Cape Town - Own The Block, South Africa's first official street rap battle league, dropped the official theme anthem for Season 2 of the #OwnTheBlock Rap Battle League 2018, and the song is as lit as the rapper behind it - YoungstaCPT.
The music video for song "Whose Who In The Zoo" dropped on Tuesday, and is taken from YoungstaCPT’s 30th mixtape "To Be Continued".
Own The Block is the brainchild of Cape Town-born rapper Riyadh Roberts aka YoungstaCPT and high school friend, Tyler “The Instigator” Koopman. YoungstaCPT and Tyler recognised the need to grow the rap industry and provide a platform for young, talented MCs who were being ignored by big-name record labels. In 2016 they came up with the idea to replicate the street rap battle leagues that are so popular in the US.
READ MORE: YoungstaCPT-linked rap battle league gains traction among Cape youth
Battles take place on street corners and at various popular locations around Cape Town - in the ‘ghettos’, suburbs and townships where the crowd decides the winner by applause. The line-up and venue are announced on Own The Block's social media platforms and spread by word of mouth by an ever-increasing group of followers.
The Cape Argus chatted Tyler “The Instigator” Koopman, to gain insight into the music video and what the experience was liking shooting the anthem for Season 2 of #OwnTheBlock Rap Battle League.
YoungstaCPT and Tyler The Instigator. Picture: Kaaseeb Jones
1. What was the concept that you wanted to tackle with the video?
The Instigator: "The concept of the video was very simple. It was basically made to introduce the new season of Own The Block."
2. You kept it very Kaapstad, and you included a lot of the people from
The Instigator: "We did include a lot of people from Own The Block, but that was due to the concept of the song. Own The Block has always been made as a platform to give other rappers a chance to showcase their talent and their skills, so it only made sense to include the rappers in the video.
3. Why is it important to grow rap in SA?
The Instigator: "At the end of the day Hip Hop has become the world's biggest genre and in South Africa we're just catching up. It's important to grow the rap culture to keep the industry going, to keep the industry productive and to keep the industry successful.
"More importantly, Cape Town's rap culture is very vital because we've been neglected, overlooked and underrated. With these types of platforms like Own The Block, and with artists like YoungstaCPT giving others a shot, it definitely helps grow the culture for us all."
RELATED: YoungstaCPT drops his 30th mixtape
Koopman added that Season 2 is coming out soon, and they're excited to get Season 3 underway too.
"For Season 3 we're looking for a motherf***ing TV sponsor, so holla at your boy if you got a TV sponsor or if you got connections in the TV world."
Find Tyler 'The Instigator' Koopman on twitter at
and episodes of Own The Block can be found on YouTube.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/to-be-continued/1386505053
@thelionmutters