The lead single on Young Nations’s debut album is a scorcher entitled Zwakala Emzansi. It’s a euphoric party jam, one of many on his soon-to-be-released project entitled Nations Uprising. What sets this one apart, however, is the instantly recognisable, emphatic riff that anchors the Stimela original, Zwakala.
Featuring Ray Phiri on guitar and vocals and Stimela keyboardist Lloyd Lelosa, its obvious buoyancy, reinforced with exclamatory hand claps, finds Young Nations, the son of literary giant Mazisi Kunene, in his natural element — fanning the flames of the party while bigging up the struggle in a single breath. “I’m just sharing dreams, glad you share my vision / I was free when I was born, so now it’s time to listen / Look at where we came from, it’s like a miracle … They tried to stop us, but I made it to my pinnacle / Each one teach one, bring one into the sun / So if I reach one, my job is done.” At some point, Phiri takes it to that infamous bridge (“Heyyy!…”), and then the nostalgia just overwhelms you.
“We’ve done a lot of songs [leading up to the album],” says Nations, whose moniker is an adaptation of his Zulu name Zosukum’izizwe (the nations will rise). “But when we did Zwakala everyone agreed [that it should be the first single]. It has very strong elements and it is a good representation of me, the album and what I want to do with the music.”
The track has been reconfigured by former Cashless Society member and executive producer Draztik who, besides having produced a chunk of Nations’s album, doubles as his new business partner at Unreleased Records.
Although the song is not really indicative of Nations’s full lyrical might (you might want to check Africa Prey for that), it represents one of the directions that local hip-hop should be more intent on pursuing in the future — that of looking inwards for source material to sample. “I have to applaud their bravery, because a song is part and parcel of the people,” said Phiri, who sanctioned the use of the 21-year-old song. “People love that song and they could say: ‘Hey, you’ve messed up a good song.’ But they’ve said: ‘We chose it and we are going to do the song.’ So I can learn something from what they are doing.”
Nations Uprising, the first album to be released on Unreleased Records since Cashless Society’s galvanising African Raw Material in December 2003, has been three years in the making. The bulk of the album’s 14 beats is produced by Grammy award nominee Mega-hertz who, according to Nations, is a master of “straight up international hip-hop”, having produced hits for the likes of 50 Cents, Tony Yayo, R Kelly, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes and Nas. The remainder, with the exception of erstwhile hit Win (featuring Chester), which was produced by Malaika keyboardist Ezra, feature Draztik’s ever-diversifying arsenal, which still includes the odd sped-up-soul sample.
Content wise, you get a taste of Nations, from the jet-setting baller on Mr Hustla, the conscientious objector to the pillaging of the continent on Africa Prey and the all-round, good-time guy who loves life but is still scarred by apartheid. He was born in the United Kingdom to South African parents and grew up in the United States.
For all his international connects, which will no doubt prove useful in giving Nations Uprising that inter-continental appeal, it was imperative for Nations to release his album on home turf: “There is no place in the world where hip-hop is growing faster and in a more dynamic way than in Africa. I have had my eyes and ears on the original [American] hip-hop scene in the 1980s and 1990s and it feels good to be bringing it back here now.
“Watching hip-hop grow as a fan and now being part of it as an artist and being able to influence people like how it influenced me is … I guess I’m living a dream in that sense.” — Kwanele Sosibo
Nations Uprising will be released on October 10 on Unreleased Records, licenced to Gallo Records