Phew, the 2nd season of Vuzu Hustle has finally come to life. At last, after two musically stale episodes, the contestants have come out of their shells and shown why they were chosen over thousands of other up and coming rappers who were vying for a spot on the competition.
This week it wasn’t shenanigans like #Manuism that grabbed the headlines, it was the pure talent on set that shon brightest. Last night’s episode started off with a bang when Shane Eagle started a casual “freestyling” challenge that saw the contestants show off the lyrical prowess.
The likes of the fast improving Flex Rabanyan and Huge Da Oracle, as well as the consistent Dee XCLSV were the stand-out performers. Then the artists all received a style make-over from celebrity stylist, Lethabo Boogy Maboi and some touch ups to their hairdos from Legends Barbershop.
For their main challenge, the Hustlers were split into groups of three. Group one, which consisted of Manu Worldstar, Joshua The I Am and Huge Da Oracle (these new kids all have THEE longest names!), got the ball rolling with the performance of Squad Deep, a song which so impressed viewers that people on twitter were begging for a proper studio remake.
The other groups all had similarly impressive efforts ,with J-Flo and Dee XCLSV receiving some notable nods from the judges while Vodka Shots and Cake (this is one person, for those of you who were wondering) got the boot in dramatic fashion from the peeved off AKA.
As has become the common theme, the episode did not end without a bit of drama. After Content and TTGO were relegated to the elimination battle for their lacklustre performances in the group round, TTGO appeared to have been outdone by Content's superior performance yet he somehow received a reprieve from the judges.
To his credit TTGO looks to be making quite a name for himself by providing some entertaining commentary from the sidelines. His biggest attribute is the entertainment value he brings to the show, and I won't be surprised to see him hosting VEntertainment at the show's conclusion in a couple of weeks.
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This article is part of Shingai’s weekly column on hip hop reality show, #VuzuHustle.