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A couple of weeks ago while watching young hip hop artistes strut their stuff at the weekly Cape to Cairo hip hop sessions, I was struck by their energetic performance.
Most who took to the stage to showcase their skills did so with aplomb. It was indeed a thrilling experience to see young rhyme slayers attack the mic with gusto as they kept the crowd on its toes.
The performance of the artistes on that day reminded me of a similar afternoon a couple of years back when a relatively unknown performer wowed the crowd with a surprisingly powerful performance.
The setting was Queens Sports Club where a large exuberant crowd had gathered to feast their ears on the music of South African afro pop songstress Zahara.
While Zahara was the main course meal for music lovers that day, the dessert was no less appetising, with famed dancehall chanter Winky D playing the supporting role.
Many were eager to see whether the Ninja president, who had gained a reputation for upstaging foreign headline acts, would steal the show from Zahara.
Although Winky and Zahara gave a stellar performance that afternoon, there was also one Bulawayo act that managed to grab the attention of those in attendance.
Local rapper Nashie managed to impress the revellers with energetic performance that earned praise from the fans.
Local music lovers are generally impatient when young acts perform before the big names but Nashie managed to steal the show that afternoon.
Back to Cape to Cairo two weeks ago, I quizzed myself on whether such energetic perfomances that the rappers on stage were exhibiting and one that Nashie had given a few years back were enough to impress those not familiar with hip hop as a genre.
In a purely hip hop setting one can get away with a performance centred only on one’s rhymes and a beat.
However, that can be too simplistic if the performance is in front of an audience that is looking for a more wholesome musical experience. Being hardcore in such cases simply does not cut it.
Foreign hip hop and RnB acts in the recent past have taken to using live instrumentation to improve the quality of their act. This is admirable as it proves that these two genres are not merely digitally driven.
Hiring a live band may be beyond the means of young artistes trying to make it in the harsh music industry, but there are cost cutting alternatives that they can explore.
For example, whenever a big name foreign act comes to town, artistes who are always relied upon to warm up the stage for the main act, usually perfect their own act in the hope of catching the public eye with a unique offering.
However, such an approach does not usually work to anyone’s advantage as it leaves the audience unsatisfied with the seemingly incomplete product offered on stage.
Instead young artistes could opt for a combined act where they complement each other.
It would be more profitable to see a singer like Pronix and his live band combine with a rapper like Nashie. A union of brands would definitely be an advantage to the young artistes due to the fact that as solo artistes they do not seem to pack enough punch to knockout audiences especially during big shows.
For rappers this combination would be really a welcome addition to their arsenal as their Achilles heel seems to be the lack of melody in their music.
Young rappers focus too much on their rhymes and they seem to forget that they merely contribute a small portion to the quality of the music they have to offer.
A lack of catchy melodies often means that they cannot grab the attention of non-hip hop fans of which there are many out there.
A catchy melody or two, especially for the ladies, would not hurt your chances of catching new fans at a live show.
For many, a live performance is usually their first encounter with an artiste. First impressions count a lot in life and young artistes should do all in their power to impress whoever is watching.
derick.khumalo