We’re only a few songs in when the radio single, Ingoma, blares through the speakers at Dreamteam’s listening session for their debut album, Dreams Never Die, at the Hard Rock Café on a chilly Jozi evening. A grinning AKA appears in front of the stage where rappers, Dreamteam – comprising Trevor “Trey” Sineke, Mthokozisi “Dash” Mkhathini and Lusaso “Saso” Ngcobo – are seated and offers them a tray of tequila shots.
From the Sim Dope rapper to features by r&b royalty, Donald, plus Mzansi music’s Midas of the moment, Anatii, and most importantly, Durban kwaito maverick, DJ Tira, Dreamteam seem to have all the right co-signs.
For these Durbanites, signing to Tira’s Afrotainment record company was a no-brainer. They first approached the producer and performer who runs what is traditionally a kwaito label in 2012.
After the listening session, the guys are still hyped up. Saso is greeting everyone in the building so it takes longer to get him to sit down. Dash is being pulled by everyone with a camera and Trey – the producer in the trio – seems to be the one most focused on the work as they always take his lead.
It’s Trey who tells me about why they approached Tira: “In 2012, we were trying to break into the industry and Tira was the first person we reached out to to say, ‘this is what we’re trying to do, this is where we’re trying to be, this is what we’re about’. We made it to this point and it was a great start, but we still have a long way to go.”
When Saso has finally joined us, he adds: “We really like his work ethic. You can see that Afrotainment is a great company. It has great artists and they really do work. That’s what we’re about. Doing the work and getting our dreams out there.”
As a group, Dreamteam have certainly put the work in if their South African Hip Hop Award, two Original Material Awards and nods for the Channel O Awards are anything to go by. With features on hits by Fisherman ( Call Out), DJ Dimples ( Yaya) and even their own jams ( Tsekede, for example), the group have managed to make a name for themselves in what feels like a short amount of time.
And for their first full-length offering, the boys have attempted to write their own chapter in the current South African rap narrative by incorporating a lot of dancing. It shows in their choreography on stage – reminiscent of early Morafe – and the number of dance songs sampled on their album.
Working with, among others, the likes of Tweezy and Master A-Flat – producers who were behind AKA’s game-changing dance music-inspired album, Levels– Dreamteam use samples that are sometimes let down by the lyrical content.
For instance, on Uzokwenzani, a clever use of a portion of Main Vein by Jamiroquai is overshadowed by weak rhymes like: love triangle like Doritos.
They feature Monaco on the infectious dance ditty, Get Up, and also take on the Nina Brothers’ Get Down (Sghubu) on S’hamba Kanje and so, I feel compelled to ask them how they marry rap with dancing.
“I think it’s not even the genre – dancing is just a part of music,” explains Dash. “With us, music has always been a big influence in our lives. Our parents love music and always played it so since a young age, we’ve been dancing to certain songs. So even sampling dance songs – that’s the music that influenced us from back then. So it’s easy to merge.”
Although the album is much too long at 17 tracks, it’s really a pleasure to hear the interludes that carry a Drake-like melody in the chorus. Each member has their own interlude and in it, they reveal things about themselves that the listener might not have known.
For instance, Dash raps about the group experiencing such hate that one time, he got on stage while he was bleeding. And Trey compellingly speaks about losing his mother and chasing his dreams so his son can do the same. These are the moments when the group individually shine.
Not when they’re bringing out a title track that just sounds like a 2015 version of AKA’s I Want It All. And certainly not when they’re talking about how honeys want snacks.
At its best, Dreams Never Die sticks to the theme and motivates their listeners by telling the rappers’ stories. So I ask them if they ever dream of important things. You know, like the numbers to the Lotto.
“That’s the whole idea behind Dreams Never Die: you literally are your own lottery ticket,” says Trey, “and if you put it in your mind that I am the end product of my success, you’ll be that thing. And the beauty of being a musician is you can inspire people who are outside the realm of music,” he continues.
“You can inspire people who want to be accountants. Don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t be that. I’m my own lottery ticket and I win it every day. Like, boom! Got it again!”
l Dreamteam’s debut album, Dreams Never Die, is in stores.