By Sihle Smith, additional reporting by Thandile Nkoyi
In the fast-paced world of South African hip-hop, staying ahead isn’t just about dropping beats and dropping bars—it’s about knowing yourself, your sound and the ins and outs of the game.
Upcoming Gqeberha-born rapper, producer, and podcaster Jac Lou who has shared stages with award -winning local stars like Yanga Chief and Blxckie at RedBull’s Dance Your Style event helps us to break it down.
Lou has been featured in HYPE Magazine, the only magazine in southern Africa that covers local hip-hop. The up-and-comer has also been appeared on YFM’s Five Minutes of Fame, a segment where station plays music from lesser known artists and critique it with a celebrity guest artist.
Know thyself
He advises emerging artists to identify their strengths and weaknesses in order to refine their skills. The sooner, the better.
Best-selling innovation author Dr Kumar Mehta agrees.
“Skills beget advanced skills,” Mehta told Forbes magazine.
Advanced skill comes from an already existing skill. Double down on what you’re already good at. Is it beat-making, songwriting, song structure, wordplay, or vocals? Locating your weak spots is just as important.
Find what part of the game brings out the best in you because “if you can truly excel at one particular element of your domain, that will be the reason you stand out and become the best”, writes Mehta.
No matter how successful they are, not every artist is an all-rounder. Even five-time Grammy award winner, Drake does not always produce his own beats. Instead, he outsources most of this to frequent collaborators like Noah “40” Shebib, Boi-1da, T-Minus and Nineteen85 who are the brains behind hits like “Hotline Bling” and “Hold On, We’re Going Home”.
Lou reckons rap lyrics are his strength.
“I’d like to think that I’m a good writer and I do my best at witty punchlines, good wordplay with elements of storytelling here and there”, says Lou who started rapping when he was only 12-years-old.
Lou said he tries not to put too many expectations on himself “because chasing perfection weakens the final product.”
Adapting and guidance
Know and understand the industry and your music genre, this will allow you to better align your music with the audience.
Spotify data from 2023 show that South African Gen-Z’s between 18-24 years old accounted for 55% of all hip-hop streams in South Africa, followed by the 25-29 group with 19% of the streams. Four out of every five SA hip-hop fans are male, with women audiences accounting for only 24% of fans. Nasty C and Blxckie locally, and Canadian rapper Drake were the most streamed hip-hop artists in South Africa in 2023.
Social media strategist and founder of Clonefluence, Justin Grome told Forbes that staying abreast of music trends on social media allows him to get a better grasp of what sounds are popular and how audiences are responding.
“Balancing artistic integrity with market demands is a delicate act that many struggle with”, said Grome.
For Lou, “as much as one should try to stand out, they should be able to keep up with the trends so that they can find a way to study the broader audience and who to collaborate with to capture that crowd”.
You can follow all the latest trends or stick to your own sound and hope the world may catch on one day.
Or be smart about it; take what is popular in the industry and give it your own unique spin and taste. This way, you’re not getting left in the dust but at the same time, you’re not getting lost in the noise.
It’s all about the money
The challenges that artists have to deal with do not end there there are still financial challenges, contracts and royalties, networking and relationship crafting and so on. To top it all, success is nearly impossible to predict.
Surround yourself with the best people as early as possible. They won’t have to be seasoned professionals from the get-go (because, you know…money), as long as they have a solid understanding of certain aspects of the game.
Lou appreciates the value of networking.
“It’s very important cause…people are able to give you access to their networks and you can sort of have some foundation to start your own, especially if they have good relationships with said people”.
Not only will such guidance help you so you don’t get taken for a ride, but may also set you up for the future.
Creative control
In any artistic domain, creative control is not as straightforward as most artists would like it to be. Creative control is about the decision-making and ownership of the creative elements of your productions that will determine the final product or outcome.
In simple terms, creative control speaks to who has the final say regarding the creative elements and direction of a given project.
Having some level of creative control like song selection for an album, the design of music videos, merchandising decisions or use of your music in advertising campaigns or films will allow you to express yourself better. It is wise to be, or have around someone who is, familiar with the legalities of contracts (record deals) before you sign any contract, should such a time arrive.
Lastly, remember that as with any musical endeavor, creativity is subjective from both points of view of the creator and the audience. No matter how good you may think you are, your art may not appeal to everyone; not everyone will perceive your product the same way you do.
This article was originally published by Khulani!, a youth media project by the Department of Media and Communication of Nelson Mandela University, based in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.
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