You probably know T. Rapz as the Presenter of Kas’lam TV. Yes, we’re used to him being in front of the camera interviewing some of your favourite stars and bringing you their success stories. However, T. Rapz has just stepped behind the mic to bring you this banger of a single titled ‘Everyday’.
T. Rapz has interviewed the likes of Nasty C, EmTee, Masego, Sjava, Boity, Tweezy, Shane Eagle, Zakes Bantwini, Amanda Black, HHP and a whole lot more. He has interviewed Entertainers, actors, musicians from rising/up-coming stars to your everyday Superstars. Sharing with them a platform to inspire the masses and tell their stories.
Now T. Rapz himself is ready to show us that he is also a Superstar in his own right. T. Rapz drops the single ‘Everyday’ as a dedication to all hard-working hustlers and dream chasers who get up and grind on a daily. He teams up with the talented producerDJ:Love Pro, who handled the fire production on the song. DJ Love himself is a veteran in his own right, he has ghost produced and engineered for some of your biggest stars and he’s now ready to come out the shadows.
Dannywired got to chat with the rising star and this is what he had to say
Where did the journey begin?
Damn! That’s a long story but I’ll try to shorten it a bit. I started rapping back in 2001, I was in grade 3, I think. We had a Sunday School day coming up in our church. Since both my brother and I were big fans of Rap music. He had this idea that we should do a rap song, we took a quote from a bible verse and turned it into our chorus. Then he wrote the rest of the song for us. I remember when we performed it at Church everyone just went crazy, from that day on I fell in love with the feeling of just expressing myself through rap… So, I’ve been rapping ever since.
In terms of how Kas’lam Magazine started, well me and my older brother (Bobo M) had just both finished college and we wanted to start something great. We were both just never about the “get a job” type of life and to tell you the truth we actually also struggled to get jobs lol. So, my brother had this thought that we should start something big and different, something we love and something that can bring a change. We noticed that there were no quality community magazines in the townships and they were also not doing enough to promote up-coming Artists / talents. That was when we decided to start a media company that will produce a high-quality magazine that will bridge the gap between well established Artists and the Up-coming ones. This was back in 2011, we gathered a few friends and started a company / team and we only had 100 bucks on our pockets and we used that 100 bucks to hold our first meeting at a Nandos in Tsakane mall lol. After a couple of years of putting in hard work, we printed our first issue of Kas’lam Magazine in 2013… The rest of the story has just been hard work, ups and down and consistency.
What drew you to the entertainment industry?
I’ve always been in love with the entertainment industry from a young age, I’ve always been inspired by how Artists & Performers have the ability to take the audience through a journey of incredible and inspiring story telling. I love how a song or a movie can take you from one emotion to something else and make you feel like you can be whatever you want to be at that point. I think that’s why we watch Superhero movies and that’s why we listen to the music that inspires us, so we ourselves can unleash the superhero within us. The irony of it all is that I’m also an academic and was always an A Student, so I doubt a lot of people would’ve predicted that I would end up in the Entertainment industry.
You have interviewed some of the biggest names in the country, who has been your favourite and why?
It’s an unexpected name, but I have to say Zakes Bantwini. Mainly because you always learn something from each interaction with Zakes Bantwini. Not only is he an inspiring figure, he’s also always willing to share some real applicable knowledge and wisdom that he has picked up from his journey. I also love the fact that he is always fighting for the South African entertainment industry to be given the value it deserves.
What are some of the challenges you have faced working with big names?
lol Well, you know some of these guys let the fame get to their head and they night show a bit if disrespect when you interact with them. However, fortunately for me I haven’t had too many of those experiences. Usually the interviews we (as Kas’lam Magazine) conduct with these Celebrities / famous personalities go smoothly and there’s mutual love and respect shown. But every now and then you do get those odd ones.
From behind the scenes to front the forefront of the music scenes, why the switch up?
I’ve actually always been a Rapper, I’ve been in love with music since birth and I’ve been rapping since primary school. In terms of why I chose now to officially come out and release music, I’ve always been waiting for the “right time” to make the switch with everything else that I do. However, with the pandemic putting a stop to so much in the world right now, it made me realise that they’ll never be the “right time” and I just have to get up and do everything I can while God has given me the precious time to be in this world.
Tell us about your last single Everyday?
Everyday is a get up and go track, it’s like motivation through music. I wrote the song when I was in a space where I felt a bit demotivated and felt like things where really not going my way. Instead of feeling sorry for myself I decided to pick up a pen and paper and remind myself of my potential as well as my abilities. So, on the song I am basically reminding myself that no matter what or how I feel, I should never ever forget why I wake up every morning… And that’s to chase my dreams and inspire other people to do the same as well.
How important is it for you to own your material?
Very Important! It cannot be stressed enough. Yes we won’t all own record companies and media companies, but it is very important to have ownership of your own work. We have seen it too many times, situations where the Artist and Label relationship ends terribly and the Artist is left with nothing. We’ve seen too many situations where Performers / Artists end their careers broke because they no longer receive enough royalties due to the lack of ownership on their work. Your work is your legacy and it is important to have a firm grip on it.
Where to from here?
Continue working! Although this has been a long journey, it’s also just the beginning. I want to put in more work in the studio and work hard enough to be able to drop a powerful album by mid 2021. People can also keep up with me on Kas’lam Magazine & TV as I keep bringing them their favourite stars, both established and up-coming. We’re also working on bringing a new game-show very soon, you’ll have to wait to get more details about that.
Expect more music from me this year! A special Shout/Out to everyone who has shown me love in anyway, they inspire me to keep working. Also A special Shout/Out to all my Dream Chasers and hustlers out there!
Thanks, much love.
