SPeeKa is the main producer of Sizwe Alakine’s new album ‘Audio 2D: Dear Darkie’ alongside the likes of 808x, infektist, Tweezy, Hopemasta and a few others.
Sizwe Alakine has said many times how the album’s direction was inspired by SPeeKa’s Sotra Cypher series.
In the Q&A below, SPeeKa shares the experience of working with Sizwe Alakine, what the moment means for him and Sotra Cyphers and a lot more.
You and Sizwe have a serious Hip-Hop background. Now, with both of you tapping into Amapiano, what conversations were you having while working on this project?
Most conversations centered around the spirit of collaboration, which, from my perspective, seems to be the main thing keeping Amapiano alive. The Yanos cats aren't afraid to make music together, whereas with Hip-Hop the features are either calculated or cats are afraid to get "murdered" on their own songs.
Reason is on your top 5 list. What was it like working with him in studio?
He has always been one of the few MCs that I genuinely felt are able to put together an album. I had been a fan since the early 2010s and had most of his discography in my CD collection. Being in studio with him was surreal. It was like a kid who's a football fan watching Messi or Ronaldo effortlessly make magic right before their eyes. I got to see with my own eyes that he is a naturally gifted songwriter and arranger who creates gems without breaking a sweat. Definitely a career highlight for me.
Sizwe says Sotra Cyphers inspired the album’s direction. You’ve been running this series for close to a decade. I can imagine running something of this kind can feel thankless. What does a great moment like this mean to you and Sotra Cyphers?
When I started Sotra Cyphers, I had sort of given up on the idea of trying to get production credits on artists that were considered "big names" or artists that I considered to be my heroes. I put most of my energy behind the series because it took nothing away from me and it kept my love for Hip-Hop and making beats alive. Having the series become the inspiration for one of my favourite MCs is something I definitely didn't see coming. It means the world to me. What's even better is that it has fuelled my love and enthusiasm for the series even more.
Sizwe found you already experimenting with the log drum in your beats. You’d already done ‘Amaqwa’ and ‘Yano’s Hun’. What led to that and how has the process been?
I had been trying to make Amapiano beats for years and I just wasn't cracking it. I assumed I'd be a natural at it considering how much I love Kwaito music. When I listened to Hip-Hop artists who would fuse Hip-Hop and Amapiano, I noticed that they always ended up leaning more towards Amapiano than Hip-Hop. The producers who blended the two well, were able to blend Amapiano with Trap. I challenged myself to do the same, but with Boom-Bap which is a hill I've been on through every phase of Hip-Hop's sonic evolution. Once I realised I could, it was a wrap. The first beat I made where I felt I successfully blended Boom-Bap with Amapiano was ‘Yanos Hun’ which is the first single from my album, ‘Organized Grime 2’. I played it for Sizwe and he loved it. He even gave me a tip on the song's arrangement. After that, every beat I made for him, we made sure to include an element of Amapiano, i.e. the log drum. I made the beat for ‘Amaqwa’ directly after ‘Where's Reason?’.
You also dropped a project early this year, ‘Organized Grime 2’. Can you tell us about that?
‘Organized Grime 2’ is the sequel to the first ‘Organized Grime’ that I dropped in January of 2017. In the first one, I worked solely with artists from Soweto. In the this one, I broadened my horizons and roped in some amazing talent from other places. So in addition to having my Soweto homies (Infektist, Fergason, Impakt, Mthizo, Ntombela, One Way, Earl Kay and JimmyWiz) and reached out to other spots such as Tembisa (Mickey-M and Firdy), Daveyton (Papa Koli), PTA (N'veigh, Ora Kola) and Katlehong (Sizwe Alakine)… Hymphatic Thabs, also prepping Lesotho. The project is an homage to the art forms that have kept me alive (Hip-Hop, Kwaito, film, etc.) and my family, more specifically my late pops, who appears on the album's artwork. The album is exclusively available on Bandcamp.
Stream Sizwe Alakine’s new album ‘Audio 2D: Dear Darkie’ below:
In the first episode of our limited interview series ‘The Milky Couch’, we get to know Qwellers member Blue Pappi. The artist talks about his new EP ‘...
Young Stunna pulled through to the green room and opened up about meeting Kabza De Small, why music is spiritual to him, working with K.O on ‘SETE’, w...
We sit down with Blxckie for an in-depth interview about his power moves, KZN Hip-Hop scene, Sprite partnership, fatherhood, relationship with A-Reece...
