In our quest to give young talented artists the exposure they deserve, we decided it would be fitting to profile a young dude with lots of potential. His name is Emza, he has been heavy on YFM’s Kwaito Hott 99 Chart show with hits like ‘Mphakheje, Intokazi and Thekwini which all made it to number on the chart. Here is his official Bio and a bit more info about what he is currently up to.
It takes a lot of work and time to be great, but with skill, talent and dedication very little can come in your way. This is the thread that separates Emza from his peers in the land of kwaito. His desire to be the greatest now looks more realistic. With lyrical training received from the streets of mzansi’s hip-hop, blended with some fabulous fast paced beats synonymous with Durban kwaito, a touch of some of the best production minds, what you have is a talent last seen in the early days of Mandoza.
“Mandoza, Trompies and Chiskop in general have always been my inspiration. You can’t think of kwaito without mentioning these guys. This is the kind of greatness I want to achieve” says Emza of his intentions.
Emza hails out of a small township called Malukazi just outside of Isiphingo in Durban. He started his career as a rapper and a dancer. After completing his matric at the age of 19, Emza was focused on making a name for himself in the music business. He teamed up with a few friends and formed a dance group. This soon evolved into a hip-hop group that made appearances all over Durban. While this looked all good, this young man had bigger dreams.
In 2008, Emza released his debut album titled “Nswelaboya” after being signed by Joburg based BLAQK Records. The album was a good foundation for the young man to make his mark in the tight SA music world. His first single “Weekend” rocked into the top 20 local charts and the video for the single received major airplay on Channel 0.
As if that was not enough, the single also helped Emza attract international attention with rotation in two UK radio stations. Emza was also featured on the UK based website kwaito.com, an international website focused on promoting SA music to Europe. Soon after that, Emza recorded his first international collaboration with Netherlands based group, Skip&Die. Locally, he has warmed stages for the likes of Theo Kgosinkwe, Kelly Khumalo, Mshoza, Teargas, Slikour and Rhythmic Elements.
“I would say I was lucky to have a team that believed in me as much as BLAQK Records did, but also, I’m pretty sure my talent does a lot of the talking as well”, says Emza.
Emza released his follow up project titled, “I Boss yez' Gebengu” in mid April 2010
“On the new album, I’m really showing off and having a lot of fun. I have grown lyrically and musically, it’s a killer album”, he says. No doubt, 3 singles from the album have already tasted some chart success.
The single “Intokazi” cracked the National top 40 chart on Igagasi FM . The video for the single has been featured on Live and is also on rotation on Channel 0 and MTV Base.
The Second single, “Iyona ke Yona (Butterfly Mix) debuted on YFM’s Kwaito Hot 9-9 and stayed on the chart for 12 weeks, with 2 of those weeks at Number 1. Another single, “Thekwini” also burst into YFM’s Kwaito Hot 9-9 and also peaked at number 1.
Emza is currently busy with the recording of 2 singles that will go onto his current album. The album I boss yez gebengu will be re-released with additional new tracks.
Check out one of my favourite videos from Emza, called Intokazi.
Currently, the single doing the round is Vulamehlo.
In partnership with the Soul City Institute, Emza filmed the video for Vulamehlo in December. The video is currently rotating natiowide.Follow the link below for the video and check out more videos from Blaq Records, also below is all the info you need to download any of Emza's tracks.
True-Tone (30sec ringtones) - VULA1T (sms to 36443 @R5.00)
other hot tracks include:
Iyona ke yona (Butterfly mix) sms EMZA5F for full track or EMZA5T for ringtone
Thekwini EMZA3F or EMZA3T
Mphakeje EMZA2F or EMZA2T
and the mega hit "Intokazi" which remains one of the most downloaded tracks in 2010
sms EMZA4F for full trackj or EMZA4T for ringtone. Prices are R10 for full track and R5 for ringtone.
Emza is also working on preparations for a follow up visit to the Netherlands to tour with Skip&Die.
Cruz clearly did this video on a shoe-string budget, mara that is irrelevant though. What is important however is that he did it. He tried to get everyone he could think of to be in the video, he even has a ‘Soapie’ celebrity doing his thing, check out Maurice Paige ngamadimas wakhe.Untanga tried to put me in the vid as well, but ubampile daar. Also look out for Monde Mo, Gearboxx and Chillimane in the video. If you don’t know those names, you will soon. The video was shot in and around Soweto.
