Let me start by saying I’m tired of complaining about tired rap shows and by no means do I intend to make it a habit to keep reporting on them. It’s just there’s just no way of telling how these things will go if you’re not a sangoma “obhula amathambho” because if i did have such powers, I’d avoid these shows like a cancer. A classic example is in order. The Sprite Rap Activity Jam event at Primi’s in Rosebank’s The Zone last night. Now for all you young’ns who’ve never heard of Rap Activity Jam, in its heydays that was a YFM show cats like Amu, Selwyn and Skwatta Kamp first did thier thang before the record deals and as you will agree with me, before the sound got diluted. The line up was too extensive for me to even remember but as has become the norm at these things with too many acts, it was chaotic. Sounded like karaoke night at some ‘fontein dorpie bar where darkies are (still) not allowed. Maybe it’s because I got there half way through the show but thinking about it now, it’s still beyond me what the hell some of the MC’s were made to rhyme over house beats was all about. Oskido (who left before the show was over) and Rudeboy Paul hosted the whole circus alongside Lee who should’ve just been left to the whole thing herself. A note to the sponsors: just because you have the money to hire a venue and invite a couple of attention-starved rappers to come and make a fool out of themself doesn’t give you the right to host a rap show. To make it worse, I spotted a certain kwaito star in the crowd who just had this look on his face that said “look at these monkeys with funny accents jumping around the stage shouting sweet nothing”. And if he was just there to stroke his ego and remind himself how disorganized Hip Hop in S.A. still is, then he was not disappointed. Morale of the story: Stop killing the culture that we love so much. And lastly, open mics are so 90’s. Let’s get paid.
