BIG ZULU
- Siyabonga Nene known professionally as Big Zulu was born on 7 April 1987 and is 35 years old
- Big Zulu used to work as a taxi driver until 2008 when he decided to dive into the music scene.
- He won the King of Rap contest in 2013 at the Back to the City event.
- To some, Big Zulu is known as the undisputed rapping “inkabi pantsula”.
- He has managed to transform a word associated with crime “inkabi” meaning a hired gunman into a cool terminology that is lighting up the entertainment industry.
DRAKE
- Drake’s father, Dennis Graham, was a drummer who worked with Jerry Lee Lewis, while his uncle, Larry Graham, played bass for Prince.
- Drake started as an actor in Degrassi’s Canadian teen drama: The Next Generation.
- Drake was mercilessly bullied at school for being a mixed-race Jewish kid with acting and hip-hop aspirations.
- At 19, Drake moved to L.A. to be a songwriter and wound up as one of many writers working for Dr Dre’s Aftermath Records.
- Drake played the role of a basketball star left disabled after a school shooting.
- ‘Drake’ is the rapper’s stage name; forget ‘ChampagnePapi’ or ‘6 God’. His full name is actually ‘Aubrey Drake Graham’
LIL BABY
- His older friends would tease him, calling him “baby” because his mom was always checking on him. The name stuck, hence “Lil Baby.”
- Lil Baby attended Tri Cities High School in East Point, Georgia – the same high school as the legendary hip-hop duo OutKast.
- Lil Baby is signed to Quality Control Music, a record label based in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Lil Baby sat down with GQ to show off his unreal jewelry collection.
- During the initial stages of their life, Lil Baby and his friends were involved in petty crimes.During the initial stages of their life, Lil Baby and his friends were involved in petty crimes.
MAWHOO
- MaWhoo’s best impact outside the music industry is against gender-based violence. She is a voice of hope to many.
- MaWhoo has over 1 Million views for her 2019 single “Umshado”. As a result, it received massive exposure across all media platforms.
- MaWhoo recorded and took a song to a local radio station in Eshowe, KZN. However, they refused because they felt she was too young.
- MaWhoo continued to study for a degree at UNISA while modelling.
- MaWhoo’s latest song was produced by DJ Maphorisa, who has previously worked with Wizkid and Nasty C.
MASTER KG
- Master Kg was born on January 31, 1996, in Tzaneen, Limpopo.
- Master Kg’s birth name is Kgaogelo Moagi.
- He is also known as the pioneer of “Bolobedu” dance.
- Master Kg began playing with beats a thirteen on a computer his late uncle gave him.
- Thanks to the success of the Jerusalema anthem, Master Kg signed with Warner Music Group’s Elektra France.
LOWSHEEN
- Lowsheen is an artist/ producer from South Africa
- He is signed under WanitwaMos Entertainment owned by Maseter KG
WILL LINLEY
- Will Linely is a 20-year-old singer/songwriter and musician from Cape Town
- He grew up in a musical family and studied singing in high school
- During the lockdown, he began writing and recording music with his guitar in his bedroom
- After uploading a few songs on Soundcloud, Will was introduced to producer David Balshaw by a mutual friend
- Will has amassed a significant international following on TikTok
COLDPLAY
- BTS And Coldplay collaborating On a Single Called “My Universe”.
- Coldplay debuted their new single ‘Higher Power’ from the International Space station 250 miles above Earth.
- Coldplay feared they would be ‘thrown in prison’ while making a new album due to lockdown laws.
- Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson bought a £9m Malibu pad after three years of dating.
- Chris Martin, the frontman of Coldplay, had to learn how to sing the song ‘The Scientist’, backwards for a music video shot with director Jamie Thraves.
BIA
- BIA was one of 5 female rappers featured on Oxygen’s Sisterhood of Hip Hop show.
- During Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman Europe Tour, BIA was one of the main supporting acts
- Bia is now an official recording artist for Pharrell’s record label, “I Am Other”
- Her favorite restaurant in Massachusetts is Chinos, a Haitian restaurant in Brockton
- She is of Puerto Rican and Italian descent
J.COLE
- J. Cole’s real name is Jermaine Lamar Cole.
- J. Cole isn’t a fan of ‘The New Workout Plan’, despite sampling it on his song ‘Work Out’.
- J. Cole was born on 28th January, 1985 in Frankfurt Germany, where his dad was based in the US Army. Cole’s mother is German
- J. Cole started rapping when he was 12 years old and started taking it more seriously three years later when he hooked up with a local rap group called Bomm Sheltuh, which featured rappers Nervous Reck and FilthE Ritch.
- J. Cole originally had the rap names Blaza and Therapist.
QMARK & TPZEE
- TpZee and Q-Mark’s song Paris has racked up more than 3 million views since October 2021.
- Q-Mark, TpZee, and Afriikan Papi delivered impressive verses on their single ‘Paris’
- Paris is an Amapaino inspired record with lovely instrumentals and lyrical flows from the South African singers Q-Mark and TpZee.
- Q-Mark and TpZee have been in the music scene for a while and has been consistent throughout the years.
- Q-Mark and TpZee are gradually carving out a unique space in the global music scene.
AFRIIKAN PAPI
- Afriikan Papi features on the song Quantam with Just Bheki, Wunda and Assessa.
- Afriikan Papi’s instagram handle is afriikan_papi.
- Afriikan Pap is still relatively new to the scene and has close to 2000 followers on Instagram.
COI LERAY
- Coi Leray began posting music to SoundCloud, releasing her breakout single “Huddy” and her debut mixtape ‘Everythingcoz’ in 2018.
- After signing a record deal with 1801 Records and Republic Records, she released her second mixtape, EC2, in 2019, and her debut extended play, Now or Never, in 2020.
- In 2021, her single “No More Parties” gave Leray her first Billboard Hot 100 entry after peaking in the top 40 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
- She was born May 11, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Hackensack, New Jersey.
- She started making music at age 14. At age 16, Leray dropped out of high school and started working in sales.
NICKI MINAJ
- Nicki Minaj released her own mobile game called ‘Nicki Minaj: The Empire’ in December 2016.
- Nicki Minaj started her music career in a rap group called Hoodstarz. There were three other members in the group – Lou$tar, Scagg Beezy and 7even Up.
- Nicki Minaj has a tattoo in Chinese written on her left arm that reads “God is with me always”.
- Nicki Minaj is acrophobic, meaning she is afraid of heights.
- In 2013, Nicki Minaj earned $12 million as a judge on season 12 of “American Idol,”
NOMFUNDO MOH
- Nomfundo Moh started singing when she was six years old and there wasn’t a school concert or church competition that she wouldn’t enter.
- In her latest album, she has tried to cater to all people by having influences of Gospel, Maskandi while sticking to her genre of Afro-pop.
- Nomfundo Moh has featured many artists in her latest album including Ami Faki, Sha Sha, De Muziqal chef, and Mthuda amongst others.
- Nomfundo Moh is fast becoming a sensation in the music industry with her third official radio single, Phakade Lami, sitting on almost 1-million views on YouTube.
- Nomfundo Moh shares her life experiences, through relatable stories and offers some motivation and inspiration with her life story with added doses of spirituality
AMI FAKU
- Ami Faku’s real name is Amanda Nomqhutsu Faku.
- Ami Faku was born and raised in the township of Ezinyoka, Gqeberha.
- After signing a record deal with The Vth Season, Ami released her debut single, “Ndikhethe Wena”.
- On January 22, she released a single, “Lala Ngoxolo,” featuring South African rapper Emtee.
- In 2020, Deezer named Ami Faku, the most-streamed female artist in South Africa.
SHA SHA
- Sha Sha almost had her music featured on the popular U.S. T.V. series Empire with her song Catch Me.
- Sha Sha has lived in different countries in Southern Africa, such as Zimbabwe (her home country), Botswana and South Africa.
- Sha Sha’s birth name is Charmaine Shamiso Mpambiri.
- Sha Sha’s grandmother raised her after her parents separated.
THE GAME
- Jayceon Terrell Taylor, aka The Game ,is an American rapper born in Compton, California.
- The Game is a fan of the old-school, he has mentioned that he enjoys listening to bands like The Beatles.
- The Game started his clothing line after being inspired by his son’s newfound interest in skater gear
- He started and finished the 29-track long ‘Purp & Patron’ mixtape in two weeks.
- The Game is Ed Sheeran’s favorite rapper and apparently the respect goes both ways
KANYE WEST
- He dropped out of Chicago State University and went on to produce his very first album, The College Dropout
- Before Yeezy became one of the top-selling male artists, he worked a number of jobs which included telemarketing and insurance sales
- The rapper decided to legally change his name in 2021 from “Kanye Omari West” to simply “Ye”
- Kanye got his big break in 2000 by becoming a producer for artists on Roc-A-Fella Records
- In 2019, Kanye also admitted that he suffers with bipolar disorder.
NADIA NAKAI
- Nadia is the first female rapper to ever win the Shiz Niz Mixtape 101 competition on eTV
- Aside from music, she enjoys baking and she’s actually good at it
- She worked in advertising before getting into music full time.
- Nadia studied marketing, communications and media studies at Monash University.
- When she was 16 she relocated to Kenya with her parents
CASSPER NYOVEST
- Cassper Nyovest dropped out of school in 2006 at the age of 16 to pursue hip hop.
- Cassper Nyovest started as Jabba’s (HHP) hypeman, which gained him lots of exposure as an artist.
- Cassper Nyovest was one of the first South African artists to fill the Dome with 20,000.
- Cassper Nyovest’s Orlando Stadium concert drew 40,000. Cassper’s FNB Stadium concert attracted 68,000 fans, further cementing his influence.
- In 2015, Cassper Nyovest partnered with AG Mobile to release an inspired and partly designed phone named AG Hashtag.
NASTY C
- Nigerian star Burna Boy has given Nasty C one of the best compliments expressing that he is better than most American rappers.
- Nasty C shared the mic with Sabrina Carpenter, Ayumu Imazu, Blue Vintage, Mizk and others in the anthem-like song titled ‘Colorful’ for the 2020 Olympics games.
- Nasty C scored his second BET (Black Entertainment Television) hip-hop nomination.
- Nasty C’s music video for ‘Jack’ clocked over 1 million views in just a number of days.
- Nasty C almost fell victim to an incident of police brutality while visiting America to shoot a music video. Fortunately, he and his crew escaped without any violent altercations.
LATTO
- Both Latto and Big Latto are stage names of Alyssa Michelle Stephens
- her first stage name was Miss Mulatto, a term for someone of mixed black and white heritage that is now often considered to be outdated as well as more than a bit offensive.
- In the past, Latto was known for drag racing
- She became a cast member on the Lifetime reality series The Rap Game and the inaugural winner.
- She has one sister named Brooklyn Nikole AKA brooklynikole on social media.
