by Madira
There is a Xhosa saying that goes like "Inyathi ibuzwa
kwabaphambili" (Wisdom is learnt from the elders). On the heels of a memoir
that boasts untold street stories among other things, I sat down with the
elder, one of the Pioneers of SA Hip Hop, DPlanet aka Dumisani (As I,Madira,
Call him). He is not your ordinary "Mlungu".
Dumisani, greetings "Boeteri"!!!
What's up Madira, salute!
Some may only know you as the founder and CEO of Pioneer Unit
Records, but before we dwell on that can you please tell our Kasi Music Konas,
who is Dplanet.
I love music. I'm a music producer originally from London,
UK. I've been living in Cape Town since 1996. I run Pioneer Unit records. I'm a
member of Pure Solid and DOOKOOM. I rep K.A.K. I'm a Gooner (Arsenal fan). I'm a
proud father.
So born as Damian Stephens in England, how did you end up in
South Africa?
I had an opportunity to come to South Africa in 1995. I
was attracted by the fact that the country had just been through intense
political turmoil. There was a feeling that anything could be achieved. It felt
like the Wild West compared to Europe. There was an intense energy that I had
never experienced before. I found it very compelling.
In 1991 you and Simon Atkinson were signed to cult Dutch techno label DJAX UP BEATS, and released the EP
"Theme from the Underground" and your music was played regularly on
Hobbs' 'Experimental' show. That means you are coming from an old school era
right?
Haha. Yeah, you could say that. I actually first got into
hip hop in 1981. My name (Dplanet) is partly an homage to 'Planet Rock' by
Afrika Bambaataa. I always liked the 'electro' sound of hip hop back then. It
opened my ears to other forms of electronic music like the techno music from
Detroit , which was actually another form of Black urban music. We were lucky
enough to sign a deal with DJAX Records in 1991. Being played on Mary-Anne
Hobbs' show on BBC radio came later (in around 2009), she was a big fan of Ben
Sharpa.
Back in those days Hip Hop was not the way it is today, of
course time changes and so is life. Please share with us what got you into Hip
Hop and who was your inspiration back in those days?
When hip hop hit the UK way back in the early 80s it was
like nothing I'd ever experienced before. It was a tidal wave of culture shock.
It was beyond simply being rebellious, it was a coherent culture that just blew
my mind, the music, the dancing, the graffiti, the DJing and the knowledge of
self. It's hard to describe what it felt like coming across this and to quote a
friend of mine, "it was like discovering a whole new world".
Other than Afrika Bambaataa, my early inspiration came from
a mixtape someone brought back from New York on cassette by DJ Cheese (I
think). I'm not even sure who was on that tape. There was no Google back then
to check! Later I got into KRS1 and Public Enemy (both of whom I was lucky
enough to see when they first came to the UK).
While doing my homework, it did come up that you also had
love for DJing, tell me about that.
I started DJing when I was 16. I was never that
technically gifted in terms of cutting and scratching, I just loved playing
the music. I started out playing hip hop and then in around 1988 I started
playing techno, mainly Detroit techno or anything else that was influenced by
that more minimalist sound.
This interview is about you but forwarding life to 2005
Driemanskap took part in the Baobab Festival where they opened for the
legendary New York hip hop crew Dead Prez. People say language is a barrier of
communication yet music is a universal language, how did you link with Drie'?
Like with most of my introduction to Cape Town hip hop,
I'm pretty sure KONFAB put me on to them. I remember seeing them perform at a
hall in Langa, it must have been almost 10 years ago now. The energy they
created was insane. It was like they were in their own world. Even though I
couldn't understand what they were saying, I could hear their technical
expertise and like I said, the energy was universal. I remember thinking that
they were rough diamonds who were destined for greatness.
Forwarding years to 2009, Drie' dropped
"Igqabhukil'inyongo" in May, a few months later "Camagu"
vid was done and Mzantsi was shaken. Did that strategy work for you guys?
Yeah, to some extent. Camagu was directed by Greenhaus who
were young and hungry students at the time. They did an amazing job. That video
is still very underrated as far as I'm concerned. It should be on 300,000
Youtube by now at least! People slept on it for a long time. It was the video
for S'phum'eGugs that really put Drie on the map. That video was directed by
Anton Visser, a very experienced director. He perfectly captured the energy of
that track, which is a banger by Planet Earth. That video got played on Live
and that's when Mzantsi really started waking up to Drie.
Enough about Driemanskap back to you Dee, Pure Solid. Who is
Pure Solid and what does Pure Solid do?
Pure Solid is myself and spo0ky. It's a live audio-visual
concept. Me on beats, her on visuals. Musically, there are influences of dub,
grime, trap and all kinds of 'bass' music. I like to make sure we rep SA by
using various emcees and singers. We regularly collaborate with Crosby and
Redondo (Driemanskap), for example. We're about to drop an EP through Jarring
Effects in France that features both those artists.
Spooky's videos are regularly shown on MTV Base, Channel O
and SABC1. Her work has also been featured at the Design Indaba Expo. Recently
she was chosen as a featured ‘revolutionary’ in Nike’s IAM1 campaign. How did
that come about?
Yeah, spo0ky is an amazing talent. She was approached
through the ad agency that was doing campaign. It was some well-deserved
recognition for the work she does. They also featured Rattex. Shout out to
Nike!
I've got great respect for you two, I've seen the way you
guys work as a team and you're such an inspiration to me for real.
Thanks my man, appreciate that! Teamwork makes the dream
work!
You describe your musical style as ‘soundsytem music’,
‘robot army music’ or ‘dark’, who is your target audience and is there a market
for it in South Africa?
I never think in terms of target market. We just want to
connect with anyone who feels what we're doing. I'm passionate about making
sure anything we make is relevant to South Africa. Like I said, we feature a
lot of SA artists. But visually, we also want to represent life in South
Africa. Dance music is often stripped of any political context so we try to
incorporate 'message' without being overly direct. A lot of the music I make is
quite dark and angry. Sometimes as a direct response to situations like Marikana,
for example. Spo0ky even incorporates footage of the massacre into some of our
shows. We're not trying to be shocking, it's just to remind people that aluta
continua.
You are part of Dookoom too. Tell me how did that come
about? And who is part of it?
Isaac Mutant was literally the first emcee I heard when I
got to South Africa although I never met him. Last year, a friend of mine,
Roger Young, was writing a piece on Mutant for Rolling Stone. He was basically
telling Isaac's story. The story looked like it was going to end up being a
typical tale of talent in Cape Town going to waste. Mutant was just bored with
hip hop and wanted something different. Roger put me and Mutant together and we
discussed a vision for the way forward. I gave him some beats that I thought
might work just before I went on tour. When I got back Mutant went into
hyperdrive and we ended up recording 30 tracks. DOOKOOM was born. DOOKOOM is
Isaac Mutant (vocals), Human Waste (production), spo0ky (visuals) and Roach
(cuts).
Jy is Human Waste what's up with that nick D hahahaah. Isaac
Mutant is legend-e no doubt about it but when I listen to his style of music I
associate it with Die Antwoord is there a link or influence?
Haha! Human Waste because I'm the shit! The name came
around because of the service delivery protests where fed up kasi residents
took human waste to go and throw at Helen Zille - something we can all relate
to, I think.
Isaac Mutant was featured on Die Antwoord's first album,
$O$. They hung out a lot together while making the album and Mutant toured with
them after it was released. Mutant was inspired by Ninja's showmanship and his
dedication to concept and performance. The rest is all Mutant.
"Kak Stirvy" is currently sitting on #2 on
Headwarmaz Show (Bush Radio 89.5) and its been on the top ten for over 2
months. That track is sick and I love its video. You guys recently shot a vid
for "Dirty" and "LarneyJouPo*s" what is your mission about
the "Dookoom" project? Is there a point to prove?
Thanks. Shout out to Ari Kruger from Sketchbook Studios
for Kak Stirvy. He always comes through for us. He also shot Izulu Lelam and
Ivamna for Driemanskap. The mission for DOOKOOM is simple, we are here to F**K
S**T UP! We are the middle finger permy in your play list. It's about getting
emotion and anger back into hip hop. Mutant says that rappers have become the
biggest pussies, all so scared of not being liked or offending people. Anger
is a powerful motivating factor. It has a bad reputation because it's seen as 'negative',
but life isn't a bed of roses! Sometimes you need anger to wake people up and
change things. Our shows are intense. You're going to feel something. It might
be anger, fear, revulsion, hate or excitement. One thing it will never be is
boring. You'll feel good afterwards though. Or maybe you'll kill yourself.
Have you ever doubted yourself or
career decisions?
I'm a tortured artist. I can't sleep at night doubting
myself. I tried doing 'sensible' work and I've never been more unhappy in my
life. Sometimes you just have to accept what you are and make it work.
I Almost forgot South African Hip Hop Awards 2013, you were
nominated against Akio Kawahito, Lava Magwaca, Mawande “Manez” Sobethwa and
Rozzano Davids in the King of Western Cape category and you took it, where were
you and how did you feel when you received the news that you came tops?
I think I was on tour in France when I heard. I'm very
grateful for the honour.
Some take an award as a bonus whereas some take it as
recognition, for you to have won it as King of Western Cape how does it make
you feel?
It hasn't changed me much, except now people have to kneel
down when they talk to me. And no eye contact. Haha! Jokes. I feel good. It's
always nice to be recognised for your work.
Is South Africa so superficial that the best lyrical artists
are surpassed and outsold by generic mainstream artists?
Haha! That's a big question. I'd rather turn that around
on the best lyrical artists and ask what they are doing about being surpassed
by supposedly weaker artists? If what you're doing isn't working, try something
else! And I don't mean dumb down your lyrics.
Some say Hip Hop in South Africa was born in Cape Town. Do
you agree? If so is there still a chance of claiming it back as everything is
now in Jozi.
Cape Town is definitely the spiritual home of hip hop in
SA. But we have to be careful not to live in the past. We must always respect
the history and the pioneers of Cape Town hip hop, but we can't rest on our
laurels. We need to earn back that top spot. We have the talent and the skills
but maybe we're lacking the vision and the confidence to make it happen. There
are exceptions of course. Driemanskap are going to be huge. Die Antwoord are
already huge. Jack Parow is killing it.
When we, Cape Town, are hosting big events like the yearly
"Festival of Lights" and many others. Example the recent CHAN
Tournament that we had here in South Africa, we hardly see our own Cape Town
artists on the line ups instead we see artists from elsewhere booked to perform
here. Is there anyone to blame for this?
We have to be realistic. When people do events, they don't
think, 'let's help out a local artist'. No. They think, 'who will attract the
most people to the event'. Let's stop blaming and start making ourselves
impossible to ignore!
You've toured the world, what was the best tour of them all?
It's so hard to say. I love touring. I love traveling. I
love performing live. They have all been great, but the last tour with Cape
Town Effects was a massive amount of fun. Spending time on tour with KONFAB,
Jaak, El Nino, Redondo, Tebz, spo0ky and the French crew was an amazing
experience that I will never forget.
You have a few nicknames, of which I find rather funny. Do
you mind sharing with us and their meanings?
Haha! Outside of Dplanet and Human Waste, I go by Sukwini,
Don Hate, Mnqundu, Didiza and Rangoane Letaoa. I think they are all pretty
self-explainatory! Rangoane Letaoa means 'drunken uncle' (shout out KONFAB).
Nas claimed "hip hop is dead" and I personally say
whoever say that is the one with the killing weapon, what is your opinion?
Like Chuck D said, don't believe the hype! There's so much
great hip hop being made around the world. You just need to dig deeper.
You posted this on your Facebook "Cape Town needs to
wake up. Too many rappers look outside themselves for the reason they are not successful.
Stop blaming radio. Stop blaming fans for not 'getting you'. Stop blaming 'the
industry'. Stop blaming 'the media'. It's a lot easier to make excuses than it
is to do the work necessary to succeed, but your excuses aren't going to put
food on the table. Life isn't fair - get over it." What is your advice to
upcoming artists who still have dreams of making it in this industry.
Music is a tough industry. Arm yourself with as much
knowledge as you can. Have a vision and be FEARLESS! You're going to need a
team to believe in you. Even if it's just your friends at first. Develop your
networking skills and remember that business is about MUTUAL BENEFIT, don't be
going with your hand out begging for help. Get a proper press kit together, I
put a post on my FB timeline detailing what a proper press kit should look
like.
At Pioneer Unit Records you work with some of the best
producers in the world but you’re always on the look out for new beats. How
does one get their beats to you?
The best way is to approach the artists you want to work
with and play them your beats. Don't be scared, artists are always on the look
out for hot beats. You can also check out the 'contact us' section of
PioneerUnit.com for full instruction on submitting beats.
I also believe that as a talent discover you get a lot of
requests from musicians who want to know how to go about getting a deal with
Pioneer Unit. Although you’re not actively looking to sign new artists, I
believe you’re always keeping an ear out for exceptional talent. How can
upcoming artists get their music to Pioneer Unit?
To be really honest, we're just not able to take on any
new artists at the moement unless they are truly exceptional. If you really
believe you are truly exceptional, you can also check out the 'contact us'
section of PioneerUnit.com for full instruction on submitting demos.
Before I let you go, please share with us what to expect
from Pioneer Unit fam and where to go to get fully updated.
We've got Driemanskap's album, Hlala Nam, coming out soon.
It's epic, trust me. These guys are going to fulfill their amazing potential
with this album. Also coming out this year, 'Galant' by Jaak and 'The
Transition' by Ben Sharpa. Both also amazing projects. We might even manage to
get KONFAB's album out this year too.
You can follow PioneerUnit on Twitter (@PioneerUnit),
Facebook 'pioneerunit' and www.pioneerunit.com
It has been a pleasure chatting with you. Kasi Music Kona
wishes you all the best in everything that you are doing. We do need people
like you in this Industry.
Likewise! Big up Kasi Music Kona.
