The late Mapaputsi will go down as one of Kwaito’s top-tier lyricists. His Hip-Hop sensibilities carried him through his career which spanned about a decade and four albums.
Even though his debut album ‘Izinja’ was produced by Ghetto Ruff in-house producer KB, for most of his career Mapaputsi worked closely with producer D-Rex, one of Kwaito’s most progressive producers who borrowed from EDM, Hip-Hop, and Dancehall.
Take a trip down memory lane and celebrate Mapaputsi’s legacy in 10 songs.
‘Izinja’ (2002)
Album: ‘Izinja’
Producer: KB
Mapaputsi’s breakout hit, the title track from his debut album, released under Ghetto Ruff, is the song most people will remember him by and it’s not hard to understand why.
‘Kleva’ (2003)
Album: ‘Kleva’
Producer: D-Rex
With his second major hit, Mapaputsi and his producer D-Rex proved their undeniable chemistry.
‘My Love’ (2002)
Album: ‘Izinja’
Producer: D-Rex
The second single from Mapaputsi’s debut album displayed his range; from a raw street banger to a smooth love song with an R&B hook that was still carried by a pulverising bassline.
‘Kufa Remix’ (ft. Bravo, Mandoza, Zola) (2003)
Album: ‘Kleva’
Producer: D-Rex
A kwaito pose cut about the inevitability of death, ‘Kufa’ was a showcase by some of kwaito’s best lyricists all from eZola.
‘Kas’lam’ (2003)
Album: ‘Kleva’
Producer: D-Rex
Over another one of D-Rex’s finest beats, Mapaputsi showed love to his kasi and shared some crucial street lessons.
‘Manga Manga Business’ (2004)
Album: ‘Still Barking’
Producer: D-Rex
On the second track of his third album ‘Last Man Standing’, the kwaito star sent yet another warning to liars who were running their mouths and moving reckless. The over-the-top rhyming was a nod to his Hip-Hop background.
‘Woza Friday’ (2004)
Album: ‘Last Man Standing’
Producer: D-Rex
D-Rex looped The Whispers’s ‘And The Beat Goes On’ for Mapaputsi to summon Friday in this jovial song that rocked many parties in the mid-2000s.
‘Nangu uMapaputsi’ (2009)
Album: ‘Still Barking’
Producer: D-Rex
From his fourth album ‘Still Barking’, Mapaputsi and D-Rex took inspiration from Dancehall to create a grown-man banger that marked the end of Mapaputsi’s impressive run.
One of the most underappreciated projects from the Kwaito legend, ‘Still Barking’ saw Mapaputsi tap into new sounds and feature new voices. It was just not the time for Kwaito anymore as people had been captured by House and Hip-Hop.
’26/26’ (2002)
Album: ‘Izinja’
Producer: D-Rex
A deep cut from his debut album that saw Mapaputsi and an uncredited Brown Dash (and possibly DJ Sbu) send warnings to a bad debtor over an instrumental that fused jazz, EDM and kwaito seamlessly.
Mshoza (ft Mapaputsi) - ‘Phokomane’
Album: ‘The Return’ (by Mshoza)
Producer: Unknown
Mshoza and Mapaputsi’s forgotten collaboration ‘Phokomane’ is a light-hearted song where the two take turns to reminisce about their childhood sweethearts and go back and forth on the hook.
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