In the tough music industry a lot of artists struggle to establish their musical identity, yet there are those that emerge fully formed and in full command of their craft and their music. TaliBun Da LasNumba firmly fits into this category. Widely known for his captivating stage performance and his authentic representation of Hip Hop, he’s become a crowd favourite in his home town Kimberley with the younger and the older generation.
He has a very fresh style, but yet it feels so familiar in the best possible way that you automatically find yourself following him word for word and bar for bar whenever he starts rhyming. TaliBun Da LasNumba was born in KZN and raised between Kimberley and J-Sec. He grew up listening to rap from an early age but only started being active as an MC in his mid-teens, as he explains: “When I was six years old my parents bought me my first Walkman and my first cassette and that’s how I got introduced to Hip Hop. I was six years old and my first cassette was The Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff’s record ‘Summertime’. I don’t know what my parents were thinking, but ever since then all I ever listened to was rap . I started rapping when I was about 15 but I only took it seriously when I finished high school. I formed a crew with two of my long-term friends called Members of Mic Clique and we began performing at casinos, clubs, cafes, bars, street shows…you name it. We were performing all over Johannesburg, we couldn’t get enough of it, man we just loved it.”
In 2012, TaliBun Da LasNumba started pursuing his solo career as a rapper while he was based in Kimberley and within no time he became a crowd puller. TaliBun has shared the stage with the best of them, performing at national festivals like Diamond and Dorrings alongside HHP, Jamali, Teargas and The Parlotones. In 2013 he performed at the Kimberley Diamond Cup (former Maloof Money Cup), the international skateboarding competition.
TaliBun Da LasNumba is also part of the Diamonds and Dorrings Band, a group that was put together by the legendary Ray Phiri (currently the front man for Stimela) made up of local Kimberley artists. He says, “Working with Bra Ray was a great honour for me, he’s a stand-up guy, very down to earth and very passionate about music and the well-being of artists. I learnt a lot from him, especially when it came to live performances and putting a good set together. Definitely meeting that man and working with him was a great learning experience for me.”
Currently in studio working on his debut album Freedom of Rhyme, it’s set for release later in the year so keep your ears to the ground and we’ll bring you all the latest on this fresh MC.
Written by: Bridgette Makhela