Dala striving to be the next best thing

vlcsnap-2014-05-09-14h32m10s17What is the difference between an MC & a rapper? As master KRS One once explained that a rapper is a corporate puppet, while an MC embodies real Hip Hop; A rapper can never be a true MC, but an MC can become a rapper. That was just a little conscious thought on how today’s hip hop society has a tendency of dwelling on misconceptions on what real hip hop is all about. With that shared, we had a convo with Cap City upcoming rapper & producer Dala, who recently just dropped his second mixtape My BitterSweet Pain. Looking to change the game with his raps, Dala talks about his thoughts on the industry, the lack of real MCs in the game & details on his latest mixtape.

Introduce us to the real Dala, what’s your story & how did you get into the Hip Hop game?

Well the real Dala is Ndalama Mukhari, a kid from Limpopo with a dream of making it big and making his mother proud. Other than that, Ndalama Mukhari is currently studying IT at Tswhane University of Technology in Soshanguve. I believe that the Dala part from “Ndalama” was born in 1993 on 30 June. I’ve always had it in me, I’ve always felt that music is where my heart is. So at the age of 14 I recorded my first song. I think it sucked but hey, the people from my hood loved it and so I just kept them coming. I then fell in love with Hip Hop and decided to stay with it. And as from that day, I just kept doing what I love and that’s rapping.

We are so used to having upcoming artists that tend to fade out in the long run, but you seem to have been doing this for a while, what do you think sets you apart from the rest? What is Dalas’ drive?

Well, my drive is that I differ from other artists because I’m still in it because of the passion. If it was something other than that, I would have given up a long time ago. People enjoy my music and that’s what keeps me going, I do it for all my fans.

You recently just dropped your second mixtape Before that you dropped Letters & Numbers online. Could you breakdown what differentiates your second mixtape from your first for us? What kind of direction you bringing with this one when compared to the first?

Letters & Numbers was cool, the response was great and the fans loved it. But that was just a mixtape, that was something for the people. With My BitterSweet Pain, this one is more of my story; it’s basically every good & bad thing I’ve been through from when I started rapping to where I am right now.Dala boi

As a producer how different is it functioning behind the music rather than being the face of the track? You think SA Hip Hop is on the right track with the quality of music it’s producing today?

Being a producer is different, I think its better than being behind the mic because you get to see a different side of music, get to admire the creativity & passion that other rappers have and are bringing to the table. As a rapper, that’s great ’cause it gets to inspire you to up your game. And honestly, I think that’s what SA Hip Hop is all about.

There’s always been this argument that most rappers rap for the money and that the real MCs are scarce, hidden or unnoticed, what’s your opinion on this? Is our industry a victim of this trend?

I think it is, nowadays its all about the money, people don’t do it for the passion. It’s so bad in a way that even those MCs that do it for the passion are starting to change lanes now.

What do you think are the challenges that upcoming artists face in our industry?

The challenge that we face is that there are too many rappers and the majority of them are good. We all fighting for the same thing and all of us are equal contestants so its hard to come up at the top. The chances are very slim.

What does Hip Hop mean to you & how well does it fit in our culture?

Hip Hop is everything to me man. It’s what I know, its what I do best. Whenever I’m sad or feeling down I know of a place where I can feel better and that’s within the music. So yeah, I think Hip Hop fits perfectly in our culture. If it can stop kids from doing crime or drugs then Hip Hop should live on.

Your Top 5 local Hip Hop artists?

1. AKA

2. Reason

3. K.O

4. Maggz

5. Cassper – the dude got his own style. Its unique.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years to come?Pretoria-20140626-01186

I’ll be a TUT graduate and hopefully a big time superstar.

One word that best describes Dala?

Humble

 

*Download Rise by Dala ft Samuel http://www.datafilehost.com/d/1e6b6ba5

 

@Dala_FAM

Written By: Rudzani “@Roo_AT” Netshiheni

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