In 2016, I met a talented and cultured musician in Johannesburg. He invited me to his place to share his journey as a musician and curator in Africa. At that time, I didn’t have a platform to tell his story, but I promised myself that one day I would. Earlier this year, I ran into him at a music conference and our conversation resumed. Today, I’m interviewing him at one of the biggest hip-hop platforms on the continent. His name is Don Dada, and he’s an amazing rapper, host, writer, reggae artist, and overall musician who is breaking barriers and proudly representing South Africa throughout the continent and the world. Let’s get to know him better as he tells his story.
How do you balance the fusion of hip-hop and reggae in your music, and what influences shape your sound the most?
Reggae was the most influential genre when it comes to the origins of hip hop, from techniques such as dubbing and toasting leading to the Americas variations of emceeing and scratching to the sound system culture that was emulated and later modified by DJ Kool Herc, who was of Jamaican background, and is recognised as one of the earliest hip hop DJs and artists. Some even credit him with officially originating hip hop music through his 1973 “Back to School Jam”. It is from this perspective that I create my music, viewing my creations as an evolution, adaptation an emulation of the same process that helped one genre birth another. I consider the message I’m trying to deliver and once I have decided what I want to say it helps me decide how I would like to say it.
When it comes to sonic influence, I find that I’m inspired mostly by my surroundings and my upbringing. I love to reflect Africa in my music and looking across our continent there are a lot of different sounds, Techniques and rhythms that are beautiful and unique. I am influenced by new ideas and life, because I believe if you can make music that is not only entertaining but also relatable then listeners will hold on to your music longer.
Can you tell us how growing up in South Africa influenced your approach to both hip-hop and reggae?
We are a multilingual nation who has grown out of a turbulent past and now has begun staking our claim on global stages and platforms. Not just my sound but my entire career has been shaped around this resilient spirit and premise that my music is influenced by South African culture, whether working on hip hop with the Mahotela Queen On the remix to my multi-platinum track VIVA Mandela or creating reggae with Bishop Jessica Mbungeni (may she rest in peace). I love to present South Africa to the world. I think is important to reflect who you are in your music so I would say the influence of South Africa on my music is huge as it is integrated into my music and continues to be huge, that is why my Jamaica engineers are eager to work with me. I am the future.
What message do you aim to convey through the combination of these two genres in your music?
Well, I have a couple things I would like to convoy with this colossal project but I Think the overarching theme would be Unity ,I want to bring tougher hip hop culture and reggae culture together because at the end of the day they are our genres as black people, Although if I had zoom in a little and think of three messages I would like this project to convoy it would. Firstly, both genres are musically similar like father and son if you will, the only distinctions that exist are created in our minds. As noted, earlier reggae was the biggest musical influence to hip hop and the contribution it has made to the development of the genre is immense.
Secondly, I would like to show that South Africa Reggae and hip hop is competitive on a global level thus I have ensured that this project is distributed by Bob Marleys very own Tuff Gong International, creating a working relationship with the Caribbean and taking South Africa to the world.
And thirdly to create unity in both fan bases and in so doing shatter the divide that exists. Reggae lovers and hip-hop heads can both play my project and come to my events because I cater to both markets. I make music for the listener not according to genre and I think people appreciate good music when they hear it. Also, reggae and hip-hop event organisers should look at collaborating on a larger scale because there is opportunity for market and fanbase growth for both.
In what ways do you think hip-hop, and reggae complement each other, and how do you blend their unique elements in your tracks?
My album is titled THE HEART & THE MIND the reason for this title is that both organs belong to the body, both equally important. For me the heart is reggae because it’s a spiritual music connected to the heart of people, while hip hop is the mind in the sense that it is calculating, entertaining and educational to the people, although obviously different both are needed for the purpose of life and so it is for me with either of these art forms.
When it comes to writing the content is very similar with both genres creating Songs about life’s struggles, social ills, aspirations and self-empowerment. Utilising one genre or the other allows me to explore my concepts from different points of view, it offers flexibility as well as adding contrast and colour to the song I’m working on. In essence it allows me to feature myself lol ,as well as experiment with different flows and structures that ordinarily I might not think of if I’m concentrated on one genre .It really depends on the feel I’m going for on a particular track but I may use either instrumentation, flow or a combination of both to fuse one genre with The other, it all depends on what sounds good at the end of the day
How do you stay true to the roots of reggae while also embracing the evolution of hip-hop in today’s music scene?
I was born into a Reggae household. Reggae was a music played in my house before my birth by my grandmothers on both sides, my father and my mother ,and as a matter of fact in 1980 my mother had a chance encounter with Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley), their conversation was brief yet impactful and cantered around African history and in particular Ethiopian history, as the conversation drew to an end Bob ask that she find out more about African history and that one day if she ever had a son to name him after him . Seven years later I was born and named Menelik Nesta Gibbons, Menelik after Menelik I the first Emperor of Ethiopia according to Kebra Nagast and Nesta after Robert Nesta Marley. You can say reggae has basically been in my heart and life from birth, so it would be difficult to lose the “roots “of the music because reggae is ingrained in me. while simultaneously I have been a part of hip hop music and culture professionally from 2006 and have evolved and grown with the genre. There is a saying that the reggae drum is the heart beat due to the tempo and rhythm that it is played at and for me reggae is the foundation that I have built upon to create my hip hop
Therefore, it becomes easy for me to embrace the evolution of hip hop because at its core the fundamentals, the foundation remains the same. These and both black music art forms that are telling the black story from communities just like ours all over the world and presenting it back to the world. Language may change ,slang may differ and patterns may evolve But essentially the content is still the same because certain human experiences are the same .We all have experienced struggle ,injustice, joy ,pain and we all have dreams and aspirations .These basic concepts are what link us as humans and while they make these art forms relevant to us as listeners they are also the common ground that links reggae to hip hop in my opinion. But with that being said reggae is and has evolved as much as hip hop or any other music for that matter, therefore, to stay true to either genre is to stay True to oneself and our communities thus embracing hip. Hop and reggaes content and culture.
Which artists, both from the hip-hop and reggae worlds, have had the biggest influence on your career and sound?
When it comes to hip hop there’s a couple artists whose catalogs are great and have inspired me to create such as prophets of the city who had the first local hip hop studio album ‘Our World’ in 1990. Skwatta Camp who where a shift in local hip hop, bringing it out of the shadows of kwaito and into the mainstream, Black Noise who were the first complete hip hop outfit, emerging from the Cape Flats in 1989 and Cashless Society who appeared on the cover of the first issue of HYPE magazine, all these guys were pioneers for southern African and African hip-hop.
While on the reggae side I have to pick great legendary artists such as Lucky Dube who was the first to popularize South African reggae on a mass scale, and to define a unique South African style, elder Carlos Djedje ( may he rest in peace) considered by many to be the father of South African reggae, elder James Mange who was sentenced to 20 years on Robben Island. On the island he turned to Rastafarianism, growing dreadlocks and became a reggae musician and of course the legendary man himself Bob Marley
Can you describe any challenges or creative advantages you’ve faced as an artist blending these two distinct musical genres?
One of the biggest advantages I found was that because I was regularly switching my style to record, I became flexible in my creation process, allowing me to get more ideas down instead of limiting myself to one specific path or sound. I also found that it became easier to explore different perspectives of a subject or even switch the subject entirely thus giving me more choice of content when creating, but with all these different variations it can become challenging to streamline and trim it all down into a song when recording so it was always a balancing act between not overdoing or under doing any songs. I enjoyed the process of creating the project and I think the result speaks for themself with each project having its own distinct feel and sound. I blend my genres to the extent that my single RISE UP that I released in May 2024 reached number 1 of the Caribbean Reggae. VIP-VeryImpressivePlaylist ReggaeVIP – Very Impressive Playlist! and kept this number 1 position for 4 months, it is currently at number 4. My brand-new track FIRE & WATER released on the 30th of August 2024 is number 1 – HOT OFF THE PRESS
How do you see the relationship between reggae’s focus on social and political issues and hip-hop’s storytelling culture?
both hip hop and reggae are music’s of the people that are meant to tell the story of the people from their joy to their pain. It’s a relationship that speaks back to the closeness of the two genres, and how similar they are content wise. Hip hop and reggae both have had roots in activism and political consciousness while also exploring aspects of spirituality and black conciseness. Music has always been so much more than just entertainment. if reggae was the music that was the soundtrack to black resistance during the apartheid era that motivated freedom fights, comforted and entertained civilians and was accused of being used to subvert the government then hip hop would later become the soundtrack of a black renaissance of sorts, celebrating our culture, our achievements and our people. Put all of this into the art form of storytelling and you have the elements for something beautiful, honest and proudly South African.
What role do you think reggae and hip-hop play in empowering the youth and addressing societal issues, particularly in your community?
hip hop and reggae are both music that was made by the people for the people, with the goal of uplifting, entertaining and educating. They both have the power to reach the masses and therefore artists should be aware that their words have consequences and actions. If music has the power to influence someone to create Or to dedicate their life to art, then it also has the power to influence someone positively and the power to unite or heal a community. The music sector has provided a lot of jobs and opportunities for youth and hip hop and reggae have been a part of that. Music has also been used as a form of rehabilitation and therapy with many young people finding comfort from writing raps or songs to vent.
What’s next for you creatively? Are you exploring any new directions or collaborations that fuse hip-hop and reggae in unexpected ways?
Right now, its all about the new DOUBLE album The Heart & The Mind is out now on all digital platforms, One disc reggae, one disc Hip-Hop. I’m a musician I make music, important focus for now is perusing performance opportunities and I am always up for a good collaboration that take my music to uncharted territory and ears. February 2025 we are out to Jamaica for reggae month so keep an eye on my social media platforms, my handle is @dondadamusic across all platform to get the latest on what I’m doing and what’s next but for now DOWNLOAD the albums I promise you won’t regret