10 Facts About Kwesta’s Monumental Third Studio Album “DAKAR II” At 10

Kwesta’s third studio album “DAKAR II” turns 10 today. 

1. “DAKAR” stands for “Da King of African Rap”. 
2. “DAKAR II” was the second in an album trilogy that Kwesta never got to finish because the album got too big and he never ran out of singles to extend its shelf life. The first “DAKAR” (2014) experimented with genre fusion early on. Songs like “Thul’ Ujaive” were early attempts at blending sounds that would later influence tracks like “Ngud’”.
3. In 2017, “DAKAR II” won Kwesta Best Album, Best Rap Album and Best Male at the SAMAs. “Ngud’” won the Samro Highest Airplay of the Year. 
4. “Ngiyaz’fela Ngawe”, the album’s last single, won Song of the Year at the South African Hip Hop Awards in 2017. Additionally, Kwesta won Best Digital Sales for:

• 5x Platinum – “Ngud’” 
• 1x Platinum – “Mayibabo”
• 1x Platinum – “Nomayini”

1. The album featured both AKA and Cassper Nyovest at the height of their beef. 
2. “DAKAR II” is the best selling South African hip-hop album of all time. It was certified 7x platinum by RiSA in 2018. This was during the last days of the CD era, and Kwesta used to take a merch trailer to shows selling the album. 
3. Kwesta says Okmalumkoolkat had the best verse on “Mayibabo”. 
4. Most of the album was produced by Makwa, whose Mzonkonko sound defines the album sonically. Recording happened at Sony Studios, Psyfo’s studio and DJ Maphorisa’s studio. Other producers included Ameen, Tweezy, Gobi Beast,  
5.  “Nomayini”, released August 2015, was the first single for “DAKAR II”.
6. “DAKAR II” was released in what is considered the peak of South African hip-hop (the mid-2010s). Sonically, South African hip-hop had shifted gears, incorporating dance music through house samples and kwaito interpolation.