IT WAS a bit baffling that one of KZN’s premier entertainment journalists, Isolezwe’s Sizwe Blose, had not heard of Durban rapper, Beast (pictured). “Maybe he’s underground,” shrugged Blose. Beast’s CD, Take a Minute, was sent to Tonight’s offices via Gallo who have a licensing deal with Beast. On listening to the album, my curiosity was peaked. It is a good first offering. It also features big names like S’fiso Ncwane and Zakwe as well as up-and-coming Durbanites Tellaman and Skye Wanda.
So the first question on meeting Beast was where has he come from? His answer proves that Blose was right. “I am fairly new commercially but I have been on the underground scene for a while.”
The underground rap scene in Durban is way strong. This includes Club 101, The BAT Centre and township circuits. They also have big annual shows like Moment of Truth at the Pinetown Civic Centre and the Original Material Awards at The Playhouse. These awards are Durban’s hip hop version of the Metros in terms of importance and attendance.
Beast won four awards for his mixtape, Global Warming, in 2012. He won Best Newcomer, Best Single, Best Video and Best Mixtape, a sure sign that he was on his way to success.
He says he first got into rap when he heard an Eminem song in 2003.
It was during the recording of his mixtape that DM Media noticed his talent and decided to work more closely with the artist.
“We sold my mixtape hand to hand and had very successful sales.”
Now he is enjoying success on Ukhozi FM with the single iThemba featuring Ncwane. “The song is a message of hope. Since it has been playlisted I have received messages from people saying how that song speaks to them.
“I chose to work with S’fiso Ncwane because I understand how powerful gospel is and, second, he has that way of touching people.”
“When he came to the studio we only left at 4am. I was so nervous in the beginning because he is such a super mega star and every mama loves him. But within 30 minutes he had calmed me down. He said to me ‘I hope you’re calm now. We are going to have a hit.’”
About featuring Zakwe on the album, he explained: “I met Zakwe through the underground hip hop scene. He wanted to purchase my mixtape and then we kept in touch. When I asked him to do a track for the album he said yes immediately.”
His star is starting to fly and he cites the Vaal Music Festival as his most recent highlight.
“There were big names like Mafikizolo performing and I opened the festival. The crowd asked me to come back on stage. I am hoping to make it big in Africa and have already played Botswana and Nigeria. I see myself as an African icon. My plan is to study music and work with a live band, which is what I did on some of the tracks on the album. I feel a different connection when playing with live instruments. Then the music is beyond hip hop.”
With a name like Beast and living in Durban does he get the call – Beeaasst! He starts giggling: “When I go to rugby matches – and they shout it at gigs too.”