AFRICA IN YOUR EARBUDS #58: DJ SPOKO

Cover design by Underdog.

South African beatmaker DJ Spoko aka Marvin Ramalepe started producing on a PC as a teenager in Atteridgeville, a township outside Pretoria where he and his brother had moved to in order to find their father. In the early 2000s, Spoko traveled to Soweto, where he fine-tuned his engineering skills under shangaan electro mastermind Nozinja. After returning home and setting up his own studio, Spoko helped craft the percussion pattern behind DJ Mujava's massive hit “Township Funk." Since then, he's been developing his own 'bacardi house' genre — a kwaito-influenced style that pairs jolting military drums with pitched-up melodies — featured in his impressive Ghost Town (True Panther) and War God (Lit City Trax) releases, as well as in his recent Fantasma project with Spoek Mathambo.

For his Africa In Your Earbuds: 'Okayafrica Township Tapes', DJ Spoko steamrolls through a 40-minute mix that includes his original productions, reworks and collaborations with the likes of Pretoria MC Bizz Atv, Tribal Warriors, Dubbel Dutch, Massacooramaan, Aero Manyelo, Fantasma and more. Spoko had this to say about his tape:

"The mixtape highlights the reflection of the passing glance of WAR GOD, showing that this war is not on one side, it's all sided. It [also] shows how many allies all over the world I have accumulated. The tape demotrates the works of King Spoko, that he can blend in with different kinds of musical styles, as most of the tracks I worked with different musicians from around the globe. #Salute the WAR GOD aka DJ Spoko."

Download AIYE #58: DJ SPOKO'S 'OKAYAFRICA TOWNSHIP TAPES' below and check out the full mixtape's tracklist, plus our previous Africa In Your Earbuds releases, listed underneath.

TRACKLIST

Bizz Atv - Negative People(DJ Spoko Remix)

Fantasma - Sefty Belt ft. JOSIAHWISE IS THE SERPENTWITHFEET

DJ Spoko - I Remember ft. G Dog

DJ Spoko - Chitahuri Dance

DJ Mujava - Township Funk

Tribal Warriors - Lerato ft. Noeli

Tribal Warriors - In The Heart Of The Nite

DJ Spoko X Lafawndah - I Lost My Fear

DJ Spoko X Massacooramaan - Feathers of the Phoenix

Dubbel Dutch x DJ Spoko - Sweat of the Dragon

Aero Manyelo x DJ Spoko - Rapoka

Get more African mixtapes from Africa In Your Earbuds:

CAPTAIN PLANET — THE HAPPY SHOW — CLAP! CLAP! — DJ GIOUMANNE — ALEXIS TAYLOR OF HOT CHIP — CARLOS MENA — ZACH COWIE — ELIJAH WOOD — KOOL A.D. — SOL POWER ALL-STARS — DJ NUNAS — NIC OFFER OF !!! — LARRY ACHIAMPONG — KYLA-ROSE SMITH OF FRESHLYGROUND— THE GTW — RADIO TANZANIA — JON THEODORE — DESMOND & THE TUTUS — MATHIEU SCHREYER II — YOUNG FATHERS — BBRAVE OF AKWAABA — OLD MONEY — DJ NEPTUNE — SAHEL SOUNDS — BEATENBERG — M1 [DEAD PREZ] — BODDHI SATVA — L'AFRIQUE SOM SYSTEME — NOMADIC WAX — THE BROTHER MOVES ON — LV — BEN ASSITER [JAMES BLAKE'S DRUMMER] — JAKOBSNAKE —CHRISTIAN TIGER SCHOOL — SAUL WILLIAMS — TUNE-YARDS — MATHIEU SCHREYER — BLK JKS — ALEC LOMAMI — DJ MOMA — AWESOME TAPES FROM AFRICA — PETITE NOIR — OLUGBENGA —RICH MEDINA — VOICES OF BLACK —LAMIN FOFANA —CHICO MANN — DJ UNDERDOG — DJ OBAH — SABINE — BROTHA ONACI — DJ AQBT — JUST A BAND — STIMULUS — QOOL DJ MARV — SINKANE — CHIEF BOIMA