Brasse vannie Kaap+s new album, Yskoud, heads into sakkie-sakkie and hard rock territory. Adam Haupt spoke to them before their Oppikoppi and Belgium missions It+s an unusually warm winter+s day in Cape Town and I+m hanging out in a chicken joint with Brasse vannie Kaap+s (BVK) Fat and Ready D. The Brasse were a tad late for this interview, thanks to their hectic schedules. Their lives won+t slow down for a while to come, though. BVK are confirmed acts for Oppikoppi in Northam and Worcester. They+ve been working on their second album, Yskoud – due for release on August 18 – and have begun shooting videos for Gatsby Dite and Cape Flats. They will also join Boo! at the Pukkelpop Festival (August 25 to 26) in Belgium as part of an exchange initiative. BVK will also perform at the Nottinghill Carnival soon after Pukkelpop. It certainly seems that this hip-hop crew+s time has finally arrived. BVK+s well- received performance at Oudtshoorn earlier this year, alone, suggests that things are beginning to look up, particularly among white Afrikaans audiences. I ask Ready D whether BVK+s success is related to their attempts to appeal to the white market. -We+re not really marketing ourselves to a specific audience,+ he says. -In this case, whoever+s feeling the vibe the most, those are the people who are coming out to listen to us.+ Ready D argues that the music gives white South Africans -an insight into our world, especially from an Afrikaans-speaking point of view as well.+ He also thinks that the audiences are drawn to BVK because of the way in which they play with Afrikaans. Their word games are not merely entertaining. -They also have a lot to do with self- esteem,+ says Ready D, -in terms of using the language and letting people know we+re proud of who we are and we+re proud of the way we speak. This is our contribution to this language.+ BVK+s new album is quite interesting in the context of our discussion. The first song, Potjie Kos, kick-starts with a bit of sakkie-sakkie. They rap over a concertina loop and the concept of potjiekos becomes a metaphor for how the hip-hop artist works. Hama+s verse suggests that hip-hop heads borrow influences from here and there in the way cooks would use bits of this and that to make potjiekos. Needless to say, this metaphor is quite reconciliatory. Fat explains that BVK+s experimental spirit knows no limits. He also adds that their tongue-in-cheek approach is inspired by the idea that potjiekos precedes what he calls the -Boere Republic+. Ready D recalls that he experimented with this song about four years ago, but nobody took it seriously. -I eventually turned it into a kwaito beat and still nobody wanted to pay attention to it.+ BVK+s spirit of experimentation is not merely taking them on sakkie-sakkie trips, though. Yskoud features alternative rock band Nine on Cape Flats and Generation 2000. Cape Flats is the heavier of the two songs and Nine+s lead guitarist, James Reynard, concocted its catchy main riff. I+ve seen BVK and Nine performing this song on two occasions and they took the house down each time around. The song+s a fitting sequel to Nine+s electric collaboration with Prophets of da City (POC) at last year+s Oppikoppi. Naturally, I am curious what this song is actually about. -To me it+s just ultimate rebellion,+ Ready D explains passionately. -I+m sick and tired of all this shit going on everyday. It+s the same old shit. Radios dictating to people, especially people on the Cape Flats. They+re very closed-minded when it comes to music. All they wanna do is listen to these cover version bands day in and day out. -When you go to the community concerts and you come and you do your own original thing, people don+t want to pay no mind to you. So this is like hell, man. We+re sommer coming with a rock vibe – making a Cape Flats song over rock. It+s a rebellion against whatever+s stagnant in our communities.+ The crew+s frustrations in this regard might explain why they play the national festival circuit and why, subsequently, they have begun to enjoy such a wide appeal. With this in mind, it would be interesting it see how BVK would to do in Belgium. Despite the fact that D has toured Europe and the United Kingdom with POC, he says that he+s nervous. -We+ve been to Belgium on numerous occasions. I+m nervous – but not afraid – and really fired up about doing the performance. I think it+s the language thing, how people are going to perceive that and also the beats – how people are going to kick to the beats.+ BKS says if you don+t have hits on the charts, you have to work harder to get audiences excited about your show. This makes it hard for one to predict just how things will turn out. In closing, I ask whether they think that BVK+s time has arrived. D agrees: -I would say this is the beginning stage of that. It+s taken very long for a hip-hop group to reach this platform. POC nearly did it until things turned around with the music being banned … If hip-hop can get on to main stages, especially in this country, it+s one hell of an achievement.+