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Though he has yet to drop a debut album, South African emcee Zuluboy has generated a deserving buzz in the past couple years by performing at two highly-publicized UN-designated events: last years Global Hip-Hop Summit in South Africa, and this years World Urban Festival in Canada. The festivals are fitting performances for the 23-year-old, as much of his music touches on a number of social issues.
Before his performance at the World Urban Festival in late June, Zuluboy sat down with MVRemix for the following interview. As he discusses his beginnings, his motivation and his fight against the commercial music back at home, it is a beautiful reminder that hip-hop is truly a global culture.
MVRemix: Why did you decide to perform at todays World Urban Festival?
Zuluboy: I got invited by the festival, because I was taking part in the last Hip-Hop Summit that was happening in South Africa. Some people from the UN were really impressed by what they saw and they wanted me to partake in this one too.
MVRemix: Have you been to Canada before?
Zuluboy: No, its my first time.
MVRemix: So youve only been here for two days, but what do you think of it so far?
Zuluboy: I think its a nice place but with a whole lot of ignorance.
MVRemix: How so?
Zuluboy: I think people are too ignorant. I was on Granville StreetIve been there for two nightsand I see stuff that I wont normally see at home. Ill see a guy and a lady naked, with just their underwear, and theyre walking down the street. Im like Yo! Take it easy! [Laughs] At home, youd probably get locked up for public indecency. And people here, they have a misconception that if you come from Africa, that you come from a jungle. Thats why that I say that some of them are really ignorant. And some of them hold their bags closer and they treat you differently because youre black.
MVRemix: You noticed that here?
Zuluboy: Yeah, I noticed it. But its not like other places like New York. But you do notice the barriers, the things that you cant see or do because youre black.
MVRemix: How were you introduced to hip-hop?
Zuluboy: I was introduced to hip-hop by my older cousin. Hed come through at home with tapes, way back in the days of the South Bronx and KRS One, you know? Wed chill and listen to it. The next level that I took it to was basically when wed chill on sewage. We have these sewage pipes in my neighborhood; its on the pavement. Its a nice place to actually chill and sit. You know on the side of your pavement you have where the water runs when its raining and goes down into the drain? Wed chill there and wed rap, wed floss that I know more than you. Wed actually stop playing, write it down, get to meditate on other peoples rhymes, like your NWA. I started getting jealous because they knew more than me, so I wanted to come through with something different, which was write my own rhymes. So I started writing my own stuff in 1994 and I started upping the game. Thats how I got introduced to hip-hop.
MVRemix: How old were you when you first started listening to hip-hop?
Zuluboy: I think I was 13, 14.
MVRemix: So who are some of your influences today? Who do you listen to now?
Today? Mos Def. Black Thought from the Roots. A little bit of 2Pac and Biggie, since they live in all of us, but Im more of an old-school follower than this new stuff.
MVRemix: Yeah, a lot of people are. The golden age of hip-hop, the 90s
Zuluboy: Thats the beautiful stuff. Not the flossing
MVRemix: But thats what sells.
Zuluboy: Yeah, thats what sells. What sells is basically determined by the people who craft the art. When we all craft the art in the right way, it will sell. Until someone tries and dirties the game, and tries to sell by him being rich and big and being a baller. For example, MC Lyte, she used to kick mad ass rhymes, but then when she upped the game, the first track was Ladies Night, you know, when all the ladies, Da Brat and them, got together and they started taking off their clothes. They started to sell. Thats when they lost the true scent of hip-hop, the true substance of the art.
MVRemix: MC Lyte did an Old Navy commercial a while back.
Zuluboy: For real? MC Lyte, I think shes tight. Well, she was tight.
MVRemix: But you cant get mad at them for getting their money.
Zuluboy: But is it really about making money?
MVRemix: What if someone offered you 50 Gs to do
Zuluboy: A commercial?
MVRemix: Yeah. A jewelry commercial or something.
Zuluboy: Yeah. I would, actually. But you gotta pay me well, because my reputation is at stake, because Im basically a [UN] Messenger of Truth. Thats how I break it down.
MVRemix: Tell me about South African hip-hop.
Zuluboy: It has grown, you know. I remember way back in 98, I had my first demo and was looking for a deal with these major labels. They told me that if youre not doing this thing called kwaitokwaito is this genre of local music thats from the South African ghettoyou will not sell. Labels will not be interested in you. Theyre like, Yo, you American wannabes, this and that, this and that. So now, hip-hop has grown because its the biggest thing. Even though kwaito still sells more than hip-hop at home, its still growing.
MVRemix: Give me an example of what kwaito is like.
Zuluboy: Kwaito music is just a repetition of shit. Theyll sing one hook for the whole song. They have like two catchphrases for the whole joint, then a little bit of a beat for a good minute, then come again with the same catchphrase.
MVRemix: So its dance music, with not much of a
Zuluboy: It is dance music. Theres not much of a message behind it. People want to get drunk and get loud and just dance.
MVRemix: Do you think thats comparable to some types of commercial rap over here?
Zuluboy: Yeah, some of that, yo. Cuz commercial hip-hop is real gimmicky and South Africas just like that with its kwaito music. It has kwaito music and it has house music thats starting to come. But I think I can compare it to commercial hip-hop, Lil Jon and stuff like that. I can. And Im glad Im not doing that.
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