An In-Depth Listen Into The Life And Work Of @TumiMolekane Can Be Heard On #BehindTheCatalogue ‘The Last OG’ Podcast

South Africa’s newest podcast production is a 4-part docu-series produced by journalist Sabelo Mkhabela in collaboration with fellow writer/journalist Tseliso Monaheng and narrated by electronic soul artist, Amarafleur.

There are very few, if any, South African hip-hop artists with a catalogue and journey as rich and extensive as Stogie T’s. The rap OG is ageing gracefully as he continues to rap circles around fellow greats approximately 20 years into his career.

The Last OG, the first season of Behind The Catalogue, traces Stogie T’s trajectory by zooming in on key albums in his different phases as he constantly reinvents himself; from his stint as a member of Tumi and The Volume in the early 2000s, to his solo career and his eventual rebrand to Stogie T in the mid-2010s.

Behind the Catalogue: The Last OG, arrives in the South African podcast landscape as a docuseries focusing on one artist’s discography per season. The first season is created by Sabelo Mkhabela who has covered Stogie T’s music for various publications including African Hip Hop Blog, Mail & Guardian, OkayAfrica and New Frame since 2015. Writer and journalist, Tseliso Monahang collaborates with Mkhabela to produce a premium audio experience for the listener with electronic soul artist Amarafleur on the narration.

The Last OG is a result of a series of interviews between Stogie T and Sabelo carried out in 2019.

Behind the Catalogue: The Last OG episode synopses

Episode 1: A Dream Led To This

Named after Tumi’s first-ever EP released in 2002, this episode is an oral history of how Tumi got into rap and became a regular at Le Club, a club in downtown Joburg that played a role in shaping the city’s hip-hop scene in the early 2000s. In the episode, Tumi also talks about growing up in exile and how being an avid reader shaped the emcee he would later become.

Episode 2: The Poet MC

Tumi was as much of a poet as he was an emcee. Calling himself The Poet MC to embrace both disciplines, he released his first solo album, Music From My Good Eye in 2006 after feeling overlooked as a rapper in the SA hip-hop scene. Two more albums, Whole Worlds (2010) and Return of the King (2015), followed. In this episode, we explore the significance of each of these albums and how they tell a story that culminated in Tumi’s rebrand as Stogie T.

Episode 3: Dashikis and Jordans

It’s through the band Tumi and The Volume that Tumi got his first real break. A band that was born out of jamming and improvisation, Tumi And The Volume released their seminal album Live at the Bassline in 2002 which was followed by two studio albums, 2016’s self-titled album and Pick a Dream released in 2010. The latter, the band’s most refined album in their catalogue, is the focus of this episode.

Episode 4: Gutter to Butter

This episode takes us inside Tumi’s rebrand to Stogie T. It was a challenging process from both an artistic and personal perspective. But it extended the emcee’s lifespan and has led to some of his most innovative and popular records. Currently, Stogie T is the only rapper who performed at Le Club and can still move the crowd at Cotton Fest and Back To The City. This episode breaks down the science and philosophy of how a rap OG is able to relate to an ever-evolving genre.