Archie "DAT" Sopazi
| Archie "DAT" Sopazi | |
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Archie Sopazi (aka Dat) is a South African hip hop artist regarded as one of the founders of the subgenre Spaza, originating in Cape Town.[1][2][3] This genre of hip hop has its roots in the isiXhosa language, but musicians have also used isiXhosa, isiZulu, English, Afrikaans and slang to rap. Spaza is a music that pays homage to township culture and heritage.[4][5]
Dat was one of the first local artists in Cape Town to abandon American hip hop style of rap and create a unique style in his own language.[3][6][7][8][5] The subgenre went on to be known as Spaza music. Traditionally, Spaza refers to a corner store in South Africa, so it is the name of the genre that represents the locality.
In 2010, Dat co-founded the HipHop Kaslam in inorder to empower artists within the Spaza community.[6] HipHop Kaslam aimed to expose the creatives to a professional theatre environment where they could showcase their culture.
Music career[edit]
- 1993: Started four man hip hop group Black G Flow
- 2005: Dat taking on a solo career
- 2007: Released his debut album Under Santi.
- 2010: Released his second independent album On Toes.
Performances[edit]
Dat has performed all over Southern Africa.
His performances include:[8][5]
- The Artscape Fan Fest which took place in Langa for the 2010 Soccer World Cup
- The annual African Hip Hop Indaba
- Nekkies Outdoor Hip Hop Festival
- Dat Summer Concert
- Infecting the City Music Festival,
- Black Noise 23rd Anniversary Celebration
- Best of Ekapa Underground Hip Hop show
- Cape Bass Sessions in Cape Town
Hip Hop Kaslam[edit]
Archie 'Dat' Sopazi and Phila 'Lady P' Nkuzo founded Hip Hop Kaslam (which means 'my location') in 2010 as a non-profit organization to promote Spaza artists and local musicians.[3][1][2] The aim was to showcase the genre in spaces that are usually inaccessible and to provide indigenous language artists with practical projects and programmes for career development.
They provide youth from poor backgrounds the opportunity to perform in a theater, even if they have no previous experience doing so. The group wants young people to demonstrate their talent by expressing themselves in their vernacular tongues[7][6][4]
As a rule of thumb, the following criteria were used:[8]
- It is essential that artists write and perform in an indigenous African language,
- Facebook page should have at least 100 followers, and
- There are several recorded songs or an album.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Hip hop Kaslam for one night only". Media Update. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Internship in South Africa: South Africa Works - TOUR, WORK , FIFA and FUN in South Africa". internship-uk.com. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Hip Hop Kaslam brings township lifestyle to Cape Town for the fourth time". Media Update. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Hip Hop Kaslam Presents Uthando". kapstadtmagazin.de (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2021-09-12.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Props for kings of the underground". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Matsolo, Mary-Jane (2013-02-06). "Gugs Youth perform hip hop at the Baxter theatre". GroundUp News. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Spaza, street slang and kasi at the Baxter". www.bizcommunity.com. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Artslink.co.za - Hip Hop Kaslam for one night only". Artslink. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
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