Over the past few years, there has been one man whose name has been on everyone’s lips. Cassper Nyovest, 25, has captured the nation’s attention.
He’s had a ground-breaking deal with MTN rumoured to be worth R10 million, a smartphone he helped design with AG Mobile and his historic Fill up the Dome concert. Now he’s going on his first South African and African tour in support of his second album, Refiloe, and Cassper is not done yet.
In one of his most honest interviews yet, the rapper speaks about the difficulty of getting playlisted on local radio, being seen as a threat and his difficult relationship with the South African media.
It was a good week for South African music with the 90 percent local music decision by the SABC. What do you think of that?
I’m very happy and I hope the radio stations, especially the music compilers, follow through and playlist new South African music. I hope it’s beneficial to the industry as a whole – not only just the established artists, but also the newer, up-coming musicians.
When you were in the US, did you listen to the radio stations and the number of US songs they were playing?
Yoh man, they played strictly US music. It’s funny how much South African radio sounds like US radio. It’s so similar and that’s sad because we don’t have to be like them. I was telling a friend while there that we hear US songs on our radio stations as soon as they are released. Some of the songs
he didn’t even know and I pointed
it out to him that they are played
on heavy rotation back home. He was shocked.
While in the US did you make any major deals or record any collaborations?
Oh yeah, always. I did a music video in Los Angeles and I’m going back in June to shoot another one. I recorded with Black Thought (Tariq Luqmaan Trotter) from
The Roots.
It’s rare to get South African artists actually going on a proper tour, with all the works. Is that the plan with your #AGMobileRefiloeTour?
Definitely. It’s a proper tour, across a number of cities and countries. It’s going to showcase my full body of work, especially my latest album, Refiloe. I feel like South African artists need to start giving their supporters more than just the music in the albums, but
to also let them experience the music live.
For most people your success seems very overnight, but we didn’t see the hard work you put in even before Gusheshe was released. Looking back, were all your sacrifices worth it in the end?
Very much worth it. I don’t think that the type of success I have had for a hip hop artist in South Africa has ever been seen. I have pushed harder than those who have come before me and it’s been worth it. It has taken me 10 years of groundwork to get where I am now. I’ve learnt lessons and I’m reaping the harvest of the seeds I sowed all those years ago.
Did you ever think of giving up in the early days? Was there a point where you found things to be a bit too difficult to handle?
Oh yeah man, many times. Getting my music on radio was a struggle. See, in Joburg, there’s this monopoly of DJs and compilers being friends and it’s this tight circle you can’t infiltrate. So we took the music online and when they realised that it was too good to ignore and people loved it, they had to playlist my music.
So from Gusheshe to now, what has been your proudest moment?
Working with The Mahotella Queens for my current album. They instilled in me a sense of pride and reminded me of my identity, and have helped with my music and performances since then. Not that Fill Up The Dome wasn’t a highlight. It is, but working with them just took me to another level.
You’re perceived to be a polarising figure – there are no in-betweeners when it comes to you and your music. Do you like it like that?
Look, it’s nice to be liked by everyone, but I have come to learn that that is virtually impossible. I would rather have a cult following of people who believe in me wholeheartedly, who love me and my music. I don’t think anyone wants fickle supporters. Everyone I know wants people who are willing to go the extra mile for them, a strong support base that you know has your back at all times.
How do you deal with being seen as a threat by a more established artist, instead of being embraced?
It’s a compliment of some sort, but it’s also a sign of defeat for those who are threatened by me. I embrace the new guys in the scene – boys like Nasty C who is already being called the future of SA hip hop. I support and vouch for him publicly and privately because I believe he has talent. He’s not a threat and there’s no reason to fight or block him from succeeding. I feel like I should have been embraced more by the older guys. But then, my opinion matters just as much as theirs, if not more.
What are your views on your fellow, young rappers?
I feel like we are in the golden era of South African hip hop. Everyone is working hard and releasing world class music. There are no gimmicks. Even people you may not like or rate as good are releasing quality work. Guys like Emtee, Nasty C, Riky and KO are consistently releasing great music. That’s what we need.
After the historic Fill Up The Dome concert, you lashed out at the media for not supporting it, yet many actually did. Why did you lash out?
Man that was an iconic moment and there was basically nothing about the concert on the front pages. Unlike when they write about my private life, who I’m dating, who I broke up with. That gets the prominence in the papers and not the positive stuff. It’s like they overlook it on purpose. Is the media out there just to break us? I learnt my lesson with that and I will never speak out again. I listened to Jada Pinkett Smith’s speech recently, where she said that complaining takes away your dignity. And maybe me complaining about the coverage of the concert, which was historic, took away my dignity. So I now just shut up and go on with my life.
So you don’t trust the media after that?
I will never trust the media. I just don’t understand why you guys repeatedly report on malicious things, which are mostly not true. Is it to sell papers? I don’t understand the motive behind it and I just find it difficult to trust. Maybe you are one of the good ones? Are there any good journalists? I don’t know.
What’s your beef with the Samas?
I have nothing to say about the Samas except that I don’t rate them. I don’t need them and I will continue doing well without them. I have realised that you really don’t need to win a Sama to be big in South Africa. So I’m staying out of it and will not ever be submitting my music to the Samas in the future.
Brand Cassper is doing well – the phone for example and your deal with MTN. Was that always the plan – to go beyond the music
and performance?
The plan is to be a mogul. An entertainment mogul.
You opened for Nicki and TI this year – how do you feel about playing second fiddle in your own country, or do you see it as another chance to make money?
It was their show, not mine, so I wasn’t going to perform after them. I got paid what I asked for from the promoter and I gave the people who came to the shows a great show. Nicki’s music director was so blown away with my performance he immediately went to iTunes and downloaded my album. So I won in the end.
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