The State of Hip Hop In Bloemfontein

by Contributor

We’ve just reached the halfway mark of the year, and Africa is still giving birth to Hip hop bangers that are definitely worth reaching your eardrums and eventually landing on your playlist. I’m here to bring you 2 bangers that were birthed in the city of Bloemfontein not so long ago. The city has been singing along to Badabing and To The Max ,and there’s no doubt that these jams are going be on repeat on your phone and systems for a while. First up, we have Castino (real name Katleho Smaye ) who dropped the ASID produced Badabing

Castino has to be one of the most energetic and vibrant rappers to hit the Bloem Hip hop scene, and I’m sure those that have watched him perform can also testify on this. Castino the Hero describes himself as an Author (his first EP was entitled The Author EP) and the “King of Gomora Rap”: A style of rap that has Bloemfontein lingo and slang. It’s difficult to question he’s talent when it comes to spitting well-crafted rhyme patterns and having the ability to tell different stories through his verses, plus most people would agree that he’s lyrically gifted. With catchy lyrics like

“When I go – Oh my god, Badabing, you go – Santse Re Phela”.It promises to be an earworm.

Moving on, the second rapper I’ll talk about is K.Set (real name Khumo Sethoba) who recently dropped To The Max . He’s popularly known as the “King before the Crown” and he’s also another exciting rapper who never disappoints in the studio or on the stage. One of my favourite bars on this jam has to be “When I kill ‘em don’t tell ‘em it’s me , huh eh, stop snitching//You are now rocking with some kings, only crowns missing”.

K.Set is rapper who says he was inspired by TKZee and J.Cole would be another source of his inspiration. His latest EP titled Girls. Dream. Fun. The City – EP was dropped at the end of last year. He has proven himself to be not just a skilled rapper, but also a hard worker and one of the unique attributes that he possesses is his flow.

These 2 rappers have become regular features on a number of local radio airwaves (frequently featuring on CUTFM's #CUTLocalTop20 charts), and both share an immense amount of lyrical calibre .They always set the bar high when it comes to delivering good music and dope bars, and the city of Bloem is proud to see the success rate of these 2 rappers increasing each year. Castino and K.Set have promised more good music before the year comes to an end. Coincidentally the two have collaborated before on Grown man Steez and MayDay, which both impressed me.

@KSetOfficial @CastinoTheHero

This article was written by @2tukani