South African hip-hop fans have been spoiled for choice this year. Rappers are making an effort to excel at their craft, and it shows in the variety of talent on offer. From the dizzying lyrical wizardry of Priddy Ugly’sDust kicking the year off to a glorious start, to the calm and collected breeze of Loatinover Pounds’ recently-released Pray 4 Pitori, the masses have been feasting.
Loatinover Pounds, A-Reece and more feature on Pretoria native 25K’s brand new offering, Loyal to the Plug: The Life and Times of Don Kilograms. The album is wholly curated by producer Zoocci Coke Dope, with whom the rapper also collaborated on his debut offering, 2021’s Pheli Makaveli. For 25K, the follow-up didn’t need to be rushed. He wanted enough space and time to think up new flows and find new source material for his raps.
“The new joint came about when we had an idea of doing a deluxe version for Pheli Makaveli. But then, as we were working on it we were like, let’s not ruin such a beautiful project. Me and Zoo felt that adding onto or taking away from the initial track list was going to be an injustice to the project,” 25K says to OkayAfrica. The two then scrapped the idea completely.
Three years is a long time to leave fans hanging, but 25K kept busy throughout that period by releasing Champion Music 2 with Maglera Doe Boy and DJ Sliqe, as well as dropping a number of guest verses for artists like Focalistic, Thato Saul, and Nasty C. The artist and his producer were adamant that the next project had to be steps ahead of its predecessor.
Photo courtesy of 25K.
“I want to be remembered as a pioneer for this rapping in S'pitori thing." - 25K
On Loyal To The Plug, 25K explores themes of love (“Something Special”), being down-and-out (“I Was Broke), and plain boastfulness (“2 Headed Goat” with Maglera Doe Boy, whom he considers among one of his best friends). “It’s really deeper than rap,” 25K says about working with Maglera Doe Boy.
With his latest project, 25K is steadily cementing his place among the greats of South African hip-hop. The album is hood theater: luscious string arrangements, marching-band trap beats, and boom-bap production are elevated throughout the record by vivid tales from the rapper’s time pushing weight on the streets.
“It wasn’t really trying to outdo Pheli Makaveli, but to follow up with something that would make sense in terms of where I’m at. If I made the fans wait this long without giving them music, when I give them something, it needs to be well-put together, more versatile.”
Every feature on the album feels like it belongs. “I Was Broke” with Berry Jive and Earle Fari finds 25K reminiscing on his hustler days before linking up with Zoocci Coke Dope. “Something Special” is that smooth, elevated love music that makes hardened cats break down and declare their affection. Marcus Harvey’s presence on the song is a soulful delight, enjoyable on every level. Elsewhere, Sjava’s tortured vocal intonation makes “Phelibass” sound like a dirge for the trap.
The brilliance of 25K and Zooci Coke Dope’s partnership was cultivated in 2019 during a live performance. “He hadn’t known about me before that day,” mentions 25K, “and he heard me performing ‘Culture Vulture.’ When I got off stage, he pulled up on my DJ.” “Culture Vulture” was 25K’s breakout hit. It propelled him to bigger stages, and won him a South African Hip Hop Award in the process. In no time, the two found themselves in the studio together.
25K, who used to make his own beats, had now found someone to focus on production while he zoned in on the songwriting. Getting into the studio with Zoocci was a “special moment” for the rapper.
“I shared the link to the ‘Culture Vulture’ video with Zoo, and we put it on the screen and played it. The idea of us working on an album actually came from that. When he saw the video, he felt that there hadn’t been something that fresh to hit South Africa from Pretoria. He felt that it was a sound that I should really own,” explains 25K.
A few months later, they’d made what felt like a project, but it needed a name. It was Zoocci who suggested Pheli Makaveli because of Tupac’s influence on 25K. “I slowly started buying into the idea [of that title],” he says. “Then, all the songs we were recording started to make sense.”Actor Warren Masemola narrates parts of the new album, Loyal to the Plug. His delivery immerses the listener in contemporary South African pop culture, one gem at a time. He talks about the transitional period when Apartheid was ending, pokes fun at the idea that Black people were expected to assimilate, and reassures anyone listening that times are different now.
“[Masemola’s] actually a fan of my music. He’s been showing love for the longest time,” says 25K. “It had to be someone that comes from Pretoria because it was gonna be iconic. At the time, I couldn’t identify who I was gonna hit up, then it crossed my mind to hit [him] up.” The next day, he was in the studio with them.
“I want to be remembered as a pioneer for this rapping in S'pitori thing,” adds 25K. “I want to go down as a legend in terms of that. And I want to inspire kids. When I’m no longer here, at least I want to feel like I left something that will make it easier for another kid to come out of PTA (Pretoria).”