Written by Nomsa Motale
Featured images by BlaQ Smith
Imagine plugging in your earphones and listening to a certain song and every-time it plays you want to listen to it all over again. Not just because the beat is amazing! But because the lyrics keep you drawn in and the lyrical ability of that artist, makes you remember why you feel in-love with music in the first place.
When AKA dropped the track ‘StarSigns’ I do not think we were ready for the level of excellence we experienced. Each verse in that song has so much passion, wrapped in beautiful puns and similes. I think he must have read a ton of books before writing that song, because this song reminded us that rapping is more than just spitting but it is about appreciating the art form by challenging yourself to create proper content.
Not to mention how Stogie T also took us back to go get our reading glasses and dictionaries. AKA and Stogie T took us down memory lane of moments when Mos Def and Talib Kweli made us bump to their songs, but made us pause and go “Ooooh”…did you hear that verse? Proving to us that hip hop has never been dead, whether commercial or underground it does not matter, as long as you dope and don’t take the writing form for granted…to remember that years down the line, the quality of your lyrics will determine whether it resonates with people or nah…
Like AKA said…”I don’t want the credit, I just wanna be remembered”