Sizwe Sibiya
Hip hop is a culture, a lifestyle. But to real hip hop heads, hip hop is life. In life, fake people will come and go, but the real will reign forever.
With that being said, here are Scrolla.Africa’s top five hip hop artists who are keeping it real in 2021.
- Big Zulu.
It is only fitting to name Big Zulu the hip hop artist of the year after his consistency recently rewarded him with seven SA Hip Hop Awards (SAHHA). Big Zulu is also the only hip hop artist to feature on Ukhozi FM’s illustrious Top 10 Songs of the Year list.
- Blxckie.
If there was no Big Zulu on his stoep, “Somnyama Yena Yedwa” would have been our number one. The 22-year-old took advantage of solitude during the lockdown by putting his head down and releasing consistently good music. After dropping his album B4NOW in May, which landed him at number one on MTV’s Hottest MCs, Blxckie went on a sold-out album tour across SA.
- A-Reece.
Refusing to follow industry norms and preferring to do his own thing at his own pace, A-Reece has been a constant reminder to SA rappers that the bar has been set very high. A-Reece is bound to trend with every project he releases, walking out with two awards at the tenth SAHHAS.
- Nasty C.
The Durban-based rapper is opening doors many Mzansi rappers could only dream of, but his golden move to Def Jam Records has put Nasty C under pressure. He is still working out how to balance the tastes of SA and American audiences. This came to light at the annual SAHHA where he walked away with zero awards.
- AKA.
Keirnan Forbes deserves to be on our Top Five as he fell, got up and dusted himself off after the tragic passing of his girlfriend Nelli Tembe. Now the legendary hip hop artist is busy mentoring the next big thing Costa Titch, whom he has featured in several of his tracks lately.
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