MTV Base (DStv Channel 322) is celebrating the biggest year in South African hip hop history by gathering together industry experts to judge hip hop’s “King of the scene” for 2014. It all goes down on Wednesday 19 November and Thursday 20 November at 4pm CAT (repeat: Saturday 22 November at 3pm CAT and Sunday 23 November at 7pm CAT).
Mediated by seasoned MTV Base VJ and hip hop head, Sizwe Dhlomo, MTV Base Roundtable: SA’s Hottest MCs 2014 sees the music authority assemble a panel packed with hip hop expertise for a heated end-all discussion that cuts to the heart of the beats, the rhymes, the beefs and battles shaking up SA hip hop.
Around the table are MC and producer Amu, who has been a hip hop stalwart since the ‘90s; Metro FM master mixologist Naked DJ; YFM afternoon drive DJ and Club 808 TV Presenter Mo Flava; music TV presenter and ardent hip hop fan Loot Love; veteran record label A&R man Kevin Mdubeki; and celebrated deck master and MTV Base music scheduler DJ Vigilante. Also adding their SA hip hop knowledge to the mix are established rapper and labelhead Slikour and MTV Base’s music programmer Melanie Triegaard. Providing even more cred to this historical TV occasion is legendary master lyricist Tumi, who breaks down the criteria on what makes a hot MC: lyrics, sales, style, impact, buzz and other intangibles that set one artist apart from the next.
Says MTV Base Channel Head Tim Horwood; “2014 has seen hip hop take centre-stage in the South African music scene. We’ve had SA hip hop artists on high rotation on MTV Base, our digital and social media platforms go crazy, and of course there has been some scandalous industry beef this year. House producers are making hip hop beats; kwaito labels are signing rappers: it’s clearly time for SA hip hop to take its place in the spotlight on a pan-African and indeed global stage. With the MTV Base Roundtable we are aiming to define – conclusively – who is the hottest MC in the game for 2014.“
Deciding who was on the short list was no easy task, with each expert handing in their Top 10 list, before heading down to fresh new Jo’burg spot The Sheds, one secret summer night to decide who was king of the hip hop jungle. The controversial and enlightening debate and discussion that ensued is what viewers can check out.
Commented Sizwe Dhlomo, “I think everybody can agree that 2014 has been a standout year for hip hop – SA hip hop specifically. This list is all encompassing, it’s a definitive list of the hottest MCs according to MTV Base and key industry experts – you need to tune in to see how we arrived at our decisions.”
@mtvbaseafrica #SAHottestMCs
Issued by MTV Base.