Release Radar: Super Losers releases ‘Art Is For Losers’ and Dopekid Shewacher releases Amapiano showstopper ‘Taste Ya Mchangani’
From the remote town of Elim in South Africa’s Limpopo province, the kid Nyiko Sambo stole his father's cassette player to record himself at the age of 6. Hanging out at studios from the age of 14, he earned the name that stuck when the older artists spoke admiringly “You are too dope, kid”. A fast ascending star in the SA underground rap and amapiano scene we feel it's a matter of time before he has the audience his community of fans know he deserves. He is now only 21 and has a long list of releases, features, collaborations and performances of a veteran. The SA amapiano scene which has lit up the world has already become densely populated but there is a distinctive quality to DOPEKID's songs and their deft productions, four of the six on the new ep produced with his creative partner LOWBASS DJY. "Fela Dali” the opening track and “Manqane” (pronounced Man Carney) both have an expansive, sweet house/trancey feel. Some people feel there is a Marvin Gaye touch in "Fela Dali”, “Manqane” hints at classic reggae singers like Horace Andy, while “HLANGANANA XO” is a a stomping hypnotic workout which features a great robust lead vocal by SKUVA. The vocals are in a mix of Tsonga, Shona and English languages. For us DOPEKID has the calibre and depth of a true artist - no one hit wonder - and we feel he's at the beginning of a long and exciting career. Listen here.
Art Is For Losers is a heartfelt journey through sound and emotions.
“After the last band I played in broke up, I really thought that was all over. I didn't have it in me to make anymore music after nearly two decades of trying to give it everything I had. To say I was going through a difficult time in my life would be a massive understatement. I felt like a complete Loser. My identity was so wrapped up in being part of a band. The thought of not making it through that year started to become a real possibility and then the pandemic hit in the midst of a mental breakdown. If it wasn't for the friends that carried and loved me for long enough to decide to help myself, I honestly wouldn't be here.
I tried to pour myself and what my life has been into this EP. If not lyrically, through the sound. I tried to steer away from my song writing habits and reach towards something new. The process was a healing process. I think I managed to do something that I am very proud of. The process has been a far longer and more calculated effort than I am used to, but the result I believe is something quite special. Music has always been a way to process things and I hope that it can strike a chord with people who feel the same way.” Listen here.
