people who you can put this phrase next to but with this album, that’s exactly what A-Reece had done. He had made a shift in culture. Coming off the deal with Ambitiouz Records and the Paradise album, that had gained national popularity for its production, which played more to the South African traditional sonics. That’s why when he went independent and dropped this heavy hip-hop, lo-fi, boom bap with elite lyricism-laced 15-track album it was a huge culture shock. It seemed like it took A-Reece from the poster boy kid to the man with a new perception of reality. It set the new standard of what is considered lyrical and real hip-hop in South Africa.

AKA – ALTAR EGO
Kiern Forbes, also known as AKA, dropped this banger of a classic on the 23^rd of August 2011. Know there is some mad personal bias over here because this was during my matric final exams so that feeling of, you’re about to end one chapter of your life going into another and then AKA drops a banger of an album that has hits like Bang, Big 5, Mistakes, Victory Lap, I Want It All, All I Know, High School Cool & Ladies Is Pimp Too. Then he still had great album cuts like When I’m Gone & Snakes & Ladders. One critique I do have of it is the skit count. The album is an 18-track project with 5 of the tracks being skits and one bonus record being the Victory Lap Remix, so really its more like a 12/13 track album. This was the first South African non-vernacular Hip-Hop album to reach the level of stardom and accolades that it did and shifted the culture of South African Hip-Hop. It took it from underground to mainstream in a big way and destigmatised the “n*gga n*gga” mockery. Definitely can’t speak about South African Hip-Hop without speaking about Altar Ego. This was probably the last time we heard AKA rap-rap.

EMTEE – AVERY
To start off with, it’s a lengthy album of 18 tracks that add up to 73mins (1hour 13mins) and makes for a long listen but it’s worth it because this is what I consider the first South African Trap album and it set the standard and bar so high for trap music in South Africa that the impact and influence can be felt until this day. I don’t think we get a BrotherKupa without Avery. What this album did in South Africa is what Tha Carter 3 did in the United States of America and for generations to follow. The real-life street content with environment-based lyricism mixed with introspection, ambition and real stories combined with the 808s and melodic rap flows really took the country by storm and showed us a new side of South African Hip-Hop that has now become to be a staple in the culture.

HIP-HOP PANTSULA – ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Without HHP (Hip-Hop Pantsula) there is no Motswako. Motswako for those who don’t know is a sub-genre of South African Hip-Hop that comes from the fusion of boom-bap mixed with Sesotho and Setswana music. That’s where the name comes from because Motswako means mixture/fusion. When HHP dropped this beauty in 2009 it put a whole culture and community on to the national level. Everyone was thinking that South African Hip-Hop was either being carried by Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban with no-one really paying attention to the North-West and then HHP brought in the Music N Lights and the spotlight was bright and shining across the country. His story-telling mixed with the funky and jiggy feel of the sonics made the perfect combination of rappity raps and feel-good dance music. You didn’t even really have to understand him to understand the message but the, music was so good that it made you want to understand and I believe help spread the popularity of Sesotho & Setswana in the country and what you could consider the building blocks of Spitori.

MA-E – TOWNSHIP COUNSSELLOR
Now, this has nothing to do with the recent controversy related to Ma-E but I am glad that it did bring attention to the career and music of Ma-E because I’ve said since 2015 when it dropped that Township Counsellor is a classic album and one of the most underrated albums in South African Hip-Hop history. This album felt like the rebirth and evolution of Kwaito. If the Americans have West Coast rap, this is what would be the South African version of that with the smooth beats that still have that dark gangster feel and Ma-E with the witty lines, stories and chilled out bars and flow that has you cruising through the whole album. 15 tracks of just pure cool, chill raps with that OG touch and feel. I really believe this album is undeniable.

NASTY-C – BAD HAIR
I know the majority will disagree with me and would rather I put Strings & Bling but I just can’t because I don’t feel it’s a classic. Bad Hair on the other hand was the first time that we as a country could see a rapper not just as a global rap star but popstar as well. It had a great blend of raps, r&b, melodies, song writing and storytelling that made it feel like it was more than just palatable to the majority but a tasteful and delicious meal that left us satisfied and wanting more. With so much expectation after the Price City mixtape, Nasty C was able to take his artistry and musicality to a new level. I know this album was it because it had us looking for Telleman and Erick Rush afterwards. He was able to put on the whole of Tall Racks Record with this one. Hits like Phases & Good Girls and Snapchat H*es just do something to me man. I mean it was so good I even bought the deluxe BAD HAIR EXTENTSIONS. While we here, I bought about 90% of these album physical so trust me, I know what I’m talking about. Sorry, not sorry.

PRIDDY UGLY – SOIL
I’m here for the bars and nothing else. At a time when South Africa rap was stepping away from the art of lyricism in rap, Priddy Ugly came with a cape not only to save the artform but as well save his reputation as an elite MC and artist after the stint at Ambitiouz Records didn’t go as planned. It felt like a man with a point to prove and not to us but to himself. The point that he can be one of the best rappers ever by dropping one of the best rap albums ever and points were made. The 10-track album is just perfect and there’s nothing more you could have asked from him after this.

PRO KID – DANKIE SAN
I’ve spoken about how in the past hip-hop and rappers were seen as wanting to be American or wasn’t really accepted by the people of the townships and kasi’s but there are moments and people who added to the change of perception in South Africa and especially in the townships and kasi’s which helped it grow and take over the nation. One of those moments and people is Pro Kid and his album Dankie San. This album didn’t just change the perception of those living in the “hood” in South Africa but it also changed the perception of the people living in the city and suburbs. It showed a world that the township and kasi can adapt and add new sounds and culture into their own. Pro Kid showed that it’s not just all “Kasi Rap” with punchlines and setup bars but that they are also able to play with lyricism, metaphors and storytelling. He was able to make the first perfect mixture of Kwaito meets Hip-Hop. The kasi dude and his one best friend from the ‘burbs. That’s what it felt like. It takes a special level of talent and music to be able to bring two worlds together whilst still showing them how separate and different they are. A magical talent and lyricist, and this body of work tells it all.

RIKY RICK – FAMILY VALUES
If I’m being honest, I don’t know if I would consider this a classic if I was making a subjective list but when we talk cultural phenomenon’s there’s nothing that holds against Riky Rick’s Family Matters. I mean the bangers on there were so hard that we started calling him Boss Zonke with no questions asked. The real reason why I feel this has to be on the list because only Lauren Hill has been able to drop one album (if we’re not counting the Fugees) and make a career off of it and not be questioned on her status in the game. Granted Riky did give us the Shining EP but besides that we didn’t even think we would get another Riky Rick album and the impact it has had on the generations to come is just indescribable. It can’t be left off the list.

TEARGAS – DARK OR BLUE
Dare I say that Teargas is the greatest South African Hip-Hop group of all time? Well, I believe so and it’s because of this album. This was the album that first showed me what Kwaito/RnB could look and sound like. This took the townships and kasi’s from the regular old narrative of gangsters, dealers and thieves and turned it into poetry that was soft, vulnerable and fragile. It gave a different perspective into the lives of those living in the townships and that it’s not that it made them hard but rather stole all the soft parts of them, leaving them with no other option but to be hard. I also believe that there always has to be a group album on a classic list because group work is difficult and if I’m picking a group as a representative then Teargas is it and what better body of work to present as evidence than Dark or Blue.

Tumi & The Volume – Tumi & The Volume
In a time where it was the popular joke or stance to ridicule and mock South African Hip-Hop. Tumi & The Volume came to stand as a beacon and foundation to the culture and its people that, “No matter what they say or do. This thing of ours is ours and they will never be able to take that away from us. We will fight for it and die for it.”, which speaks to the lyricism, storytelling and content on this album. Just because it was in English doesn’t mean they weren’t telling the pain, struggles, joys, victories, happiness and sadness of our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends and ancestors. With Apartheid as the background and Nelson Mandela’s Rainbow Nation as the goal, this album takes on the journey of the in-between, unspoken and unseen. You have legendary band 340ml joining forces with a God-level emcee in Tumi Molekane and you birth a musical marvel. This album shaped me in so many ways and showed me that there are people who care about the music, message, country, people, art form and hip-hop. It made me believe that we have the power because we are the power.

Tyson Sybateli – Home
Look, first things first, I know this album doesn’t qualify because it only turns 5 next year April but every time I listen to this album (and trust me I listen to this album a lot) I just can’t help but think, “Wow, what a perfect album. A master piece.”. Home really is just that damn good and the impact it had on the culture, especially coming out of COVID-19 Lockdown and everyone being more critical of music and what is being feed to us. Tyson came and made a name for himself instantly flipping the whole game upside down. From the rollouts to the production everything was to the tee. The features, the old-school feel of Hip-Hop and R&B. Like he had actual singers singing on the hooks while he just provides the bars and the bars varied from smooth, witty, lyrical, braggadocious and just plain funny. With lines like, “My b*tch bad like mixed veg flavoured anything.”, it had the whole country in relation and people making their own renditions of how bad their b*tch is. With songs such as; The Standard, House, Handout, Home & Away Games, Chauncy II, Homecoming, Riddle Me, Places; I’m actually going to stop because I’ll just be listing the whole album. I have no doubt that this is an undeniable classic and soon as it turns 5, we have no reason not to have it in this conversation.

Now, when I made this listen, it wasn’t to act as if I have the superior opinion or the most ball knowledge in South Africa but rather to start the conversation of what we think a classic album is and which of those we feel belong in the conversation. It’s extremely difficult for any artist to have 1 album that majority can agree is a classic and not just a cult classic. Having 2 is like God-level. With that said I do feel like most of the albums here are debut albums because this is when the artists are just being themselves and giving out their ideas and executions how they feel and see fit. I think once the popularity, fame and fortunate comes there is a pressure to do the things that the public wants in order to keep that commercial success or acclaim but never really works out because we wanted the music you make. Not the music that you think we want you to make. Anyways this was fun to write and hope you enjoy. Let me know if you f*ck with the list or nah.