The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN Def Jam signee, Asaph, says it took him and South African rapper Loki less than an hour to make Thebelele, a song which marks his official debut since his momentous signing to the giant urban music label.
Hip-hops fans have been eagerly waiting for Asaph’s reintroduction to the world of music, this time with the weight of the mighty Def Jam behind him. Since his signing to the label in December, the rapper has not released any new music.
Asaph told Sunday Life that Thebelele was made in the aftermath of the celebrations of his signing to the label, with the South African hip-hop heavyweight KO’s protégé Loki tagging along for the ride.
“So, the song basically came about when I went to South Africa in December. I visited the Universal Studios, the Def Jam Studios for the signing and the meet and greet with the CEO and the A and Rs (Artistes and Repertoires) that I will be working with, the team that basically will be handling me.
While I was there they were like we want to put you in the studio with some of our artistes here. I had a session with Loki that was scheduled.
“The beat was sent to me before I left for South Africa, and it was produced by Tumisho. So, when we got there, it was just a vibe and Loki was vibing with it.
I swear it took us maybe 30 to 45 minutes to be done with this song. Loki had the chorus done in a couple of minutes. It was just the vibe of the moment because we were out there celebrating, we both attended Snoop Dogg’s algorithm album launch which featured LucasRaps and Phoenixthecool from South Africa. It was a just vibes and we were celebrating and that’s where the direction of the song came from,” he said.
While the new song carries a sound similar to that carried by the most popular hip-hop tunes in Mzansi over the last few years, Asaph said he was eager to diversify and try other styles once he has reeled his audience in with what they are accustomed to hearing.
“I feel like in my whole career I have been someone who has always wanted to prove how diverse I am and while this is one of the sounds that I will be tapping into, that is not the only direction I will be going in for the rest of my career.
I still have a lot to introduce to the world from Zimbabwe, like the soul sound or the mbira infused sound. I am feeling like let’s first get them to listen to us on their sound and when they love what we give them then we introduce them to what I originally do. Trust me, the story is not done for me and I’m going to introduce more sounds just to show that I can do it all,” he said.
