Q&A: @ItsYangaChief Discusses His New Single ‘Benjamin’s’ Ft. @emteerecords and @_hennybelit043

Yanga Chief’s new single, ‘Benjamins’, was produced by Lunatik and features Emtee and emerging Xhosa trapper HennyBeLit. 

The concept is straightforward: Yanga and his collaborators are all about the Benjamins as the title gives away. 

Yanga Chief has been busy with your things outside of music. He was part of the team that created ‘16V Doctor Khumalo: Untold’, a documentary series about football legend Doctor Khumalo which aired on Mzansi Magic. 

Below, Yanga Chief chats to SlikourOnLife about his involvement in the doccie series, his latest single and his position in new age Xhosa rap. 

Tell us about your involvement in the 16V documentary?

Got an opportunity to tell another story. I’m blessed to actually enjoy telling peoples stories and I grabbed the chance with both hands. It took a lot of time away from my music but I’m comfortable knowing that I could never just practice one discipline. Music and film have always been married according to me and I’m honoured to be able to do it for a legend of sport. I’m looking forward to continuing in the film space as a storyteller.

You are seen as the godfather of new age Xhosa rap (you feature one of them on ‘Benjamins’). You inspired a whole generation. Influence goes both ways, what would you say you have learned from the kids yourself as someone who works closely with them? 

I’ve never seen myself as that. I don’t make music thinking about that. I always just speak as I would in person. It’s a bit of a box to be honest. I’m a musician. I sing and rap depending on what works for the song. I’m proud of the rappers that speak my language and come from where I’m from. I’ll always work with them if they have a special talent. That’s why I continue to feature them. What I’ve learned is it helps to have someone to look up to and I’m just tryna stay on top of my game so I can share the light with them. 

How did ‘Benjamins’ come about? 

I had the song and the hook for over a year and a half now. Didn’t know what to do with it until I came across some of Henny’s music. He sounded like he could give it some life and I wasn’t wrong. Lunatik made the beat so it felt like Emtee would understand the nuances, I added his verse and it all came together perfectly. 

What are you currently working on? 

A lot of things. I’m tryna live out all my dreams. Actively! So I’m multi-tasking different disciplines right now. It’s quite hectic but fun. 

Bob Mabena & Doctor Khumalo’s joint album ‘East Meets West’ recently made its way to streaming platforms. What’s your favourite song on there?

To be honest I haven’t heard it. I’ll have to ask Doctor what his favourite song is. That’ll be mine too lol.

Stream ‘Benjamin’s’ by Yanga Chief featuring Emtee and HennyBeLit below: