Time flies when you’re Kwesta and having fun! This week, the multi-award winning rapper celebrates 5 years of his critically acclaimed album, DaKAR II, with an exclusive airing of the ‘5 Years of Kwesta’s DaKAR II’ special on Channel O on Friday 26 February 2021 at 4pm.
We all know where we were and how we felt when we heard Kwesta’s ‘Ngud’ for the first time and realising that one of the reasons you loved it instantly was the ‘Camino Del Sol’ sample behind Kwesta’s deep voice. That song took us through the festive season and DaKAR II continued churning out hit after hit. DaKAR II was released in February 2016 and by 2019 the album was certified ten times Platinum. DaKAR II includes the smash hits Ngud featuring Cassper Nyovest, Ngiyaz’fela Ngawe featuring Thabsie and Mayibabo featuring DJ Maphorisa, DJ Buckz and OkMalumkoolkat amongst others.
Celebrations will kick off with an exclusive airing of his special ‘Kwesta’s 5 Years of DaKAR II’ on Channel O this Friday, 26 February 2021. The special captures rare moments with Kwesta talking about legacy, life and love while breaking down the music that has shaped the culture and is currently still the best-selling hip hop album in South Africa. This will include a first in SA music, when DaKAR II becomes the first album to feature on Apple Music’s new Classic Album of the Week, on Friday, 5 March 2021.
The talented rapper is intent on leaving his mark on the world, but in more ways than one, “I want to leave a balanced legacy – professional and personal. Personally, my legacy is whatever my daughter interprets my music to be. That is the legacy that interests me the most and the one I want to keep positive.”
When asked about how he feels about DaKAR II, Urbantainment head, Nota Baloyi, said: “Urbantainment started working on the DaKAR plan in 2011, and here we are 10-years later celebrating the 5th anniversary of the crown jewel of SA Hip hop releases”.
Highlights from DaKAR II:
- DaKAR II, album is certified 13 x Platinum
- Ngud’ single is certified 58 x Platinum
- Ngiyaz’fela Ngawe is certified 119x Platinum
About Kwesta
Senzo Mfundo Vilakazi was born on the 11th August 1988. He hails from the township of Katlehong in the East Rand of Johannesburg, where his dreams to become a rap superstar began. After winning a talent show with his poetry he realised that he had a talent for spoken word. In 2003 he was part of the group, Ghetto Fellaz, which changed to The Juvenylz. Vilakazi then decided to drop out of school, pursue music fulltime and recorded his first demo. Kwesta started gaining a following in his home township of Katlehong and the East Rand after performing at school pageants, talent shows, street bashes and local festivals. In 2005 he met Max from Africa’s Most Southern (AMS) Record Company who had their own recording facilities where Kwesta, and then unknown Zakwe, honed their rapping skills on countless songs with local beat makers. These tracks were distributed around his hometown while he continued working on his demo.
Winning the battle competition on Yfm‟s Rap Activity Jam and the Freestyle Kings special on ETV‟s Shiz Niz, Kwesta became more visible nationally and this led to his first appearances on major festival scenes like The Rand Show and The Durban Beach Festival. With the demo done it was sent all over including Buttabing Entertainment which saw Kwesta get an offer to sign with Slikour.
Music Highlights:
Special Rekwest (2010)
This was Kwesta’s first album released in September 2010 when the rapper was only 22. Fans first heard the lead single ‘Stomp’ which was followed by ‘Flash It’, ‘Babhemi’, ‘Pump IT’ and ‘Flava’.
DaKAR (2013)
DaKAR (Da King of Afrikan Rap) did well peaking at number 3 on the iTunes Hip-hop / Rap Chart at number 3.
DaKAR II (2016)
Three years later Kwesta’s third studio album, DaKAR II, was released. This is considered is best work to date with chart topping singles like ‘Ngud’, ‘Mayibabo’ and ‘Ngiyaz’fela Ngawe’. Not only has the album gone on to be a multi-platinum seller, it also earned Kwesta a record six SAMA wins making him the most awarded South African rapper to date.
Spirit (2017)
In late 2017, Kwesta released ‘Spirit’ featuring Wale which fast became a hit with over 4.7mill streams to date and certified platinum. The video has acquired over 7 million views to date.
Vur Vai (2018)
Following the success of ‘Spirit’, Kwesta and his genius producer, Makwa, released ‘Vur Vai’, another mid-tempo but catchy tune. The song peaked at number 31 on the Apple Music Main Chart , number 12 on Apple music hip hop chart and number one on iTunes main and hip hop charts. The superhero themed music video has close to 1.5 million views.
Khethile Khethile (2019)
After marrying his best friend, Yolanda Mvelase, Kwesta dropped ‘Khethile Khethile’ with touching visuals of his nuptials. The single features SAMA nominated Thee Legacy, Makwa and Tshego AMG and has amassed over 5 million views.
Image Courtesy: Supplied
