Lavesh is no stranger to The Blacksmithed, we have followed his work since his collaboration mixtape with Big Nasty titled ‘Sincerly Yours’ in 2014. We recently got a chance to catch up with him after the release of his first project under Universal SA titled ‘Make Me Famous EP’. This is what he had to say about his new project.
Q:The last time we got a chance to speak to you was at your old studio in PE, late last year for EC Hip-hop Diaries. That was before we heard the news of your deal, congrats on that. How has life changed for you and DNA? What are some of the things you can do now or you got to do, that you couldn’t do before you were signed?
Lavesh: Thank you, much appreciated. Signing the deal at Universal changed the way we move. It allowed us to focus on the music and the label does the admin for me, for example, in my shoot I was styled by Boogy who has worked with the likes of AKA. Signing the deal allowed me to access different platforms and use the facilities which gave us a more enhanced sound. It was a great idea on our part.
Q: You have been in Jo’burg just over a year now, what has been your highlight and what is the one lesson you have learned while there thus far?
Lavesh: It’s actually my 2nd year in JHB. My highlights so far… Yho there is so many, I can mention a few, being in studio with Robbie Malinga has been great. I have the utmost respect for him, he has a lot of knowledge because he has been in the industry for a long time so having his opinion has helped a lot. Another highlight was performing at Universal. Mr Randal and Black Coffee was there to name a few, it was good to showcase what we have to offer the industry.
Q: Damn, time flies! 2015 you put out 2 projects, ‘PE No One Better’ with Big Nasty and ‘Make Me Famous Mixtape’. You also put out a gang of singles. This year you took your time with the music, what has been the hold up?
Lavesh: All things good take time. Whilst working on the EP, we were also working on the album so selecting tracks was a bit difficult because we had done a lot of tracks. It was basically choosing the right tracks for the EP and album. In this industry you hardly get a 2nd chance so we had to focus on getting it right.
Q: We follow you on these social media streets and once upon a status you said “You don’t publish a chapter before you finish writing the book, so why would you drop a single before the album is done?”. It made a lot of sense when you said it. You have just dropped the EP, is it safe to assume the album is done? If so can we expect it this year?
Lavesh: [Laughs] Yeah the recording is done for the album. Haven’t set any dates yet but I do have a title for the album already. The photo shoot for the album is also done. We are in good hands as Mr Robbie Malinga is guiding us through the journey so far.
hahaha did you see what I did there? We need that scoop! But for now we will focus on the EP…
Hahaha yeah good one bro!
Q: Shaka Zulu has been available on iTunes for a minute. How has the single been received and can we expect a music video?
Lavesh: Shaka Zulu is still being received well, it’s doing well on iTunes. What we decided to do is release the EP and let people choose their favourite song to shoot a video for. We intend on giving out dope visuals for the EP.
Q: Can you tell us about the production on this tape, who did you go to for beats?
The production on the tape was strictly Teedotbeats. We have been working together for 3 years now and we’re both confident on the sound we are doing. I don’t outsource any beats cause Teedot got that sauce!
Q: We have known you to keep your circles really small but on ‘Flashing Lights’ you work with a vocalist, can you tell us who she is and how did that come about?
The vocalist on ‘Flashing Lights’ is the beautiful Lungi Naidoo, she is also releasing an album this year. She worked with the likes of Black Coffee so working with her was a no brainer. We actually met in studio whilst I was recording the song. She came in, did the hook and we decided to keep it like that. Her vocals are amazing, shout out to her!
Q: You have invested a lot of time on this project and I’m sure you are proud of it. What would you say is the main thing you want people to take away after listening to it?
I started recording last year before I got the deal. When we got the deal it was reassurance that we got that sauce, so we took our time to make the songs in the album. I basically want to show the listeners that there is great talent in PE. I want people to connect and relate to the songs cause although we trap, we want to showcase a different side or a different style of trap, which we call ‘drill’. The label also enjoys the feel of music we do so they gave us freedom to be us. More than anything else we want people to know that it’s good to be you instead of trying to mimic what’s out at the moment.
I’d ask you to elaborate on what ‘drill’ is… But we will save that conversion for another day. Thank you for your time man.
Thank you guys for the feature. You guys are doing great work for the EC, shout out to The Blacksmithed one time!
Facebook: LaveshDNA
Twitter: @LaveshDNA
Instagram: @LaveshDNA
