Back To The City turns 20 with hip-hop royalty
It is two decades of Back To The City International Festival, Africa’s biggest annual hip hop festival and the line-up has been released. Expect to see South Africa’s music royalty such as Cassper Nyovest, Emtee, Blxckie, Stogie T, Reason, Tuks, Touchline and Trompies.
They will be sharing the stage with acclaimed artists from the US, such as Ab-Soul, legendary Detroit collective Slum Village, pictured, and acclaimed hiphop duo Blu & Exile.
“This is not just a line-up. This is 20 years of culture,” organisers say.
Festival founder Osmic Menoe told the Mail & Guardian that he has witnessed generations of artists grow alongside the festival.
“All of them … AKA — his first music video was shot at the festival — Pro Kid, Riky Rick, there’s pictures of them looking like children at the festival.
“Because there weren’t a lot of these movements at the time, everyone gravitated towards it and they understood the mission — empower everyone. The more festivals like this happen, the more people sustain themselves. That’s how we see success”.
Make sure you get your tickets and attend the event at Mary Fitzgerald Square, Newtown, Johannesburg, on Saturday, 10 October 2026.
Quintet warms up with ‘Winter Sun’
Sun Quintet, have released Winter Sun, the lead single from their forthcoming sophomore album, Still Becoming set to be released on 30 October 2026.
Made on the backdrop of where they first came together as students at Stellenbosch University, Mark Lynch on saxophone, Aubrey Jr Matsila on trombone, Melisizwe Plaatjie on piano, Chadleigh Gowar on bass guitar and Stuart Martin on drums are in a sense going back to where it all started.
According to the release, Winter Sun is a warm, reflective piece about returning to places, people and shared beginnings.
The song moves gently before opening into a swinging passage, gathering momentum and warmth before settling into a softer, piano-led close. It captures the tension between longing for what has passed and finding comfort in the present.
If you are in Cape Town on 28 October, the quintet will have an exclusive album-listening session with the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and Texx and the City at Pink Room. This will be followed by an album launch at The Athletic Club and Social on 29 October.
Winter Sun is available on all major streaming platforms.
Vuyo Viwe’s new soundtrack to growth and rebirth
Vuyo Viwe is holding up mirrors for everyone to reflect on themselves in her debut album There Are Mirrors Everywhere.
The Johannesburg-flautist, composer, vocalist and alternative jazz artist’s body of work is genre-colliding features sounds like jazz, orchestral folk, alternative vocal melodies, electronic textures and classical instrumentation.
Some of the themes you will relate to in the album are harmonises, grief, inheritance, transformation and renewal, tracing the invisible threads that bind past, present and future.
“It has been quite an interesting journey of growth and rebirth making there are mirrors everywhere. In a way, the thematic context of the music in the album runs parallel with the cycle of creating this pro-ject — and that is what it means for music to imitate life.
“I am grateful to finally let the music exist beyond me, and hope it does the work for the world as much as it has done for me,” Viwe says.
She will be on tour for the album so you can check out her socials to see when she will be in your city.
Olefied Khetha features Big Zulu on ‘iStep Father Remix’
Olefied Khetha has teamed up with award-winning rapper Big Zulu for the iStep Father Remix, released on 2 October.
The original iStep Father amassed millions of streams, while Khetha’s wider catalogue has surpassed 20 million all-time streams across releases including Aphiwe and Isthombe.
The song is about falling in love with a woman who is a single mother and the responsibility that comes with choosing to love her.
“You are not stupid for being a stepfather. You simply fell in love with a woman who has a child. There is nothing wrong with that.
“Be there for her and be the best stepfather you can be,” he says.
Big Zulu brings his distinctive storytelling and commanding presence to the remix, adding another layer to Khetha’s message while keeping its heart intact.
The iStep Father Remix is available on major streaming platforms.