‘Greatest rapper of all time/ passed away on March 9/yeah, that’s Biggie, that’s Flabba, see the stars are aligned.”
The lyrics at the top of this articleabove are by Siyabonga “Slikour” Metane and if you’re old enough, you’ll recognise that he paraphrases Canibus and brings it back home. Really close to home. On March 9, 2015, news broke that Skwatta Kamp member and proud Alexandra flag bearer Flabba had passed away after being stabbed by his then-girlfriend.
After many years on hiatus, Skwatta Kamp has released their brand-new single today. This is where Slikour’s lyrics appear. Available for streaming on Slikour On Life, the song, which features honorary Skwatta member Relo, is called There You Go. It is produced by Sketchy Bongo.
Musawenkosi “Nish” Molefe, who is also a part of Skwatta Kamp, gives a humorous take of how Flabba is probably living it up in heaven. He even promises to bring Flabba some Black Label because “I’m sure uyab’hlaba daar (you’re drinking there too).”
Nish laughs and tells me: “That’s what he drank. That’s what he loved. We’d go to all these functions and you’d find that there are all these spirits at the bars there but that’s all he drank. We hadn’t said anything since his passing but we had to address this issue before we even start putting out any music.”
There You Go is the first song off an upcoming greatest hits album by Skwatta Kamp. The new project, which will have six new singles, is slated to drop in April.
Since Flabba’s passing, two children were born to members of the group. They mention this in the song. They also rap about his nicknames and how he supported their creative endeavours.
Instead of dwelling on his death, the group decided to celebrate Flabba’s life. Nish says: “I didn’t want it to be a sad verse where I am talking about the incident that took place. So I am basically talking to him and telling him about the day that I get there (to heaven). I am telling him: first of all, greet everyone in our lives who has passed on – aboKhokho, all of them. And when I get there myself, make sure it’s on and popping for me,” he laughs.
There You Go is the first offering off the upcoming project and it features all the remaining members except for Sechaba “Infa” Kgala. Nish says they are in talks to see if it’s possible to have all the surviving Skwatta members appear on upcoming songs.
“It was a bit difficult to get back into studio,” Nish admits. “This whole thing took about two years. All of us are busy in our personal capacities, but eventually we got into studio and started to conceptualise around the ideas of the songs. It was an interesting process and brought back memories of back in the day when we were still kids and just doing it for the love of it.”
Following this tribute track, Skwatta aims to release a single called In The Name of Love. We’ll keep an ear out.