The Blacksmithed had such fun last year because 2017 is, for most artists, highlighted as a year of growth and much needed experience. The music scene has never been as alive and offering as what 2017 had for the East. And for the most part, we appreciate that we were trusted enough as a platform to represent a number of artists, old and new. We sit here now wondering what brilliance 2018 has in store for us, through all the artists who’ve published their projects on the site, and also hope that our audience and EC as a whole awaits with the very same anticipation, dopeness.
To wrap up BI’s highlights of last year, we decided to compile a top ten realest moves in 2017. Without further ado, lets get started!
10. The Timeline/Top 5 Chart

Eastern Cape has always had hip hop radio shows, and for a number of artists the first box to ‘check’ is the local radio station. The Timeline proved to be that show for hip hop artists in the Bay.
We liked how they didn’t try to reinvent the wheel: they took all the resources at their disposal and put together a fire show every week. The show ran a very successful Top 5 chart on their Facebook page. The station would play the 5 songs and the listeners would have their say as to who should be crowned number 1 by commenting on the top 5 post on Facebook.
In future The Bl would love to work with The Timeline team. Let’s make it happen in 2018.
Twitter: @Bayfm1079
9. Isaac Wilson

If you’re going to speak about one of Eastern Cape’s most experimental hip hop artists, you’re bound to mention Isaac Wilson, sooner or later. This cat has always pushed the boundaries on his craft – on and off the mic. In 2017, he did nothing short of what we’ve come to expect from him.
At the beginning of the year Isaac said he would be focusing on visuals. As a result, he released two music videos, one of which was lyric focused. He also gave us very captivating snaps of his live performances. He did not stop there: he went on to host his own show at Tramways, performed at different venues around EC, and also dropped his project Levitation.
Isaac Wilson had a busy 2017 and the Bl would like to recognize him as one of the most consistent artists in EC. We see you!
Twitter: @IsaacWilsonZA
8. Azzy EC

Azzy EC, the one man army from Mdantsane, started 2017 on a strong high after being crowned the 5fm Rap Factor champ on Miss Cosmo’s show The Stir Up. Azzy didn’t stop there as far as national competitions are concerned. He entered #VodacomNXTLVL and represented on that platform and made it to the Top 20. If it was not for him missing his flight we could have been writing about #WhatWentDown in the #VodacomNXTLVL Top 5.
On the music front we were excited to see the Azzy EC x Blaq Suga’s collaboration on a track titled Ixesha. Seeing leaders in the EC coming together is always beautiful. Unfortunately this specific song didn’t make it to The BI Music site; hopefully the next one will.
Twitter: @Azzy_EC
7. Thiird Eye

Here is a collective made up of beatmakers, rappers and aspiring fashion designers – surely it should hold the title as the music man’s number one supplier. The Bl did a great job documenting this collective for the first 6 months of the year, be it singles, projects or music videos in our Monthly Wrap Up. Thiird Eye didn’t lose any steam and continued to summit every month after that.
In 2017, Thiird Eye didn’t play any games – they just hit us with the work. Some of the highlights from this camp is D.R.U.G.S by Siya DaBlxckGod and the solo offering from Vile Blakky titled SELiV. When you have the time, be sure to check out these projects. In 2018 we are waiting on Janelle Waynes to drop her project and of course Handle With Care by Crazy-A and Ree will be lit.
Twitter: @thethiirdeye
6. Slogan

The self-proclaimed ‘King Of The East’, Slogan the Rapper, had another eventful year. He was last year’s runner up on BI’s Top 10 List. Slogan came through with a solid effort in 2017 by bringing more heat and making his appearance in our EC Hip Hop Dairies Season 3. He took his music across the EC borders when he performed for the first time in places like Durban. He dropped his Religion joint that did the numbers on the iTunes charts as reported by The Daily Dispatch
But…
With all that said, the major move that impressed the Bl was him going up to Jo’burg and securing an interview with Zola 7, a childhood hero and legend for most of us since his Yizo Yizo days, all while Dj Sbu and The Bl watched.
We get goosebumps when we see EC Hiphop occupy these spaces!
Twitter: @SloganTheRapper
That was Part 1 of our Top 10 EC Hip Hop Moves For 2017 piece, lookout for part 2 when we crown the number one spot. Who do you think made the biggest moves in 2017 in terms of EC Hip Hop? Do you agree with our list? Did we leave someone off? Let us know your thoughts on this matter in the comments.
You can read last year’s Top Ten moves here: Part 1, Part 2.