The EC hip hop diaspora is a very full, diverse one. And often some parts of it are sidelined or ignored because they generally don’t fit with the mainstream EC hip hop culture for whatever reason (politically, socially, etc). We at The Blacksmithed do our best to shut down these barriers. We want the audience to get the complete experience of EC hip hop and everything that includes it.
Which leads us to our artist spotlight: Nielo.
Nielo, a member of the PE hip hop group G5, is currently pushing a solo move and is making some serious moves in Port Elizabeth, coming from the city’s Northern Areas.
He is currently under True Sight Media , a label started by PE veteran JBux. The move has clearly been beneficial for both parties as the material that has come out so far has been quite positive.
Nielo currently has a single on the way titled ‘Gunne Wat Klap’ and has coupled up some visuals with it. Check out the promo below:
He’s also made a feature on national TV, having appeared on SABC2’s Fokus alongside True Sight Media speaking about the importance of hip hop in curbing gangsterism and drug abuse in their communities:
For those who were also around the PE hip hop scene circa 2002, check the video out below. Nielo collaborates with Motla, one of the most energetic, vibrant artists from Urban Connection during the very early days of the PE scene in a street cypher. This video is really dope and seeing two different generations switch verses between each other is really dope:
Nielo is a cat to look out for. His come-up is one we know he’s community is watching and we’ve also got our eyes on him. We look forward to what he’s going to drop in the near future.