You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
(Eminem “Lose Yourself”, 2002)
Cassper Nyovest made history and became the first South African rapper to feature on Sway in the Morning, that’s one more thing for his arc rival AKA to be upset about this week. Sway in the Morning is a radio show hosted by highly respected hip-hop journalist Sway Calloway and retired femcee Heather B. On the show, Cassper talked about his background – growing up in a home parented by two teachers and still managing to drop out of school, his achievements like filling up the 20,000 capacity Dome stadium and the influence Nigerian music is having on the continent and the rest of the world.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5_65aWSwTN4%3Fautoplay%3D1%26start%3D2383%26end%3D2639%26controls%3D1%26version%3D3
However, since the South African was being introduced to an audience for the first time and because this is primarily a hip-hop show, it’s customary for rappers to give a freestyle when they come on – it’s a rite of passage. Cassper came prepared, he claims to have been a fan of Sway for years, so he obviously did his homework. Over a beat, a visibly nervous Cassper delivered a written freestyle that lasted about two and a half minutes initially. He choked but got back on his feet and went acapella for about another half a minute. (Watch full interview here)
Notable Quotables
I’m trying to put us on the map and if you’re not clever /
You won’t get the fact that I’m hungry like Budapesta /…
I could give a f* if you’re a fan or not /
I improve so quick, I’m ashamed of my catalogue /…
You cats will never surpass me, my music’s in every crib in the hood like Vaseline
The “Doc Shebeleza” rapper stayed in pocket with the beat most of the time but bar for bar, the freestyle wasn’t actually that remarkable but it was solid. Which is a bit surprising because while Cassper’s style is more reliant on the clarity of his delivery and the vividness of his storytelling, he is a witty MC that leaves you with more than one or two clever lines to think about. Nevertheless, the hosts seemed to take a liking to the pony-tailed MC and were even more impressed by his resolve to keep on going after stumbling.
Contrast that with Ice Prince’s disappointing freestyle on the Breakfast Club more than a year ago.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ondh6bReQcY%3Fautoplay%3D1%26start%3D968%26end%3D1065%26controls%3D1%26version%3D3
Ice Prince went acapella but he too delivered a written verse lifted from his feature on M.I.’s “Millionaira Champagne”. Like Cassper, he too fluffed his lines and went again. But unlike Cassper, Ice’s freestyle was so short that it wasn’t his entire guest verse on the actual song. But that’s not the real problem – the Nigerian rapper was shockingly pedestrian, so much so that Charlamagne chastised him for not taking his opportunity in front of millions of viewers.
One thing about freestyles is that you have the right to decline which, if you don’t exercise, you leave the right to critique to everyone else. Kudos to Ice for not declining but if he was going to go with a pre-recorded verse, a punchline-heavy verse like the one on Bez’ “Super Sun”(Remix) seemed more suitable for the occasion than a bunch of floss raps delivered with as much enthusiasm as a child doing a Qu’ran recitation on NTA. Nah, I take that back, even they are more engaging.
But in Ice’s defense, the Breakfast Club has a different format to Sway’s show and rappers aren’t ALWAYS required to freestyle, so he might have come unprepared. Plus, he too was visibly nervous. (Watch full interview here)
I ain’t trying to prove a point that I can murder rap
(Ice Prince “Millionaira Champagne”, 2014)
In retrospect, perhaps this freestyle was the clearest indication from Ice Prince that he no longer wanted to be pigeonholed as an MC, funny I always thought he admired the art of freestyling –
Remember Freestyle, he could really freestyle /
I ain’t talking Blackberry but my brother meanwhile /
(Ice Prince “I Remember”, 2012)
Interestingly, Ice Prince’s career trajectory isn’t as upward-looking today as it was 18-24 months ago. Getting on shows as big as Sway in the Morning and the Breakfast Club is an achievement in itself but let’s not lose sight of the fact that several rappers who’ve sat on those same seats never got the chance to have a second interview, and today they’re nowhere to be found.
However, this piece isn’t about Ice Prince, it’s about celebrating Cassper Nyovest who is quite obviously neck and neck with AKA and Sarkodie as the leaders of African hip-hop in the global marketplace today. If he keeps turning his opportunities into gold, the rapper from Mahikeng, South Africa could find his run at the top much longer than some of those who came before him.