Staladi.com - "Ekaban Leparty"

Artist: Staladi.com

Area: Mbabane

Staladi.com is a hip-hop duo of two of the best named MC's in the business. Steamroller and Middlefinger. How awesome is that? The names of the MC's hint at the music they create together: triumphant hip-hop full of skittering breaks, pulsing strings that pack a wallop when pitch-shifted down to create a sturdy bass line that hits like a maize sack full of doorknobs. Verses are slung in a loose, off-the-cuff style which became the hallmark of the Kwaito of years past. Staladi.com fully delivers on this but puts their delivery in the forefront of the track, both spitting verses in an off-kilter, almost slurred delivery that sounds as fresh as anything I have heard in Swaziland. Check out their track "Ekaban Leparty" attached below. If you are having a hard time accessing the embedded player you can check out the track here.

Ryan H.

Kasi Vibe - I GV U MA EART

Artist: Kasi Vibe

Area: Fonteyn, Mbabane 

Label: Unsigned

Kasi Vibe, composed of rappers Ngelezayne and Fistos, create a music style they have dubbed “ghetto gospel”. In this debut single it is easy to see where they get this name from. The song begins with a beat that wouldn’t sound out of place on any Prince & the Revolution album in the 90’s and a chorus that wouldn't sound out of place during any church service. While Kasi Vibe’s intended purpose is to keep their listener’s eyes heavenwards, their vibe is hardened and forged in the streets of Mbabane. “I GV U MA HEART” embodies all of this, the struggles of living in living in a Kasi neighborhood and the hope that one must have to get out. We can expect big things from Kasi Vibe in the future.