It was only a matter of time before it happened, and Vuzu AMP became the first channel to bite the bullet and release a hip hop talent show. Titled The Hustle, the show will be hosted by radio and TV personality, Sammy Sosa, and to help sift through the talent will be top hip hop stars Khuli Chana, Tumi Molekane and AKA. We caught up with Sosa, Molekane and Chana to find out to expect.
Khuli Chana
Undoubtedly one of the most consistent rappers in the game today, it’s no surprise that Chana made the cut for this show.
“We are looking for the next best thing in the hip hop game. There is no doubt that hip hop is the No 1 genre right now. If I were to compare the buzz that this show is going to have versus Idols SA, this is really going to be big just based on the fact that hip hop is really competitive right,” he said.
As someone who has made a name for himself from nothing, Chana is looking for young artists who are as hungry as he was when he started out.
“Without giving everything away, this show is not about rap alone. It’s about the overall hustle. We know most of the contestants have raps, but can they make songs off that? They should know other things like video concepts. I am looking for something that I live by which is CL-AMP: C is for concept, L for lyrics,” said the rapper.
Samy Sosa
“It’s quite exciting and I haven’t been a host in the past, so it’s really cool because I get to put myself in a different place. It’s also scary at the same time because no one has seen me do it before so it is more pressure,” she said.
For her, the pressure comes from the fact that there are several established talent shows on TV so she has to compete with those standards.
“I have always compared the show to Idols SA so I get to be the ProVerb of this one. I know that is quite dramatic, but I think that’s the only way I can describe it. So it is a huge challenge,” she said.
Although this show is specifically about hip hop, Sosa admitted that she still has a lot to grasp about the genre: “I grew up listening to a lot of jazz; people like Miles Davis and Ray Charles. I actually toyed with the idea of being a musician so I learnt how to play the piano.”
Tumi Molekane
Tumi Molekane is one of the finest rappers to come out of the country and The Hustle will show us why. As a self-made rapper, who is independent, he will know how to guide the up- and-coming talent.
“It’s a great opportunity to do what I am already doing in my life, which is hustling. I am a part-owner of Motif Records and get to mentor a lot of other artists, so this show extends that on a bigger platform and we reach more people in the process,” he said.
Not being attached to a record company has been a huge learning curve for the rapper and this show allows him to impart that knowledge.
“Independence gave me the ability to know things about the industry that I wouldn’t have known if I was signed. Now when I book a manager or publisher, I know what they have to do. I’ll know the value of their input,” he said.
While other talent shows urge the contestants to perform established songs, The Hustle will insist on original material.
“In hip hop today, because it is so personal, it is important to write your own material. There is a level of realism that comes with hip hop and it is generally expected that you write your own material. It’s an unwritten rule. Yet there are some rappers whom we feel should write for others because they have good material, but can’t execute it well on the stage or in the studio. Also, in groups it is acceptable to write for each other,” said Molekane.
l The Hustle, season one, premieres on July 14 on Vuzu AMP (DStv channel 114) at 7.30pm