In the kingDome of Cassper

Cassper Nyovest

Cassper Nyovest

Published Nov 4, 2015

Share

Helen Herimbi

Cassper Nyovest stands still as a gigantic cube slowly lifts him off the ground, high above screaming fans. He’s in all-black, stone-faced with the ponytail under his black cap snaking down his back and over the harness that keeps him from potentially dancing over the edges of the cube and falling.

From my vantage point, behind the double-digit thousand-strong crowd, he looks like Rhythm Nation-era Janet. All jokes aside, in that very moment, the multi-award-winning rapper looks triumphant. He is two songs away from ending a sold-out concert and rightfully claiming that he made his dream come true.

Then, in big white letters, a phantom hand scribbles: “If you’re reading this, I made it.” The first drum kick booms in, Nyovest starts his hit song, Mama I Made It, and everyone in the crowd loses their minds. As someone who has a knack for catchy choruses, it’s not surprising that the Dome’s floor shakes as the audience screams the repetitive words back at him.

The artist, whose real name is Refiloe Phoolo, is at the tail end of a two-part (including an interval) set that ran through the gamut of singles he’s featured on as well as his solo songs. And by the time he performs his last song, Doc Shebeleza – the song that catapulted him into a household name and a bona fide star – Nyovest is in his element and most people look like they’ve just got what they came for.

The hits made the floor shake, but the lesser-appreciated songs sent the crowd into murmur overdrive. Like when he started My City, his collaboration with Toya DeLazy, and saw the lack of interest in it and decided against rapping his verse and, instead, moved on to the next song.

While he had a gang of opening acts, it was peculiar that Nyovest decided to perform even the collabos by himself. Anatii didn’t join him on stage for Ghetto. AB Crazy didn’t come on for Jova or the Rands and Nairas remix, even though he pretty much outshines everyone on those songs.

Nyovest also stretched his songs for far too long and performed covers, like Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely, which didn’t thematically or sonically make sense. However, he also performed some songs off his second album, Refiloe, which was released on Saturday.

As the price of the CD was included in the concert ticket price, everyone received a copy. This is Nyovest’s strategy for Refiloe to be certified gold in a matter of hours. There was no official word about this certification at the time of going to print.

Look out for Cassper Nyovest’s album, Refiloe, in music stores.

Related Topics: