Hey CRYPTKEEPER! We appreciate solid independent Hip Hop, especially from South Africa. Please tell me how long have you been rapping? What specific part of South Africa are you from? Do you remember where you were at exactly when you wrote your first track!!??
Unofficially I don’t know. Officially 11 years more or less, since 2006. I am from Kgabalatsane, North West province but I’m based between there also Pretoria (that’s Gauteng province). The 1st track I recorded was in my my room, learning to produce on ejay hiphop5 that’s maybe 2003 or something
Your style and rhyme scheme is super raw, smooth and really ORIGINAL? How important is it for your to stay ORIGINAL? I’m sure you hate it when fans say you sound like ???…LOL
I try to speak for me. Everything I pen speaks about what I am, what I’m going through, what I see others go through as well. My life (reality, hopes, the highs & lows) and the lives of those close to me.
Who I sound like?
I don’t know really, I’m too frantic and I always rather sacrifice a flow for bars and content maybe J.Cole, Fort Minor or Childish Gambino.
Tell us about your Hip Hop and/or music influences? South African influences?
Rhyme scheme are influenced by 2Pac, Cage, Cannibal Ox, Eminem, Nas and Joe Budden even JMT so I can’t exactly pin point a pattern of penmanship. All I know I’m a very selfish writer and for some reason speaking solely how I feel evokes something special.
Please breakdown the creative process of your album BETE NOIRE.
I designed the record to have little bit of everything, I’m a selfish artist and I kinda forget the fans sometimes. This time I wanted to cater to everyone.
The first step was to list what’s needed, a bit of a trap, party rap, pop, and some feel good songs. Then my stuff raw rap, battle music and some conscious music to complete the choice in content. Being Indie everything takes a long while before it sounds just right. So the whole process took about a year and a half with some songs being rejected and not making the final cut.
Rappers nowadays think by throwing up a few videos up on social media and pushing quick projects, they can blow up overnight! Give us your view on how over saturated the market is right now with so many MC’s/Producers but not to many quality music.
I am going to say be the bad guy and say older artists are to blame for the state of hiphop. The money made them sell their allegiance to a degree (to labels, endorsements, cooperations) so they don’t gate keep enough (and speak their minds) and thus lot of stupidity gets a platform.
As for Producers, there is never a shortage of good ones just a shortage of new ideas and lot of guys skate with expensive half beats and rob starving artists by bad leases. I’m not against producers getting paid but just because you sold a beat for a couple of semi famous artists doesn’t not suddenly give you the right to jack up your prices 10 fold (the same clients you are going ham on are the same people that kept you fed and allowed you to get noticed in 1st place).
Out the box type question, If it came down to 1 ALBUM only, what underground Hip Hop album would you consider THE BEST OF ALL TIME!!!???……One 1 album you can choose.
I can name drop a few albums but Blu & Exile – Below The Heavens has to be the best, on the basis of the honesty an hope laced on the record (Lord knows we all need a little bit of hope from time to time).
What does Indie Hip Hop mean to you?
Indie hiphop means making music from the heart, whether it be reality, fantasy, consciousness or whatever, it just has to completely represent the artist fully.
Where can people find you on the web? Drop all the vital links.
Twitter: @Cryptonite101
Facebook: @CryptkeeperZA
www.facebook.com/cryptkeeperza
IG: @CryptkeeperZA
www.cryptkeeperza.com
Lastly, and shout out?
Shout out to the Iron Clad INK Gnome$
@WonderNtene @Mahmud_Mkelo and my family I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you guys. God bless you! !
