We caught up with the George (WC) based rapper, to chat about his recent offering and the state-of-the-arts in his turf.
Tell us about you bro
Akhona Bandaswell, also known by his stage name "Makoya Mreppa", born on the 5th of May 1988 in Dimbaza, Eastern Cape...is a George based rapper that has been in the music industry for more than 17 years now. Currently Makoya released his single called "Ungathemba Bani?" And he also has an album out called Imehlo Lesithathu.
Talk to me about that 17 year long journey. . .how has that been? The highs and lows? And how that journey enriched this current project, if in any way?
Yho!!! The journey has been tough because I had people that told me I will not go anywhere with this music but because of the love I have for it I had to keep pushing.
The highs and lows enriched this current project in a way that I have a very strong production team; Pro Lyric is a great producer. The fans actually encouraged me to do an album because of loving my music.
Tell me more about the production process: how was it like and who you worked with?
The production was wonderful. I had the privilege to be around artists who understand music and understands what message I'm trying to put across. I worked with Pro Lyric from Authentic Music Records; he produced the whole album. I also featured him on a song called "Mama".
I featured Medicine on a song called "Inkenkqe" and also featured Soul Tempo S.A on a song called "Ubomi".
It was great working with younger artists that have fresh ideas and made this project a beautiful classic.
And how has the reception been thus far?
There's a lack of unity among artists this side. People don't want to give out information that could help their fellow artists so we could grow together. Also, the organisations that are supposed to help aren't doing their job, the money from arts and culture goes straight to town, leaving townships such as Thembalethu (in George) stranded.
It was great working with younger artists that have fresh ideas
Having been part of the Hip Hop community for almost 2 decades, do you see the situation changing? And how would you propose artist go about dealing with such issues?
The culture nowadays is diverse; I see it changing for the better because of the sound that the youngins are coming up with.
Hip Hop is not for the faint-hearted. An artist just has to face every obstacle put in front of them, use the power of the internet to seek knowledge about the culture then you'll be wise enough to make certain decisions.
Back to the album a bit, can you share some of the creative influences; the inspiration behind it?
It was influenced by the issues that the rural and township communities are facing on a daily basis. It was inspired by my dreams 'coz most of the songs came spiritually to me and I also talk about the issues that most artists don't talk about.
And how was this project different to any project you've worked on before?
I have a song that is called "Ebumnandini": it is more of your Skhanda-type of vibe. I made it because I want people to be introduced to uMakoya who was once a Pantsula and still give you that 90's Kwaito feel with fun lyrics.
I've also featured younger artists that I feel have a future in this music industry because of their passion and love for the arts. In my previous project I only featured a group called Decency. So on this one I tried to accommodate everyone.
Can you share some of your future plans? Where to from here?
In the future I'm planning on having a promotions company where artists get paid for their services to show them that level of respect for their art; we don't see that very often.
Makoya's album is available for purchase. Link up with him on his socials and support him:
Facebook: Makoya Canzibe Horus Mreppa
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