Take 31 of Gauteng’s prominent rappers, singers and poets and put them in a line. Give each of these pseudo-Americans with oversized Fubu and Ecko apparel a mic and instruct them not to mime. To this mix add Togogara — a hot new producer and creative supervisor — and what do you have? A blazing local hip-hop compilation called Expressions: Words Unlimited (What’s Phat/Outrage/Sprite).Previously criticised for mimicking American attitudes, local hip-hop has never sounded so refreshing and proudly South African. In the past South African hip-hop has had to forfeit its own unique identity. Indeed, its heavy fabrication, within a kwaito-saturated industry, has caused local hip-hop to be considered foreign, a wayward genre without direction.Hip-hop veterans like Amu and Spex, who appear on this groundbreaking album, have in the past fused vernacular in an English flow to try to put a local stamp to this art form. But it’s only been of late, with Skhwat-tha Kamp winning a South African Music Award this year for best hip-hop album, that the local form been taken seriously. Surfing high on this tidal wave are new-school upstarts Menzi Dludla (23) and Sphiwe Norten (24). The two form the core of H2O, a hip-hop outfit now famous for the chart-topping hit It’s Wonderful. They’ve hit number one on Metro FM’s national charts and have toppled performers 50 Cents and Mzekezeke on Yfm’s caller vote-line. In addition, the video for It’s Wonderful, which shows a slice of Soweto life on a relaxed Sunday afternoon, was voted best video on the MTV charts. Natives of Meadowlands, Soweto, H2O offer a fresh take on “lokshin” (read location) style with hard-hitting lyrics about day-to-day township life — performed to infectious beats.”In our songs we use Zulu lyrics and township lingo, because that’s the language of the streets, the language people understand. We want to be different,” says Norten, the more outspoken of the two. “Our major downfall in local hip-hop is that we don’t talk to the people’s soul, we don’t talk about things that relate to our lives. Instead we go on like aliens in galaxies.”H2O started out as a kwaito act under the alias MSV, back in 1997. Dreadlocked Dludla, who sports a devilish smile beneath a shy demeanour, reasons that, for them, kwaito posed limitations of expression. While he claims it’s merely music to dance to, he agrees kwaito is not necessarily a bad thing.The fortunes of the two improved when the CEO of grassroots music company Outrageous — known merely as Dzino — “discovered” them on the airwaves. It was in 2001 when they performed live at Yfm’s studios during the station’s open-mic programme, Rap Activity Jam. These days H2O have become skilled rappers. They deliver lyrics of simplicity packed with wit and intellect with ease: “Beautiful, bourgeois-like African mama / no make-up, u’shaya nge s’hluthu e’simnyama [thick, black afro] / noma ahamba u shelela nje nge Rama [when she steps, she’s smooth like Rama margarine].” Drawing their inspiration from young clothing designers Chabi and Wandi, who have built an empire out of their label Loxion Kulca, H2O propagate believing in oneself and determination as a winning formula. “We give props to anyone out there who is making or trying to make things happen for themselves —whether you are selling amaskopas [popcorn] on the corner or pushing trolleys in shopping complexes,” Norton enthuses.And he should know. Previous jobs he has tried include selling burgers at Ellis Park, gardening in Yeoville, being a security guard and a stint in the underground world of crime, which saw two of his best friends lose their lives. These days Norton counts his blessings. The two are currently working on an album, Amanzi M’toti, which is due for release in July. “Just like our name we are here to cleanse the dirty lifestyle in the townships, bring new life and extinguish those artists who go around claiming they are fire,” says Dludla.Also riding high on the local hip-hop tide, and also featured on the Expressions compilation, is an artist known simply as Tumi. Here is an orator of note, renowned for a catchy line in Yfm’s radio and television advert: “I share my days with dreams.” Tumi is an MC who fronts for his band The Volume, a slam poetry/hip-hop ensemble complete with drummer, bass player, guitarist and violinist. Tumi’s work reflects the interests of a new generation of African intellectuals. Born in Tanzania, while his mother was inexile, he recalls his initiation into the world of African literature. “Coming from a politically conscious background, my mother gave me literature to read like Mzwakhe Mbuli and Bra Willie Kgositsile. The more I read, the more I wanted to write and that’s how my love for writing began. With that literature and going out into the streets, mixing with peers, getting exposed to other forms of literature like KRS-One, hip-hop seemed to be speaking directly to me.”Hip-hop teaches you to question things and be part of a bigger picture”, says the man whose first book was The Ugly Duckling.Well-known on the South African spoken-word circuit, Tumi performed in the 2000 Black August tour alongside United States rappers Dead Prez and The Roots.Having been sidelined for advocating pseudo-Americanism, Tumi brushes criticism off by questioning who decides who is more African between a Jewish guy who has lived his life in South Africa and a black guy who has spent years abroad.”When we are born we all have a cup full of spirit, and it depends on us on how we utilise this soul of knowledge. It depends on us — how far we can stretch it, so the world can see our potential and abilities.”