A historian or musicologist can walk you through the origins of the hip-hop genre in the Republic of Zambia. I however, am no historian or musicologist. I'm simply an opinionated former DJ/producer. As such I won't talk about the journey so much as our current destination.
It would be nearly impossible to write a piece on local hip-hop without acknowledging the contribution of C.R.I.$.I.S aka Mr. Swagger. At a time when few dreamt of making a career of music, let alone hip-hop, Mr. Katongo was on his grind. The results? A CV filled with accolades, globe trotting adventures and some solid albums under his belt.
Which brings us to a critical talking point: C.R.I.$.I.S raps in English. And there is nothing wrong with that. Or so you'd think. However, for a reason that is very hard to understand, English rappers have not been wholly embraced in Zambia. Its an old story, but I feel its worth mentioning for the sake of seeking a solution to the problem. You'd hear Rick Ross playing in a random barbershop in Kamanga, or a blue bus blaring Nicki Minaj on Great East Road. Your chances of hearing Zone Fam from the pre-Ndine Chikali era? Nix. Fancy slotting into a token and spinning something from the late Soosh Matix? Think again. Wanna listen to something from the Juggernauts on your favourite afternoon drive time show? Chances are, your favourite DJ has only a vague idea who or what the Juggernauts are.
And thats just the reality. As I alluded to in my tweets on Thursday evening, Zambia is endowed with a multitude of naturally gifted rappers. Lyrically and poetically (wait, is there a difference?) the likes of Skrypted and K.R.Y.T.I.C could give any MC on this planet a serious run for their money. The diminutive Klappa Heiz has one of THE most convincing deliveries I've ever heard. That deep rumble from the litttle man makes you want to shit yourself with fear. Like he's gonna jump out ya speakers and strangle you. We have the likes of K-Star who, I'm told, can freestyle for hours on end. Non-stop. the list just goes on and on and on
Looking though at the mainstream, we find an encouraging picture. The wealth of rappers who can spit in vernacular is impressive. Credit of course must be given to the founding fathers of the vernac game; the Leo Muntus and Masta Flows of this world. They opened up the doors for generation 'D' referring of course to the two (literally) big ones: Tommy and Slap. At a time when we didnt think a rap song in Nyanja would ever sound right, those two burst onto the scene in late 2005. The game hasn't really been the same since. There was of course the infamous debate as to who stole who's style, and we can talk about that till the cows come home. But we won't. Hoofed quadrupeds aside, I think that particular argument was simply too close to call. And this far down the line, its hardly relevant, seeing as one of them has ceased to be musically relevant as of this writing. But I digress. The Slapdee/Tommy D feud sparked a surging interest in hip-hop. Now every kid had a dream of being the next chart topper. Radio stations began to take notice and our modern hip-hop era was born. And it brought Alpha Romeo, LB, Zone Fam, J.O.B, Bobby East, Brisky, etc etc etc etc.
I'm always asked about my opinion of Macky 2. I here for the first time for the record, I give it. The man is pretty impressive. He has certainly brought a certain breath of fresh air into the game. His rhyming and pattern is solid, his hooks catchy and he has the very handy ability to sing, rap and produce under different stage names. I struggle to think of anything negative to say about his artistic ability. Shockingly he's a pretty quiet and soft-spoken guy in person the few occasions I've met him.
Bringing us to the other Kaira brother, Chef 187. It isn't everyday I'm blown out of the water by one particular artists, but I will admit I was very impressed the first time I heard him. What i particular love is how he daringly went and explored rap in Bemba, which is previously almost unexplored territory. I forsee a bright future for him.
Camstar continues to impress. I think he is best placed to really make it big locally, as he's a beast on either side of the linguistic fence. Bemba, Nyanja, English, Cam will spit it, sometimes in the same verse. By his own admission he isn't much of a punchliner, but his wordplay and storytelling abilities are certainly above par. In my very humble opinion, for now, the crown is effectively his. Its just that the general public don't know it yet. You'll see, and you'll tell me I was right after all.
For now, I'll let you digest this all. When we come back with part 2, I'll be critiquing our current star(lets) and telling you who to look out for the future, and the contribution of third non-rapping parties to the game. And we'll wrap up with the bigger picture of African and global hip-hop and where we may slot in.
Stay blessed!
