‘Boyzen Da Hood’, Ginger Trill and Touchline’s joint album, 'Boyzen Da Hood', wasn’t overthought. Two naturally gifted rappers found themselves in the studio doing what comes naturally comes to them. And, in less than four months, created a rap masterpiece that will be talked about for years to come.
Speaking at the album’s listening session last night, Touchline shared the stories behind some songs, which range from Ginger Trill writing his verses in record time to his effortless process and him (Touchline) jumping straight to the booth all sweaty from playing soccer. “He writes without a beat. He plays the beat once and [then writes]. You’d be talking to him and he’d be writing,” Touchline said about Ginger Trill, who he is a huge fan of.
The provenance of ‘Boyzen Da Hood’ was DJ Clen’s ‘TONY’S SCAR’, a fan-favourite from the Pretoria DJ’s album ‘V I R A L’. “That weekend was just a Touch-Trill weekend,” said Touchline. “That’s how I got to chill with this guy like, ‘You’re actually a cool guy.’ And we made more music from then onwards. But it was started by DJ Clen. We didn’t know that we needed to make more music together.”
The first single Ginger Trill and Touchline released after ‘TONY’S SCAR’ was ‘Amen’ featuring vocalist Mandy ZA, released in July. “It was the realest thing to come out of me,” Ginger Trill said about the song, “I hadn’t been making music until I collaborated with Touch. I wasn’t at the best place in my life at the time and the things that came out of me… when I heard it back, I was like, something else might have been in the room.”
“Rap music sure, but be relatable”
‘Boyzen Da Hood’ is laced with slick wordplay and impressive rhyme schemes — a technically proficient rap project. Thematically, it has light-hearted moments, it can be playful and the two rappers also dig deep into their souls for some moments of honesty and vulnerability. Kwesta joined them for a lyrical flex on ‘Movie Again’ where Ginger Trill surprised everyone with his Tswana raps. Jay Jody drops a smooth verse on ‘Superhero’ where he raps, “LL never take L’s Cool Jody.”
“It’s rap music sure, but be relatable,” Ginger Trill said, explaining the thinking behind the project. The idea was to reflect the various emotions one experiences in life. “Life is not ‘We Up’ all the time, sometimes it’s like ‘How Can I Be Sure’,” Touchline said.
“We got two love songs,” Ginger Trill said. “The first one[‘Superhero’ featuring Jay Jody and Mandy ZA] is about being in love, positivity in being in love. The other one is like how I can be sure?”
Boyzen Da Hood
The album’s title makes reference to the 1991 crime drama film, ‘Boyz n the Hood’ which you also see on the cover; both rappers sit on American cars (Cadillac and Chrysler) in a hood setting. The photo’s colour scheme is dry and a bit faded – something you can associate with the 90s. But, for Ginger Trill and Touchline, it’s about repping themselves and their hoods. The “Boyzen” is what makes the title South African.
In his solo song on the project ‘’MSG (Interlude), Ginger Trill uses skits from the actual film to tie in with the album’s title. In the first part of the song, he raps “Growing pains, cutting people off cause we growing apart/ cause they don’t know when to stop,” in a verse that he describes as “my message to the people out there listening. The second part of [the song], it gets a lil bit deeper. The skit is about relationships so I go into my emotions.” 
Touchline’s solo song, ‘I Miss Me Too’, is, in his words, the most Touchline song on the project from the title to the mood. Touchline explained that the song was so personal it felt uncomfortable even playing it in a room full of people. With lines like, “Why am I here? It’s so packed, ngabe ng’sal’ endlini/ Lezinto zokuba anxious, mina ang’zazi ziqale nini,” it’s easy to understand why.
‘Boyzen Da Hood’ closes with the emotional ‘Hennessy’, a cathartic song about grief built on a high-pitched sample and a sung hook by Touchline.
That’s ‘Boyzen Da Hood’ in a nutshell; nothing overthought, just an effortless rap masterpiece from two of the country’s best.
Stream ‘Boyzen Da Hood’ below:
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