Blxckie is a talented 24-year-old South African rapper and songwriter from Sydenham Heights, Durban. His journey into the music industry started in early 2020 when he got stuck in Johannesburg as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown. During that period, he put out a lot of his music and gained up to one million Soundcloud streams. After that, there was no going back.
Today’s story is going to be about the young South African’s rise to fame and how his journey so far has impacted his art.
Blxckie’s Break
Prior to his break into the music industry, Blxckie had already started recording music right from the age of eight. He nurtured his love for music all through his years of education, up until he got into mainstream hip-hop. During his university days, Blxckie often recorded and performed his songs to excited audiences till he was well-known around campus for his incredible lyricism.
In March 2020, Blxckie was visiting Lucascraps, a talented producer in Johannesburg. When it became apparent that Blxckie would be stuck there for a while due to the mobility restrictions, he decided to make the best of it. Now stuck with so many creatives, Blxckie’s passion to create consistent music became heightened. Soon enough, he collaborated with Lucasraps on “Big Time Shlappa”. That was a song that made everyone interested in Blxckie’s sound both home and abroad
Blxckie’s Music
Blxckie’s sound is a complete fusion of traditional hip-hop elements and modern-day trap music. Smooth delivery, sound bars, and lyrically fluid verses; that’s what a typical Blxckie song sounds like. Listen to “Big Time Sh’lappa” once, and you’ll never want to play anything else from your HD speakers.
Then, the more traditional South African side of him infuses subtle elements of old-school Kwaito into his music. This is very prominent in songs like “Kwenzekile” where he features Madumane and Chang Cello. Complete art.
In 2021, the young rapper released his debut album “B4now”. It was a solid body of art that gave us songs like “David” which was certified gold in South Africa. It also contained “Ye X4” featuring Nasty C, certified double platinum with over 40,000 unit sales. These songs became viral TikTok sensations and further propelled Blxckie’s career into the limelight.
“B4now” gained so much recognition that it was No 1 on the Apple Music Hip-Hop/Rap charts at the time of its release. Recently, Apple Music also selected Blxckie to be a part of its Africa Rising Star program. In an interview with a top South African entertainment channel, Blxckie expressed what this recognition meant for him and his art.
“For my music to be chosen as a significant role player in this story is history in the making for someone like me. I want those that have believed in me before now to be proud. Let’s make Africa rise.”
More Recognitions
Blxckie had other recognitions including a Freshman of The Year award at the 2021 South African Hip Hop Awards. “Ye x4” was nominated for best collaboration of the year and “B4now” for album of the year at the same event. 2021 was obviously a big year for the rapper.
As for Blxckie’s musical conquests in 2022, he released his EP “4Luv” in early February. After that, he also dropped the “THE 4MULA” album later in the year. Subsequently, he gained another nomination as the Best International flow at the 2022 BET Hip Hop awards.
One of his most recent appearances was on Blaqbonez’s “Fake Nikes“, a song that has as much lyrical depth as it does delivery. It was definitely one of my most-played songs last year.
From all indications, Blxckie intends to remain on our playlists and on our lips for a long time to come. If you’re as excited as we are to find out what the South African lyricist has in store for his audience this year, stay glued to SOOT Africa for your daily music update!
