AOS

Wave riding allegations addressed by Emsohigh

Posted on by Feejo

Dolly, is the name of a sheep that came to be known as the first successfully cloned mammal in 1996. Could Manzini based rapper Emsohigh be the “Dolly” of Eswatini Hip-Hop?

Emsohigh ruffled up some feathers when he released his music video called Baby I’m Sorry (Official Music Video) in April of 2021. This was mainly because of the rapper’s name having a startling resemblance to a more established Manzini based rapper, Eimsofly who has quite a large following in Eswatini. Aside from performing at major events such as Hipnotik, Eimsofly has worked with heavyweights in the local music scene such as Diba Diba.

For years Hip-Hop has frowned upon mimicry or wave riding as it is often called. The most recent memory of cloning in Hip-Hop was when rapper Gucci Mane was released from prison in 2016 looking healthier and much more defined than his previously chubby look. Believers of the clone conspiracy were quick to suggest that Gucci Mane had been cloned while in prison. Clones in the music industry can manifest themselves in various ways aside from the scientific method, there’s also what we refer to as wave riders; artists that try to be a carbon copy of an already successful artist. American rappers Rod Wave and Murray have been low key beefing over the startling similarities in their melodic rapping styles. Tampa Bay native Rod Wave was first to reach global recognition with his chart topping album SoulFly. However Murray’s rise in popularity prompted Rod Wave to suggest that record labels who had attempted to sign him but failed were now “cloning” him by signing artists that resembled his look and rapping styles. A more audacious form of wave riding came from South African rapper SOS, famously known for his alter ego Big Xhosa who released multiple diss tracks in 2021 taking shots at almost everybody in the South African Hip-Hop scene.

In this instance, Emsohigh found himself tagged as a wave rider of an artist from the same town who just so happens to have already reached national levels of success. When reached for comment, Emsohigh clarified that he has been using his monika since 2014 when he started making music. He did mention that he came to know of Eimsofly after he had already started rapping, ironically Eimsofly has a hit song called Know My Name (Official Music Video). After getting Emsohigh’s response to the wave riding allegations one can only wonder if it is fair that the local hip-hop community has labelled Emsohigh as an Eimsofly wave rider.

Be sure to check out Emsohigh – Baby I’m Sorry ft. Queen K , who is Emsohigh’s childhood friend. The song was produced by Esq Holygrail Records. You can also peep Eimsofly’s recently released song called Ngavulek’ Emehlo produced by AOS.

Moves in Diaspora: Uncle Waffles PLUS Bholoja and Eimsofly’s international collabs

Posted on by Feejo

As an independent Eswatini entertainment media house we have to take note of accomplishments from Eswatini creatives even from those outside of the usual Hip-Hop scene which is our primary focus.

Hence it goes without saying that kudos has to be given to Uncle Waffles, the latest internet sensation from Eswatini currently scaling new heights within the global entertainment scene. The female Dj’s newly found success came after Canadian rap legend Drake followed Uncle Waffles’ instagram page. Over the past few weeks Waffles, real name Lungelihle Zwane has been a topic of conversation both online and offline for all the right reasons, be it delivering stellar performances at clubs across Africa, linking up with stars such as Riky Rick OR being verified on Twitter. Waffles’ verification on Twitter was imminent as clips of her spinning decks garner millions of views on the social media platform where she’s close to reaching a hundred thousand followers.

The 21 year old DJ is a familiar face within the Eswatini entertainment scene as she came into the limelight in 2018 after being featured on the Swazi Bride Magazine, she also regularly featured her DJ sets on renowned online media house Jelele Studios. However due to a hectic schedule those days seem to be in the past for Uncle Waffles. Judging by the support Uncle Waffles has gained within a short period, it has become quite obvious that she is destined for the stars and the ordinary Eswatini entertainment fanatic can’t help but take pride in her achievements inspiring as they are.

Another notable achievement over the past few weeks is Eswatini country music legend Bholoja being featured by producer Sun-El Musician on his latest EP African Electronic Dance Music (AEDM). Mbongiseni “Bholoja” Ngubane is probably the most successful Eswatini musician of the modern era as he’s enjoyed success for over a decade even receiving an invite to perform at a White House event from former American President Barack Obama at some point in his career.

South African house music maestro Sun-El Musician is equally successful in his own right as he’s produced career launching hits for the likes of Simmy and Azana. On AEDM, the two creatives collaborated on the songs Amateki& Esibayeni.

Another international collaboration came from Life Time Music Empire’s collaboration with Notsew who hails from Tampa in Florida, USA. The song is called Big Dreams Empty Pockets, it features LTME founder Eimsofly & NR as well as Notsew while AOS handled the production. Interestingly Notsew spits a vernacular rap at the start of his verse, some witty banter on the recent civil unrest we witnessed in Eswatini recently.

A rapper of note from the Tampa area can be none other than Rod Wave who recently released a chart topping album called Soulfly in 2021. This collaboration between LTME & Notsew bridges the gap between local and international hip-hop and will surely be good for all artists involved in the song in terms of exposure and expanding their respective fan base.