D-Black Featuring MI Abaga – Champ (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Ghana’s D-Black and MI Abaga were invited to South Africa by SA Tourism a few months ago to help promote the nation in West Africa. While on the trip the two took the time of out of there schedule to shoot a video for their song Champ. Directed by Nick Campos the video is far from a complicated affair featuring the two rapper reciting their verses in front of a garage filed with two luxury super cars while taking occasional break to recite the verses inside the car.
A-Reece – Zimbali (Official Video)
Words By Phil Chard
Since signing with Ambitiouz Entertainment the style and persona of A-Reece has evolved from being a young lyrical backpacker to a verbally dexterous trap artist. Though it may have confused and put off some of his early fans, the evolution seems to be working.
Just a week after releasing his new album Paradise, The South African has dropped a video for his latest single Zimbali.
In a video (which seems to be produced by the newly minted Ambitiouz Visuals) we see the young rapper living out the dreams of classic rags to riches story, which include but are but are not limited to inviting woken in high heels onto the golf course. Dress code for who?
Lil Kesh – Ishe (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Fresh off starting his own label, Y.A.G.I Records, Nigerian artist Lil Kesh just dropped the video for Ishe. The song is heartfelt yet up-tempo song about all the sacrifices Kesh’s mother made for him and the role she played in his success. This is beautiful song, I even got little misty eyed.
The video was directed by Squareball Studio’s Adasa Cockey
R2Bees – Talk Talk (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Padae's upcoming solo mixtape Victory Through Harmony is set to drop in 2 days on Friday 30th September. In the build up to the release of the project Padae has linked up with the other half of R2Bees , Mugeez on a new the trippy song Talk Talk. Shot in London the video beautiful shots of of the city's skyline such as 30 St. Mary Axe as the two rappers speak on their indulgent lifestyles.
Olamide – Owo Blow (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Nigerian rapper and Best Hip Hop nominee at the 2016 MAMAs, Olamide just dropped a video for his song Owo Blow. In the video directed by Clarence Peters the YBNL head recruits a number of dancers who all share camera duty in various capacities as Olamide drops his bars in his signature voice and dialect. The effects,set design and costumes in the video are all very reminiscent of the flashy Hip Hop videos of the 2000s.
AHHB R&D | Producing Your Own Music Video Part 4
by TNGlive
In part 4 we’re looking at the various formats you’ll want delivery of, from your editor, for your music video product to be ready for distribution.
You can revisit the preproduction stage here, recap your responsibilities during production here, and review what we discussed in part 3 in regards to useful things to know in your capacity as producer during the post production stage, in order to make sure you’re getting the best value for your investment.
So, now your colourist has returned the file to your editor, and the cut is ready to be delivered to you. Let’s look at a checklist of the formats you’ll have to make sure you’ve secured, or at least be aware of. You might already know your way enough around your edit suite of choice, and you’re confident you’ll be able to open the file and churn out whichever format you need,our checklist will help you stay organized.
This checklist consists of different typical exhibition platforms you may want your audience to go to, in order to view your music video.
Youtube: The young generation’s current first preference for streaming music.
Delivery Specifications
Preferred Video codec : H.264. Recommended Video Bitrate (for 24, 25, 30 frames per second): minimum 1 Mbps for 360p, maximum 35-45 Mbps for 4K. Recommended Audio Codec : MPEG Layer 2 or Dolby AC-3. Recommended Audio Bitrate: 128kbps for mono. 384kbps for stereo. 512kbps for 5.1
Where to deliver?
Through the upload button on your Youtube page when signed in.
iTunes logoiTunes/Apple Music: An underrated platform for monetising your music videos. Remember banking the cents makes sense?
Delivery Specifications: It's important to note that all music videos must begin and end with at least one black frame.
Recommended Video Codec : Pro Res 422 HQ. Expected Video bit rate is approximately 220 Mbps. Frame rate: 24 or 25 progressive frames per second. Resolution: 1920 x1080. The HD file can be delivered matted (letterboxed), or could be delivered full frame with metadata encoded to specify the crop rectangle. The audio must be 5.1 (if available), 16-bit or 24 bit, at least 48kHz. Alternatively it must be MPEG-1 Layer 2 Stereo, 384kbps, 48 Khz, included in the same file as the delivered video.
A Music Video Screen Capture Image is required. This can be an unconstrained JPEG (.jpg), or PNG (.png), RGB Screen standard (CMYK print standard images will not be accepted). Minimum dimensions, 640 x 100.
Where to deliver? Click here for the list of content partners that can get your music video onto iTunes/Apple Music.
MTV Base: TV still matters a great deal in Africa when it comes to increasing brand value.
Delivery Specifications: Format: (SD/HD) .mov. 25 frames per second. Acceptable Codecs: Apple Pro Res 422 HQ, XDCAM HD422 1080i 50 (50mb/s), XDCAM HD720 p25 (50mb/s), MPEG IMX 625/50 (50mb/s), DV PAL, HDV 1080i50, HDV 720p25, DVCPRO 50 PAL. Audio: Stereo
Where to deliver? Contact details here
Channel O: Again, TV still matters a great deal.
Delivery Specifications: 25 frames per second. Acceptable Codecs: Apple Pro Res 422 HQ (120mbps), XDCAM HD422 (50mbps), H.264 (10mbps), Resolution: 1920x1080. Audio: For Pro Res and XDCAM it should be 24bit at 48kHz. For H.264, it should be 16 bit at 44.1 kHz.
Where to deliver? Contact details here. Note that currently their first requirement is for you to email them a Youtube link to your music video.
Trace TV: More TV exposure with more targeted audiences.
Delivery Specifications: Format: .mp4 or .MOV. Resolution: 1920x1080. Acceptable Codec: XDCAM HD422 50 Mb/s. Audio: 24bit, at 48kHz.
Where to deliver? Contact details here. Take extra note of the differentiated contacts specific to each region and language.
J-Lotto – Pesos (Official Music Video)
by Phil Chard
J-Lotto is a Zimbabwean born rapper who relocated to the USA while he was still a child. Now splitting his time between Boston and LA the young rapper has been steadily releasing a few songs in his pursuit of fame. I have been following his career since the beginning of the year, but the first song from him to really catch my attention and get my head bopping is his new song for Pesos. The bass heavy song has a slow and melodical instrumental that features piano key samples that play top the bass line perfectly.
The song itself , as the title suggest is another "I hustle harder than you" anthem as J-Lotto relates his story as a ZImbabwean expat and he has managed to come up with help from nobody.
LayLizzy Featuring AKA – Hello (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Mozambican breakout artist Laylizzy has just released his video for the popular trap anthem Hello featuring South Africa's AKA. The video for the motivational joint features lavish scenes of a dapper dressed LayLizzy and AKA rolling around in Maybachs and conducting deals in opulent homes while being served by severely underdressed assistants.
The emergence of Laylizzy on the South African and African Hip Hop scene has been an impressive and steady progression that was spearheaded by the success of his 2015 release Tha Crew. It also certainly helps that he has been able to align himself with AKA. Outside of Hello, Laylizzy was given the opportunity to perform at the first Supa Mega Show in Zone 6 as well as with AKA in Maputo at the Hip Hop Experience event.
[button url=https://t.co/e1bScRLyKQ target=blank icon=cart]Purchase Hello[/button]
AKA & Patoranking -Special Fi Mi (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
In what I think is a first for Coke Studio South Africa, Vth season have just released a stand alone video to the AKA and Patoranking collaboration Special Fi Mi.
It looks like the label of the Supa Mega managed to also get the beverage company to subsidise the bill for the video as their branding is all over the festive visual.
Corporate product placement aside, the video is reminiscent of Dancehall videos, featuring a cramped and energetic party vibe accentuated by coloured lighting, bright (and skimpy) clothing and intimate dance scenes.
Special Fi Mi could prove to be another continental hit for both artists and the fact that the release of this song and now video was handled this way is testament to the power and leverage held by AKA and the Vth Season machine behind him. If this song proves to be a success I wonder if Coke will start looking to releasing more of the songs produced on their show in this manner.
M.anifest – Cupid’s Crooked Bow Feat. Nomisupasta (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Two days after dropping his highly anticipated new album, Nowhere Cool, M.anifest releases the video for Cupid’s Crooked Bow featuring South African vocalist Nomisupasta.
The song which speaks on the imperfect nature of “perfect” love and the difficulties that come with dating an African rapper as Mani relates tales of crazy tour bus antics, random nudes and guilt trips.
The video was directed by Muti films who meld images captured in Accra Ghana and studio visuals of Nomisupasta as she recites the song’s chorus.
You can listen to my interview with M.anifest about Nowhere Cool below.
Falz – Chardonnay Music (Official Video) Featuring Chyn, Poe
by Phil Chard
Falz aka FalzTheBhadGuy has just released the 7th video off his breakout sophomore album Stories That Touch. The aptly titled song Chardonnay features a slow Jazz lounge instrumental that allows Falz, Poe and Chyn to wax lyrical about women, the Lagos hustle and sophisticated life that they all aspire to. The video also features a nice cameo from Nigerian actress and TV host Dorcas Fapson.
Hennessy Cypher Featuring Ill Bliss, Jesse Jagz, Holy Field, Yoye, Slash, Steeky
by Phil Chard
Hennessey has been releasing a number of cyphers with Nigerian MCs over the last few weeks. However their latest edition with Ill Bliss, Jesse Jagz, Holy Field, Yoye, Slash and Steeky is by fat their best release yet. Holy Field, Slash dropped some incredible verses, up until Jesse Jagz took the mic and Mr. Abaga mutilated the mic like the lyrical savage that he is.
You can view the earlier iterations of the cyphers below,
pH – Treats Featuring Proverb & Kabomo (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Not only is pH a dope producer and burgeoning performing artist, but he is also a pretty amazing brother it seems. The South African artist just dropped the video for the third single off his debut album From Giyani With Love. The vid for Treats that features Kabomo and Proverb and also doubles has a home video that catalogs pH surprising his sister on her birthday with a live performance of her favourite song off the the album.
WItness The Funk – Sbusiso Featuring DJ Tira (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Posting about WTF since the news of a rape allegation against all three members surfaced has been a hard decision to make. Not because I have made a judgement on whether or not they are guilty but simply because the story broke and dominated social media only to disappear into the ether a few days later. No follow ups, no comments, just silence. Since the trio are still releasing music it's fair to assume that the case is either ongoing or has been dropped. But surprisingly no statements have been released by the group or the alleged victim's lawyer since the story first broke in April. While I gather the information on the case it would be unfair to punish the artists for a crime they have not been charged with as yet, especially in a case we know so little about.
That being said the GQOM / Hip Hop trio linked up with fellow Durbanite, DJ Tira on their Blesser anthem Sbusiso. As you'd expect with such a title the video features luxury cars and women that the likes of me will only ever witness digitally. Just to add an additional level of baller the visuals also features a Yacht..
Yung6ix Wants You To Put Some Respek On His Name
by Phil Chard
Despite his young career (no pun), Yung6ix has also found himself to be a lightning rod and regular topic of discussion on social media . From a number of ill advised tweets to a recent spat with Cynthia Morgan over a song she claims was leaked was leaked by 6ix and his team. The rapper has vehemently denied those claims and was left perplexed when Cynthia chose to air the issue of social media instead of contacting him directly. In that exchange a number of blogs misquoted him and kicked up another firestorm altogether.
Women and men are not the same, women need to respect themselves more than men
— KING6IX (@Yung6ix) April 28, 2016
You have my email and all my numbers, you couldn't contact me but go jump into conclusions like an athlete and insult me on social media smh
— KING6IX (@Yung6ix) July 14, 2016
Coupled with all this, there have been number of stories about Yung6ix close calls with death and his rumored record deal with Kash Kamp / Trick Billionaire MusiQ. Yung6ix addresses these issues and many more in his new song Respek On My Name featuring DJ Timmy where he basically declares that he is fed up.
You can also stream Yung6ix last release The Man Below
#SubmissionSunday | Charlie Macc – Easy
by Phil Chard
South African rapper Charlie Macc just sent hi single release,audio and visual titled EASY. The song and video provide insights into the life of a young black man in Soweto hustling to achieve their dreams.
Lwandile Radebe ( born 24 february 1986) better known by his stage name Charlie Macc is a South african rapper, songwriter and dancer from Diepkloof,Soweto. He's a former member of the alternative Hip Hop duo Spaza Boyz, which rose to fame in 2012. Its not easy to separate Charlie Macc from recent trailblazers because of his capability of grabbing the audiences attention, not only through his music, but from his electrifying personality. He first received recognition in 2015, following the release of his debut single Kumnandi uk'phila. he recently dropped his 2nd single Easy with a video to go with.
#SubmissionSunday | Ko-Jo Cue – N.A.A (No Azontos Allowed)
by Phil Chard
Ko-Jo Cue is tired of being misunderstood, ignored under appreciated. On his new Trino produced song titled No Azontos Allowed, Young Daddy Lumba takes aim at fake friends, struggle rappers and those that don't recognise his talent..
Watch Anatii’s Video For Hours
by Phil Chard
Fresh from his trip to the USA where he was finishing up his highly anticipated debut album Anatii has dropped his new video for Hours. The video for the R&B-Pop fusion song was directed by BLK Angelz Film and features beautiful tropical scenery as Anatii pursues the stunning leading lady through the shrubbery.
It looks like Hours will be the last single release before we finally get his album. According to recent tweets the album will be titled Artifact and the title The Electronic Bushman has been scrapped. Considering that we've been waiting years for that effort the name change could signify the evolution of Anatii’s music.
Dearly beloved I hope you're ready #ARTIIFACT SOON COME! ⚡️⚡️⚡️
— ANATII (@ANATII) August 18, 2016
Anatii also announced that the will embarking on a nationwide tour when the album drops with none other than Omarion himself. We look forward to seeing how this a unfolds and stop pulling a Frank Ocean and just give us the album man.
To celebrate the release of #ARTIIFACT I'm bringing my brother @1Omarion out to SA for the #ARTIIFACTTour! It's about to be a wave!
— ANATII (@ANATII) August 18, 2016
Friday Night – Magenge (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Out of Johannesburg, South Africa we have the genesis of a new rap duo dubbed Friday Night. Consisting of SkyCityUno and Yung Tyran the duo say they
““seek to rejuvenate the Hip Hop industry on all fronts. Well written songs, infectious production and a fresh perspective on Africa form the foundation of the duo’s musical ideology.””
The groups debut release Magenge which was produced by Canada-based Zimbabwean producer Charlie Zimbo just dropped with its video. Shot by C.I Jizzle and Orlando Da Costa it makes clever use of simple yet entertaining snots that fit the motif of the band perfectly.
According to Sky City and Tyran “Friday Night is a metaphor for the anticipation and excitement the group generates with every release, performance and project, it’s always something to look forward to.” The groups debut Mixtape which shall be titled Friday ( that won’t get confusing) is apparently completed and is scheduled for a winter release. I am not sure which winter they are referring to because temperatures are rising awfully fast in this part of the world.
#SubmissionSunday | Caleb Kalz – Rocket (Official Video)
by Phil Chard
Caleb Kalz, who we have featured before just dropped the video to his 80s video inspired song Rocket. The video which was mainly shot on a rooftop features Caleb and his ARTTGang compadres lapping up the views and tempting fate as he literally performs on the edge