The 18th edition of Back To The City, now dubbed the Moria of SA Hip Hop, had us all dressing up in our best Hip-Hop uniforms and catching our buses to attend the festival so we could hop to the beat.
In no particular order, here are some of the highlights that got us hopping all night:
Nasty C
The highlight of the evening was easily Nasty C. His energetic performance connected with the crowd and the boy got a catalogue for mad days.
Tyson Sybateli
Tyson and Okmalumkoolkat went on early but they really added the battery to the party. Tyson stood word for word for every line.
Okmalumkoolkat
Malum reminded us why he’s the father of all styles as he got into the classics like ‘Free 100k Macassete’ and ‘Amamalobolo’.
Benny The Butcher
Benny The Butcher gave us ‘Johnny P's Caddy’, Stogie T jumped on to do their collab joint ‘Animals’. What stood out is that Nasty C never performed ‘Prosper In Peace’ during his set. Understandably, Benny came a few acts after Nasty so it wouldn’t have made sense after the mess Nasty made. One special thing was Kane Keid jumping on stage with Benny to do his verse, which is currently trending on social media. “This is a mother fucking young legend right here,” Benny The Butcher said about the South African rapper.
Zubz
I was looking forward to seeing Pitch Black Afro, but it seemed he didn’t perform as planned. But seeing Sphiwe from H20 on stage during Zubz’s set was just as fulfilling. He joined Zubz to perform the posse cut ‘Heavy 8’. It was great seeing Golden Shovel from Optical Illusion, who’s also featured on ‘Heavy’, glimmering. ‘Heavy 8’, a song from Zubz’s debut album ‘Listener’s Digest’, also featured Stogie T, Mawe2, ProVerb, Kaydo, Mawe2 and Menzi (H2O) who were all absent. At least, I never saw them.
The hosts: Landrose and Nomfudno Yekani
Shoutout to the hosts of the show Landrose and Nomfundo Yekani.
Maglera Doe Boy Hennessy Moment
Maglera Doe Boy’s Hennessy Moment was special. They turned the trap into an orchestra show as he spat some of his most loved bars with a live band. Tracks like ‘Let Me Cook’ and ‘Gwan’ were given a band treatment that made them more harmonious and melodic. He also brought out Ziggy 4X from Cape Town, someone y'all need to lookout for. The boy is mean and Maglera just knows how to seamlessly connect with Afrikaaps making a beautiful street duet. Shoutouts to Hennessy for the set design.
Durban Hip-Hop unity backstage
This one is less an onstage thing but more backstage. With the current success of the Qwellers, Tony Dayimane, Blxckie and Usimamane, it really felt good seeing Big Zulu, Zakwe and Zuluboy backstage taking in the moment. It dawned on me that Durban is probably running Hip-Hop. Minus the beef between Duncan and Big Zulu, Durban will keep soaring because they are united for the culture.
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