Trompie

about

Born MMM Mahlangu to an anti-apartheid activist slash bank robber slash playwright father and an entrepreneurial mother, MaliQ had the training of keeping the illusive balance between business and the arts at an early age. And not without a touch of healthy street cred(ibility). After matriculating in 2000 he unwittingly got involved with street hustle types dabbling in fast money but soon pulled out, visited the Sudan for some time and in his own words "came back home/ splitting domes with these ghetto poems". MaliQ describes his style of rap as simply smArt rap. A loving family man, dedicated activist to the cause of "freedom again" and entrepreneur, he insists that his music is just an extension of these roles. Having burst onto the scene as one quarter of the group Ba4za, now recognised as "the original godfathers of of Cap City rap", there is also much to say about MaliQ the serial trendsetter, not least of which is his blog streetsheet.co.za, voted the no.1 hip hop blog by Hype magazine in 2009. To date MaliQ has released two street albums, Official Bootlegs Volume One, which he first tried to modestly dismiss as "a bunch of tracks i put together for the Red Bull Music Academy which I was invited to in Seattle, USA in the summer of 2005". But it was clear to all after receiving raving reviews from critics at home and abroad that this was no ordinary bunch of songs; with the bulk of production done by fellow Cap City beat extrodinaire Nyambz. Then came the unusually titled follow up in 2009, Sleepless in Seattle/ Cap City On My Mind (nominated for Best Mixtape in the Hype Awards 2009), a tribute he says to his love for arts, film and fashion. 2010 saw the final coming together of MaliQ's greatest passions, music and fashion, with the opening of the HHH-ShoP concept store and the recording process of what he promises will be his greatest musical work to date, the magnum opus A Mic & A Dream which you are now holding in your hands. But before that, there's the taster prequel mixtape released online in the form I Have A Dream. Finally the trilogy will be completed in 2011/2012 season in the form of (It Was All) A Dream Differed which will also be backed up by a doccie film tracing the come up of Maliq, the man and the musician. Simply a story that must be told.
And to think it all began in the the dusty township streets of Mamelodi, the New Orleans of South Africa, miming Nas rhymes just trying to pick up girls in junior high school in his teens. Growing up between exile, Mamelodi and in the former apartheid homeland of his native tribe the colourful Ndebeles, his diverse musical and general artistic influence remains a balance between these places- global in influence yet local in relevance. Or is it vis a vis. He's not sure yet, and that doesn't seem to bother him much. In the end, only time will tell if this self-confessed dreamer's dream was just that or a much needed boost to the gospel of street preacher members of an emerging band of young rapper entrepreneurs of all colours and hues determined to put South Africa in its rightful place as a contender in world music and style trends.

Track:

2, 3 & 6 produced by Trompie

PROF - Propose a toast by Trompie

Produced by Trompie aka The CHEF
Siamese Entertainment


As per usual, I had to close off the year and work with another great legend and General in Motswako, Mr Prof of the legendary Bafixile crew. We recently met at the Maftown Heights gig past month and a half and we started talking biz. As they would say, the rest is history. A week later, he rocked unexpectedly at the kitchen and we created magic... — WHAT MORE CAN I SAY???

Quietude - CapCity cruising by Trompie

Produced by Trompie aka The CHEF
Siamese Entertainment


"Quietude is a two member Hip Hop collective with poetic, jazzy, rhythm and blues roots. Their fresh interpretation of Hip Hop and R’nb is best described as a cocktail of their personalities brewed into a vibrant musical concoction that caters for the open minded, non-conformist lover of music as a whole. There are no textbooks or classroom instructions that could help one balance the chemistry of their sound, however they insist that one can only discover them melodically as a diverse Hip Hop and R’nb group with a simple solution. Quietude at first is unassuming, but it takes mere moments for you to recognize their unique sound that expands the stereotypically boxed nature of Hip Hop and fluently bridges the gap between R’nB, Pop and that afro-centric jazzy feel which is contrary to the traditional boom-bap sound. They aspire to be an iconic brand in the future, penetrating not only the music scene but the entire art as a culture."
— Quietude, More Than Music