"BHOO" THE CATCHIEST SONG THUS FAR

Save your smack for someone who might actually listen to it. Schingy is probably one of the most original rappers we have in this industry.

"BHOO" a song done by Schingy who recently celebrated his birthday was released a couple of days ago. We got it late and we also have it on repeat. The song is very catchy, very very catchy! we like the simplicity of the beat (produced  Success and Team Rehab President Xndr) by  and his delivery. Some critics have critised him for his seemingly "shallow" content. Its the same guys who probably will only like Hip Hop with people who pronounce their english words with an uptown twang and maybe think hip hop which talks about Politics and socio economic issues is the only one thats real. However, we have come to embrace his style (If you can accept 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne then you will understand). He is the only one with the heart to shoot videos in Egypt, in grave yards and maybe thats why he has one of the biggest followings in Zim, Nigeria and thats only with a couple of tracks.If you think we are lying, have a listen to his song "Bho" on

https://www.hulkshare.com/shingiraimaunganidze/schingy-bho-0774044648

MMT SILENCES CRITICS.... YET AGAIN

Watch this before you get to read the following article


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9AFAxRaZDQ

We just wonder if McPorter will still keep tweeting that joke about curtains (pretty funny but now over done fellow blogger). We wonder if the people who were on the fore front of  rubbishing the Trio on their inability to make a dope video will swallow their pride and accept that the boys did well. Its been a decade probably since the "Come To Party" video by Major Playaz and for the first time, we have seen a better video than that. The boys did it without a Hot air balloon. Nice. The angles, graphics and lighting, we like very much, even though Tatea is still the only predominant yella' bone in the video. We bumped into Tatea a day or so ago and asked him why they chose to do the video even though the song had been released a while ago, he told us that "Zvidhori" of all their songs had the widest reach and that even though it was released way back, was still current. After watching the video, we just could not help but agree. On a Vevo account too, wow.. thats progress (things that have never been done by some of the big names in African Hip Hop). Andy Cutter showed why people have been making noise about him recently. Great stuff check out -->

http://thatmmtmusic.com/

@pushzw

ZIM HIP HOP PRODUCERS TEAM UP FOR MARUKAZ REMIX AND KILL IT

Anonzi Xndr teamed with SimbaTagz, FTR and Kritical to remix  MARUKAZ,. If you remember well, the original featured Marcques and MC Cut  a pretty dope jam with a beat boxing typa beat. The remix carries the same beat with edits here and there but what FTR and Simbatagz did to this one is nothing short of amazing (word to tehn). We are still just coming to terms with how good this track is, we shall decide later who killed who but just listen to the track here-->

http://www.reverbnation.com/rehabzw/song/21029489-anonzi-xndr-marukaz-remix-ft-ftr

THE UNFORTUNATE PROBLEM WITH ZIM HIP HOP BLOGGERS LIKE US

We are guilty of a lot of things, one of the biggest one is that we are suckers of the big names. That’s probably the biggest problem with us. It’s unfortunate that many of us fail to keep us with the current releases, sometimes, it’s really because the releases aren’t anything to talk about. Okay, that may be the problem, sometimes to legitimize our content, it’s about talking about something worth talking about ‘WHERE DID THE GOOD MUSIC GO??” 

That’s not to say they there is no good music out there, it’s there, but the question is, what type of A class are you, are the “barely made it to seventy five percent type” or are you the “A” plus type of artist who makes music that we can say “DAAAAMN !! That’s a dope track” to. We put up an email, and we diligently listen to the music that is sent in. Sometimes, some of the productions are embarrassing, the reason we then don’t talk about them is that if we said flowery words like “the banger from so and so” that would be a blatant lie. We don’t want to lie to our readers. We would rather keep quiet about it and scout for music that has been made by people who actually sound like they aren’t just in it as a spare time hobby. 

Yes, we are bloggers, if you had a hot jam last year and created a buzz, we will blog about you, WHY? Because last year, you worked hard enough to get people’s attention (and ours too) and you are something to talk about. The secret to it is, don’t just make music for the sake of pushing a rhyme on a beat, having metaphors and punch-lines that sound like something we ALL have heard before, be something worth talking about. 

 

So, not that to say we don’t make mistakes, we might make them here and there but we stand by what we feel. IF YOUR SONG ISNT BETTER THAN ANYTTHING THAT WE HAVE ALREADY HEARD BEFORE THERE IS A HIGH CHANCE IT MIGHT NOT BE TALKED ABOUT. Why we live by this is simply because we love progression not regression or stagnation.That, is OUR PROBLEM..DEAL WITH IT

Here are some tracks and projects which we like from recent releases

The Come Up:  Trk   à http://t.co/GjzReUPF64 

A very well crafted mixtape. Probably the best we have heard this year. Good work

New Era: Marques à http://t.co/f1oJzYwfjJ

The song has a very live feel to it. A very different side of Marcques. The type of song we would go to a show to sing to

KleanKatz: Illceey feat J Barz  à  http://t.co/51UVyg11eP

We are fans of Illceey, he has accomplished more than your top five Zim Rappers any  on given Sunday. He drops another single just for you.

MC Cut : Ndomupei à https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fhtwnzfynstzw%2Fndomupei-ft-tinashe-makura&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFMUv7nbug5j45aqQqsSPoBkKW4nA

A really heartfelt song that many people will be able to relate to. A story of love, coming of age and survival.

Flabbz Ashton with Vuyo Brown and Nashie : Praise him

 http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reverbnation.com%2Fjesuspositiveflabbz%2Fsong%2F20671016-praise-him-flabbz-feat-vuyo-brownhillz&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFamPRtJepnWoKDGAZX4u9NyLOFOQ

Life after MMT vs FEWKINGS (the first quarter of 2014)

Last year, was a fun year. By April last year, no one couldn’t have gone on Twitter or Facebook without the slight expectation of some juicy hip hop news, a new release, “shots fired” in one song or the other or a hash tag to a countdown to a new release of sorts. Bloggers found it hard to keep up as things happened so quickly that the face of Zim Hip Hop would change its expression in a matter of hours. People argued on line, beefs started, spoof videos were made, songs were released, people took sides, Few kings dropped an album which we all liked, a week later MMT dropped theirs which most say was better, the awards came, Few Kings ruled like the Kings they were and then… it just kind of died there.

This is not to say that Zim Hip Hop wasn’t based on any other two outfits but one couldn’t definitely talk about Zim Hip Hop without mentioning those two clicks, especially their “friendly competition”. A lot of artists made last year hot, Noblestylez, Trae Yung, Schingy, Marcques but somehow, this year just aint the same.

Bloggers are quiet, rappers are not releasing songs with as much oomph as the one they released last year. Let’s take a look at this year. The African Hip Hop Blogs project Pungwe Sessions Vol 1 had three dope songs released, “Phil Chiyangwa” with Junior Brown, “ live it up” with FTR and Abnorm and probably the dopest of the three with Simbatagz and Metaphysics which they only have for streaming (we can never forgive you for that). All of those songs made momentary noise, nothing so long lasting like Madrinks or Happy. Tehn Diamond dropped “Simudza Gumbo” and ah well, people say “it’s a dope track but…” then they find one reason or the other to say it kindly that it didn’t live up to its billing especially with the two great names on it. MMT dropped “Koovah”, yes it charted number one, on a local radio station but a good number of people discredited the song because it was another “drinking” song and well, drinking is sooo last year.

Our point is, this year, or at least the first quarter, in terms of Zim Hip Hop stamping its authority on the Zimbabwean map, has been a bit on the “nyeeh” side. This is why we titled this post as “Life after MMT vs Fewkings”. Their competition made the industry fun, the subliminal shots thrown by associates of both teams made us download, share and somehow that seemed to be the heartbeat of Zim Hip Hop for a bit. So does this lovely industry of ours thrive on BEEF, we wont say yes but we will not totally rubbish that notion. Because somehow without it, its just not the same.

HOWEVER…AS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER, WHO HAS MADE US PROUD

1.       Ilceey

This guy is on a level of his own, bars, mastering, his fan base, his exploits, his message. If you haven’t heard, IBVAPO or Tuscan Leather (remix) then you really don’t know Zim Hip Hop. http://t.co/oyqYw5XBbz

2.       GZE

“Rusambo” made noise for a minute, still nice sounding.http://t.co/oUmA1tLpoC

3.       Amard

 A new chick in the game, created a buzz on twitter with “ Lose my number”. We cant wait to hear more from her. https://t.co/wkT8vmpVVW

4.       Noble Stylez

A fresh release, “Maborn free”. The song is pregnant with punchlines, a good beat and equally awesome feature from the reigning queen of Hip Hop as Noble put it on national telly. http://t.co/JlEeEQbAYq

Not to say these are the only people who dropped, but these are some of the highlights this year. It cant be denied though that the feeling aint the same this year. (I mean Zim Dancehall already on another level… AGAIN). Zim Hip Hop, compared to last year, isn’t kicking it the way we would like it to. So rappers, producers, WE WANT MOREEEEEE… not just from the big guns, but the up coming ones too.

PUSH… is back

@pushzw

ROOKIE FEMCEE KILLS IT ON DEBUT SINGLE

Just when you thought that February is the month of love, here comes a girl going all out, guns blazing saying “you better lose my number…QUICK!” Could she be the next coolest thing in the Zim Hip Hop game, given her banger of a first track, it is kind of hard not to think so.

Of the new hip hop songs that have hit radio, this is one where we feel like the eight out of ten it got was worth it. We introduce to you Amard (Nonkululeko Dube). The Gweru born, Bulawayo raised and Harare based femcee teamed up with Crismson-Blu, (remember her, the girl who did the chorus for the award winning song H-town with Tatea Da MC, same girl who is the only female in The Maples, a group that was signed to Universal last year, yeah, her…take that haters!) to come up with a very anti douche-bag song called “Lose my number”.

What we found interesting was how the two never actually sat down together in the studio to write the song. We were informed by Amard (reverse version of the word DRAMA) that the verses and chorus were recorded at different times with the only guideline being the concept communicated between the artist over the phone, of which, the two hadn’t actually met or known each other before hand. (That’s whats called progress).

Going to the song itself, beautifully mastered, the instrumental a Rehab ENT production, Amard went hard on the vocals consistently keeping her “bitter” at the men tone throughout the two verses on the song. The chorus has no kind words for the unnamed man in question with the story behind it being of guys who treat their women wrong then after the break up, they come back to try and get the lady. It is to those men that the ladies are saying “lose my number”. The merger of the artists is top notch, the talent in Amard is evident, being a rookie rapper, her first offering is better than a good number of seasoned rappers songs.Crimson Blu shows us how versatile she can be on this song which shows a different side of her music which is usually soulful and soft, and we see why it was her group that won last years edition of “U Can Do It”. Amard is under the mentorship of award winning Hip Hop artist Dizzy Don and although we don’t know when the follow up is going to come, we will sure be waiting for it.  

Get this newcomer’s song on https://soundcloud.com/amardzw/lose-my-number-ft-crimson-blu

@pushzw

WHAT WAS HOT AND WHAT WAS NOT SO FAR THIS YEAR 2014

GZE: Zvakabhadara

This song!! When we first heard the ex Trinity rapper on a jam with Junior Brown “Vroom vroom Wayiziva” our eyebrows were raised as he did slick job at murdering the instrumental made by award winning  producer  Take Fizzo. When this song “Zvakabhadara” was released, all we could say was that, if there was a way to describe modern day hustler/ gangster music in Zimbabwe, this song would be the definition of just that. The beat is not loud, made by Mixmasters producers J Drizzy (former Rehab if we aren’t mistaken) and Shayzar. The two are good at what they do. The way GZE delivers is undeniably perfect. His chilled demeanour how he doesn’t seem  to struggle with words and how so relaxed and laid back he is could just make this song the best this year, thus far. The feel of the song makes you understand what’s going on in the head  the young Harare hustler, implementation of plans (no matter what) and the pay off. Whats funny though is that there is another dope jam from Mixmasters also called Zvakabhadara by Karma. Kinda makes us want to compare and contrast. Get what is probably the best hip hop song this year hereà http://www.reverbnation.com/c./poni/234983792

The AHHB & Rymez feat Jnr Brown: Phill Chiyangwa

“Pachinodonha ma blogger anoita over excited” Cant say that’s a lie. The African Hip Hop Blog in collaboration with producer Rymez and Jnr Brown gave us the first song off the Pungwe Sessions Vol .1. The song with the name of one of Zimbabwe’s  affluent Bussiness men  as a title, hit radio and like always, the all too familiar section of twitter was on and on about it. The song, is HEAVEY. Its what you would expect from Jnr Brown. He is unforgiving on the punchlines and metaphors. He nails his delivery with such impeccable finesse. We cant not say that the song slightly disappointed us somehow. It feels like listening to HWMiT (Hardest Working man in town) all over again. Could it be the similarity in content, somehow, the beat or the rhyme scheme, well, if you collect music like we do, check out track number 10 on Dutch Presents “Live Love Dance” and see what we mean.  Dope track though. The beat is simple and bumpy. Its that song that gives you the version of Jnr Brown from the hustling era. Eye brow raising lines which some make take as shots fired but what more interesting is what happened at the song release party at a local club, we aint goin to say much but "don’t ever sound like Jnr Brown, otherwise…" (moving along). Rymez did a good job on it. We are excited to find out what else is on Pungwe Sessions Vol. 1. Junior Brown akapenga…and haazi makuhwa, Get the song on à   http://www.africanhhb.com/2014/01/ahhb-rymez-feat-jnr-brown-phill-chiyangwa.html

MMT: KooVhaz

So we have another “lets get happy and drink till we are broke” song. The trio did another song for the weekend, another one we expect revellers to like… yaaaaawn, whats new right? sigh. Those were our initial thoughts until we listened to the jam again and again and again. This song isn’t a Turn Up song, more like, driving to a braai song. We realised that songs beat wasn’t made by Rehab Entertainment. After our research, the killer of a beat (you better listen to that beat, trust us we say) was made by DJ Lil and Cal 1 who are a German duo under Boomslang Entertainment. The song features Tinashe Makura. We realised that the initial public’s reaction was, was that the song was well, okay. Not a banger, but okay. Other critics said that the songs flaw was that they went too hard on it. The punchlines and wordplay from these guys never ceasing to amaze us. Though it might not be as WOW as Zvidhori. Party Yatanga or Chakaipa, there is this head nod one gets from the beat, it’s the type of song that you would expect Tyga to do a verse on. We must say, that there's a feel to this song that noone has been able to bring out in vernacular lines. This laid back, sorta nice to bump in a car while having a conversation with the fellas in where next to go. A must get, you should download it on à http://t.co/kqih4wvAmZ

Navy Seal: Elevated

Navy Seal is by far one of the sickest MC’s in Zimbabwe that is no doubt. Unfortunately, we can never deny that radio plays more Harare music than anything else (word to Noble Stylez who aptly brought that out). The song, “Elevated”, is one of the best we have heard from the Bulawayo rapper. His ability to do his own choruses and totally, effortlessly kill any song that he is on is impressive. We wont lie, if he got more airplay, you are likely to change what your playlist looks like. The song “elevated” was done on a Jae Mac Beat. It is another inspirational song that explains what it is like to be pushing hard in this really hard to break into music industry. The song exudes Bulawayo street knowledge and anyone in Kingsville would be proud of this one. The song, nicely mastered and he doesn’t fight with the beat, he goes on it and makes a song that is worth playing. This song was released mid 2013, the reason why we are putting it on this list is that is compartes with and is better than a whole lot of songs released this year . Visit Navy Seals New blogsite à http://navyelevated.blogspot.com/

TehnDiamond featuring Dadza D: Simudza Gumbo

So classically, like we all know the self proclaimed King of the North Operates, a lot of buzz about the song pre-release and on the day it was released. The song is pretty hard to get because you have to do oh so much on the internet  to get it. The first release off his debut album, TehnDiamond tells us to “Simudza Gumbo” (raise your leg/march/dance). Its not a dance song. It’s a very complicated song. Why? The title and the content do not add up at all unless you dig deeper. The song is very lyrical, deep and thought provoking. The wordplay is almost poetic. The beat was alright, and the execution of it still top notch. Tehn gave us good verses. However, nomatter how much radio plays it, its not as appealing as some of the stuff he has done in the past. Its almost a case of right flow, wrong beat. We (who also are zim dancehall lovers don’t hear the Dadza D’ness of Dadza D). It may be because of the precedence they set last year as Few Kings that made us expect something else as a first single but Simudza Gumbo wasn’t it. Its nice jam, we love the lyrics, the mastering but that’s all. Hear it onà https://soundcloud.com/tehndiamond/simudza-gumbo

 The AHHB & Rymez featuring FTR & AbNorm : Live it Up

Yes, they released two songs from the compilation this month. That’s the second song we heard from The AHHB Pungwe Sessions Vol. 1. AbNorm and dope beat maker FTR went on this one. What made this song stand out is that unlike most of the songs that have become characteristic of BANGERS in Zim Hip Hop, this particular song isn’t aggressive on the listener. It is really calm, the beat is deep, with a subtle bass and kicks that were properly plotted and not all over the place. This just shows the mastery of Rymez as a producer. Of all the releases from this year, it will be the one that we think will remain on playlists after everyone is tired of the heavy weight releases. The song itself, is self explanatory, “live it up” , typical, do what you gotta do and reward yourself. However, its another supposedly party jam. Don’t get us wrong, not a “turn up” but a “drinking” song. (Zim rappers love drinking evidently). FTR shows us that not only is he a good producer but he is a lyricist in his own right. The vocals are clear and AbNorm does his bit which was equally as entertaining. It is a favourite in the PUSH team and we hope to hear more from these guys. Get “Live it Up” right hereà http://www.africanhhb.com/2014/01/ahhb-rymez-featuring-f-t-r-abnorm-live-good.html

@pushzw