Listen to Focalistic’s New Project ‘Sghubu Ses Excellent’

Focalistic has had a splendid year and he has just put the last nail, or maybe not, with the release of his new EP Sghubu Ses Excellent, his third project for the year following Quarantined Tarantino and Blecke, which both dropped in April.

Sgubhu Ses Excellent consists of 14 bangers, including the three that were on the Blecke EP, and features heavyweights like Riky Rick, Madumane (DJ Maphorisa's alter ego), Mr JazziQ, Vigro Deep, Mas Musiq, Semi Tee, 25K, Reece Madlisa and more.

His fan base, Squad Sa Maradona is even credited as a feature on the introspective outro—they appear on the track via voice notes.

On the EP, the musician continues with his signature style of rapping over amapiano beats with clever lines, and incorporating and interpolating South African popular culture and lyric references.

In an interview with OkayAfrica, when asked where he got the idea of rapping over amapiano beats, he revealed:

"Amapiano is from kwaito, so it was a natural thing. It was never a decision of let me switch bands… people make it like there's two different genres; hip hop and amapiano, for me it's never felt like that, it's one thing; good music."

"In Your Mind", produced by Tyler ICU and DJ Maphorisa, showcases exactly that—a perfect blend of kwaito, amapiano, hip-hop and even mid-tempo 45bpm house.

Read: Interview: Focalistic's Blend of Hip-Hop and Amapiano Is Working

The EP is the first to be solely released under his record label, 18 Area Holdings.

Recently, the rapper was announced as the new Spotify RADAR: Africa artist and this week, it was revealed that he ranked at number 5 for the most streamed hip-hop artists on Spotify(SA) in 2020.

At the EP's launch, the rapper also revealed that his previously released single "Blecke" has gone gold. With the release of the new project, it's definite that the Pitori Maradona is going to carry his momentum onto 2021 and will certainly keep his fans entertained throughout the festive season.