In order to move forward, continue building and reach new heights, we need to reflect on how far we have come. 2016 may not have been the most popular year for most people but one thing is for sure, in 2016 we saw the biggest moves in EC Hiphop to date. We have decided to compile a list of the top moves by EC artists from the tenth spot right through to the number one spot.
10. Sizzle’s Performance at Countdown Music Festival 2016
Sizzle has garnished a reputation for being East London’s most booked artist, and that’s evident in the work he puts in. He had a good run performing at the Countdown Music Festival 2016, dropping his album ‘Brand New Old Me’ (with an accompanying film), and now starting 2017 with a collaboration with PdotO. The homie has been putting in some serious work and we’re excited for what 2017 has in store for him!
Twitter: @SizzleRSA
Image sourced from SizzleSA FB Fan Page
9. Azzy On The Stir Up
In the closing stages of 2016 Azzy embarked on a journey to be crowned king of the rap factor on The Stir Up, on 5FM, hosted by Ms Cosmo. He caught The Blacksmithed’s attention when he announced that he had managed to win the Rap Factor battles for the 5th week in a row. Currently, Azzy is eight weeks deep and his representing EC well on this platform. This will be a great way to start the year and with talks of possibly dropping a project this year The Blacksmithed is definitely tuned in.
Twitter: @Azzy_EC
8. Hasty’s Video Debut On Turn Up
Source: Facebook/HastySouth
When an artist has worked as hard and has put in as much work as Hasty did in 2016, it makes it very difficult to leave him off any kind of list. Hasty has dropped music consistently throughout 2016 but the one moment we cherished at The Blacksmithed was the day he dropped the “Brown Dash and Hennessy” music video. It made it that much sweeter to have the video debut on Turn Up (Channel O) hot or not segment before it was available on YouTube, #Levels. The video was definitely HOT, it even had a cameo from the queen of SA Hiphop, Fifi Cooper.
Source: Facebook/HastySouth
Twitter:
7. Night Of The Elite 2
Source: Facebook/OfTheElite
Night Of The Elite (NOTE) is an initiative by the O.T.E Artistry to celebrate everything ELITE. This year the group invited TSK and Nandile ZA to join them on stage. If we are talking about the top EC Hiphop gigs then NOTE will have earned its spot in that conversation. What has impressed The Blacksmithed the most was the amount of growth that the event had compared to the 1st. We enjoy seeing this type of growth and we are already thinking about NOTE 3. It would be great to see a wider representation of EC artists on the line up. Our prayer is that the next event is bigger. The artists are better and the ladies are the baddest, can I get an Amen!
Twitter: @OTE_Artistry
6. Azi’s Unaffiliated Music Video
Azi had a huge year in 2016. From dropping his tape ‘Me, Myself & Music’, winning the TruFm talent search to getting signed. Our moment though was the day Azi dropped his music video for ‘Unaffiliated‘. It was better sweet for us. Bitter because he never came to The Blacksmithed – the number one source for EC Hiphop – for the drop but sweet because we had never seen visuals that crisp shot in the Bay by an artist on the come up! The music video definitely raised the bar in terms of visuals in the Bay Area.
Twitter: n/a
That was our part 1, number ten to six, of this piece lookout for part 2 when we crown the number one spot. Who do you think made the biggest moves in 2016 in terms of EC Hiphop. Do you agree with our list? did we leave someone off? Let us know your thoughts on this matter.
