When it comes to prolific and versatile producers MashBeatz’ name ranks up there with the best of them. Ever since he stepped into the scene he has never left the conversation when it comes to music.
He has been relentless in delivering high quality music no matter the season or temperature and his new offering does not deviate from his story arc. Before giving a little overview of the album in a few words lets also pay homage to his extensive project catalog. The man has given us fire projects from a compilation perspective as well his collaborative projects with the likes Wordz and Thato Saul (all of which have classic moments).
Now as we tune into “The Secret Frequency” we get to marvel at how well the man can put together a fire cohesive project even when drawing from different flavours. We really are spoilt for vibes on this one; from the street anthem vibe on “More Money” with Focalistic and Pabi Cooper to the Bacardi inspired “Watchu Mean” with Brotherkupa and KindlyNxsh and true school bar styles from the likes of Stogie, Thato, Mochen, Priddy and Wordz. The vibes on the album keep the effervescent energy throughout as he melts a range of styles in the Mash pot to give us a project we did not know we needed.
Its quite clear why they call him the president. If he keeps contributing to the ecosystem like this we will remain proud citizens of the Mashbeatz nation.
If there is anyone that extended their 15 minutes of fame from the GNX stimulus package its AZ Chike.
AZ has made sure his presence is felt since his show stealing performance on Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Peekaboo’. He has been dropping fire singles accompanied with fire visuals. His latest single “Game Time” has been doing healthy rounds on socials and he put his name in the hat for the healthy lyrical sparring session between the east and the west coast. With him recently inking a deal with Warner we are all keen to see how he approaches this phase of his rap career. It’s quite clear that it’s Game Time for Chike.
Its NBA playoff fever right now and the conference finals are going crazy. But before Larry goes off to the team that wins at all he went through and kicked it with The Out Of Town on The Sobering Podcast. Check the episode out.
Master KG is definitely no stranger to going viral and it seems that he has another sound for creators to jam and create content to.
Master KG has given us a new anthem for us to get photoshoot fresh to. With a title like “Ngishuteni” it is no wonder why content creators are getting fly to this song. The song is doing crazy numbers on streams but its also going wild on social media. The sound has been saved and used in all sorts of “get ready with me” Tik Tok videos. its seems the whole of Africa is rocking with this one and the world is following suit. It looks like Master KG may have another global hit on his hands.
It’s 2020, the world has been struck with Covid, and no one knows what the future is looking like. In South Africa some of the strictest lockdown laws and regulations are enforced upon us. The entertainment sector is in a panic because how are people and businesses meant to sustain and survive?
We see creatives turn to social media to bridge this gap, keep relevant and explore new ways of keeping entertainment alive and their brands. One of these creatives is prominent and established hip-hop DJ Akio. Akio decided to use his Instagram to host live sessions where he would play r&b sets for the people watching as he broadcasts from his rooftop. The lives received such positive reception that once the lockdown laws became more lenient, Akio and his team were able to host the event live since October 2020 and the growth has been incredible.
Today in 2024, 4 years later, we see Strictly Soul selling packed out shows, travelling across and outside of the African continent, and filling the people’s hearts and souls with the sounds of beautiful, sing-along and fresh new music every week. Strictly proves the theory that women love RnB like men love hip-hop, true because there is no shortage of gorgeous women to be found at any point and maybe it started out because it used to be free for ladies but the truth is that they’ve worked on creating and be a safe space for femme bodies and allowing them the freedom to party in peace.
This growth of theirs has also led to Strictly Soul hosting live acts for a more intimate fan experience, where local R&B acts perform a 45min-hour set and finish the night off with a QnA. Acts have included Filah lah Lah, Nanette, Ricky Tyler, The Big Hash, Rowlene, and international acts 9th Wonder & Xavier Omar. From an online IG live experience to now touring Strictly Soul to different countries within and outside of the African continent, the rise of Strictly Soul is slowly becoming a global phenomenon.
The only thing about Strictly Soul that’s an issue is that it’s grown so popular the capacity of the venue, La Parada is not enough for all the attendees, which leads to a slow bar turnover time when ordering drinks so I’d advise to always come early and make your first round order the second round order, third round, fourth round and etc. so you can order and pay in bulk and go on with your night.
Now as I’m known for being In The Streets & Industry I couldn’t just give you my review of Strictly Soul, but I got a chance to ask founder, Akio Kawahito, a dfew questions about Strictly Soul and it’s future.
INTERVIEW WITH AKIO KAWAHITO
How did the concept of Strictly Soul come about?
I’ve been sitting on the concept since 2017, from my KoolOut days. I always wanted to be more behind the scenes putting everything together instead of being seen as the superstar DJ and at the time I was playing around with RnB and noticing how the women love it but my personal career started taking off and I had no time to implement the idea. Come 2020 Covid hits so Beno & I started doing live RnB rooftop streams with my DJ equipment every Sunday and that’s how the concept of it started.
As a strictly r&b, soul, neo-soul party did you ever think it would grow to be this big?
No, lie…but yes, I did, maybe not this big across Africa but again my place in culture in South Africa has always been doing something different. At some point people don’t see it because everyone starts to do the same thing but I’m always starting something different. When I was with KoolOut in 2008, a time when hip-hop wasn’t necessarily booming and mainstream in South Africa, we bought in artists like Blu & Exile, Baboo, People Under the Stairs and that grew into bringing out Mick Jenkins to South Africa for the first time.
Even when talking to my team in the begin phase of Strictly Soul I would tell them, “Hey guys it’s only going to be a matter of time til people start saying what we’re doing won’t work or won’t last and then eventually start doing what we’re doing so stay focused and don’t let it distract you from our vision.”.
I knew it would work because I did my research. There were no RnB parties in South Africa and because I’m a touring DJ, I also got to see it was the same thing across Africa. The only party I knew of was Soulful Sundays, which was more for your aunties and uncles, so I knew there was a missing space in the market and how to occupy it successfully.
Most people know you and recognise you from your hip-hop background and history, how did you make the switch from, “in the streets”, music to, “in the sheets”, music?
In the sheets music, hahaha. That’s hilarious I’m going to steal that for a caption. I’ve always been an RnB thug; I just didn’t get into it because growing up there were no RnB DJs just hip-hop DJs. As a young kid I always loved RnB and only in high school and university did I start going into hip-hop, but my passion has always been RnB. That’s why when you look at Strictly Soul compared to other RnB parties they don’t have the catalogue, knowledge and love for RnB and that is what makes us stand out.
Even with hip-hop growing up I never wanted to become the bitter old head complaining about the new music but around 2019 hip-hop started seeing a dip and relying on the women to carry it and with that people were complaining that he classic RnB we love was dying but modern RnB was on a rise then and I leaned into that as well which helped me be able to bridge the gap between the young and old and create a community within Strictly Soul instead of having the old heads fighting the new kids on the block.
Now unfortunately due to technology hating on a n*gga I had to end the interview here but hope that you find some time to go and experience Strictly Soul for yourself and immerse yourself in the beautiful and loving community that it is.
There is nothing like a fire song and movie trailer to wet your appetite for an epic flick and soundtrack. Don Toliver and Doja Cat’s “Lose mind” does just that and then some.
Serving as the lead single to the “F1 the Movie” soundtrack the song has a retro pop feel to it. Don Toliver leads the song with pensive lyrics and melodies on the first verse; setting up a beautiful alley-hoop to Doja Cat who switches the energy with her energetic flow and raps on the second verse. The culmination of the two artists harmonising on the second hook is an audio treat and if you close your eyes you can visualise an F1 race time-lapse with this track as the sound-bed to it. I can’t wait for this movie and soundtrack to drop.
Yumbs is no stranger to production credits on banger songs whether it be amapiano or any other genre. The guy’s range is endless and his EP is a testament to it as Yumbs takes a fluid take on Yanos.
“My House Rules” is a perfect intro to the journey that he is going to take us on. its smooth, refined and musically layered with all the makings of a modern private school soulful yano classic. “My House rules” is an apt title for it as it really sets the tone for the project, as it is a great greeting from the owner of the house as the guests have not arrived just yet.
Yumbs is joined by the likes of Candice, Langa Mavuso, Marichen, Una rams and other fire vocalists bring a lot of soul to the house. Songs like “Summer Loving”, “Awuboni” and “Wena” could serve as a score for upper echelon South African romcoms produced by Burnt Onion.
The are some really fun and motivational runs on the project too. The Scotts Maphuma assisted “Amaphupho” is a triumphant banger of note with fire lyrics to chant to.
Yummy’s house is a beautiful blend of vocals, log drums, musicality and soul. its refreshing, smooth and soothing. We are in for a treat if we are getting more volumes of this sort of flavour.
You’re in a dark room with bright flashing lights, filled with bodies as they dance energetically and passionately throughout the room, not a camera insight to make content out of this moment but everyone there sharing a lived experience.
You yourself can’t stop dancing as you feel the sweat dripping down your face as the base of the speakers enter into your body and replace your heartbeat with it’s own and you think to yourself, “This is paradise…or maybe it’s just something in the water?”, but either way, you’re happy to be here and finding yourself not wanting to leave and when you finally do leave this dark room you walk out to the morning sky as the sunrises.
You’re probably asking yourself what the hell is going on here, what’s this place and where is this place? Well, let me tell you about the Sonic Euphoria called Gqom Therapy.
Gqom is a South African genre of music that was birthed in Durban and came to popularity in South Africa around 2016, with Babes Wodumo being the standout superstar and face of it. Sonically the best way I could describe Gqom is that it sounds as if though someone was sitting down trying to score a movie scene of Zulu people practicing cultural dances but the person scoring it just came from an all-night raver, high out their mind and tripping serious, major balls and that’s how we were blessed with what the kids call Nguni EDM. For some reason the popularity didn’t last too long with it falling off the mainstream consumption radar around 2018/2019, the same year we started to see the rise of amapiano.
Fast forward years later to the present and we are seeing the resurgence of gqom and Gqom Therapy is the wonderland that everyone needs to visit. Taking place at AndClub [Newtown] where their unbreakable rule is no cameras allowed. If you’ve ever attended a Toy-Toy or Heavy Rotation, you’d know the same rule applies no matter the event and when entering security cover d know the same rule applies no matter the event and when entering security cover your phone cameras with stickers to enforce this policy. Upon entering Gqom Therapy, you’re greeted by smiles and friendly faces. You’ll also find glow sticks, Gqom Therapy shirts and Gqom Therapy towels (trust me, you’ll need it) available for purchase.
Once you make it past the entrance and step inside, you’re instantly teleported into a whole new world and realise everything you know about the world doesn’t apply here. Now, I want to make it clear gqom therapy is a spiritual experience in it’s own, allowing you to lose all thoughts and worries so you can just feel the music and feel it intensely as though your heart has been replaced with the subwoofers and the flashing lights (not recommended for those with epilepsy) feel like stars shooting throughout the night sky. Talking about the sky, I like to arrive a bit early around 10pm and that’s early because you usually find yourself and people leaving between the times of 4-7am with the sunrising.
After a crazy night, you get home, sleep it off and wake up feeling like you’ve just gone through a transformative experience where you were able to release and clean out some bad energies within. A truly therapeutic experience.
Afrobeats singer and songwriter Joe Boy, known for his infectious melodies and captivating lyrics, is about to end the first quarter of 2025 on a great note with his highly anticipated upcoming album Viva Lavida. Following the success of his debut EP, “Love & Light,” his album “Body and Soul” and hit singles like “Baby” and “Beginning,” Joe Boy has solidified his place as a leading figure in the Afrobeats genre. His partnership with Warner Music Group marks a significant milestone and new chapter in his career as an exec and artist.
Since Joe burst onto the music scene in 2019 he has gained recognition and admiration for his unique sound that blends Afrobeats with elements of R&B, pop and other eclectic sounds. His ability to create catchy hooks and relatable lyrics has resonated with fans both in Nigeria and around the world. As he prepares to release his upcoming album, expectations are high. The album is said to feature a mix of romantic ballads and upbeat tracks, showcasing Joe Boy’s versatility as an artist. The four singles that are out now are testament to his range as a writer and vocalist, from the hypnotic SMH, the vibey bounce on Adenuga and Osadebe as well as the existential subject matter on Taxi driver, Viva Lavida is sure to be a melting pot of different flavours.
Warner Music has played a pivotal role in the global rise of Afrobeats. With their expertise and Joe’s creativity and his fresh; evolving take on the genre, he is poised to introduce his sound to new audiences. This collaboration further signifies the growing recognition of Afrobeats as a dominant force in the global music landscape.
In a recent interview, Joe Boy expressed his excitement about the collaboration, stating, that working with Warner Music feels like a dream come true as they understand his vision and are committed to helping him share his music with the world. He also stated how excited he is to share his new material. This enthusiasm reflects his passion for his craft and his desire to connect with listeners on a deeper level.
Viva Lavida is expected to feature collaborations from long term collaborator Tempoe as well Qing Madi, Olamide, Elan Dara and Wizard Chan. Joe Boy’s knack for blending different musical influences is likely to result in a project that not only appeals to his existing fanbase but also attracts new listeners.
As the release date for the album approaches this week, fans can expect to see more of Joe Boy as he also embarked on a tour and this will be the perfect time to debut some of his new music on the world stage. Since his last album was released in 2023 you can bet that the anticipation for the album is quite high.
Joe Boy’s upcoming album and partnership with between his label Young Legend and Warner Music represents a significant evolution in his career. With a unique sound and a growing fanbase Joe Boy is about to set a new standard with this release. As he continues to break barriers and push the boundaries of Afrobeats, fans can look forward to an exciting journey ahead.
Stilo Magolide went on The Sobering Podcast for a conversation and he touched on quite a few things in the interview. Love him or hate him, the guy has been a staple in South African street culture. Whether you are talking music, fashion or content in general. From reality shows, designing clothes, mentoring people and a bit of controversy here and there, Stilo has done and seen a lot. He is also kind enough to share these experiences with us while clearing some Shein carts in the process. Do yourself a favour and check it out on a podcast platform of your choice. STILOWAY
FRATPACKER WORLD. 