A day to remember at Back To The City as 40 years of local hip hop was celebrated

The wonder of hip hop landed on our shores 40 years ago.

We have been treated to acts like Prophets Of Da City who are considered the forefathers locally all the way down to the newest of the modern era, with acts like Loatinover Pounds.

This timeline was woven into the line-up at the 17^th annual Back To The City hip hop festival which had people out in their droves to show love for this global movement. Mary Fitzgerald Square was cordoned off as is tradition and two stages were occupied by some of the best talents in local hip hop.

Graffiti crews did battle under the byway as break dancers caught waves on the Power Play stage which also saw winners walk away with R10 000 per category in their battle section.

A street ball court was also set up for the Converse four on four tournament which was thrilling to take in.

Rappers in the crowd could showcase their proficiency at a smaller open mic stand in between both stages which was a nice idea, but their sound was a little drowned out as this stand was in between both main stages. A nice addition was the reggae area set up in Newtown Park just outside The Baseline where all the Jah men and women lit up a bit of the old electric broccoli and slow winded the night away.

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For the most part people came dressed to the nines with heads bopping to the music, their hands raised and fanning down anyone who delivered a scorching punchline or reacting to a rhythmic blend by one of the 40 DJs who performed.

You would be forgiven for thinking a large portion of the crowd were suffering from some kind of leg injury but that’s just the saunter that is intrinsic to the attitude of hip hop, nobody is in pain, it’s swagger.  

The performances

There was an array of magical moments on the main stage in particular. Zulu Mecca delivered her brand of conscious raps clad in all black and to a gathering at the main stage that should have been larger given her prowess. She might’ve been on a little too early in the day but at least she stepped to the microphone without the safety of a backing track.

It would be hard to say that for a few of the rappers on the night. People were puzzled and murmured, ‘how come the song is playing’ when Anele Zondo’s performed her song Ingwe and even when her mic was not raised, the lyrics were pouring out of the speaker. No matter how you slice it, people do feel cheated by a backing track. She wasn't the only person to resort to this however. 

Optical Illusion also provided a memorable moment with a slew of their classics as did a regular fixture of the festival, Hymphatic Thabs whose dungeon styled raps are always a highlight.

A few people were noticeably not in attendance like Cassper Nyovest and Nasty C who just released an album a piece. When 018 by Cassper was played by a DJ in between sets, the crowd went absolutely ballistic. Organisers even managed to get Ifani to dust off his mic and take to the stage.

The best performers on the night included The Beat Nutz from the US and of course the headliners, Mobb Deep who shook the crowd with their street anthems Shook Ones, Burn and Get Away among others.

One of the best performances of the night came from two brothers who are considered rappers but spend most of their time trying to sing.

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Big Zulu bought Sjava out and honestly put a lot of rappers to shame. The Inkabi’s had the crowd in a trance with their adorable duet. Things got a little more street when the DJ had the presence of mind to play Vura so as to keep Sjava on stage a bit longer and have him do some actual rapping.

The running time for the performances was very short and this did put some strain on the proceedings. Gigi Lamayne had to be pulled from the stage by the host so she wouldn’t run longer than the allocated 10 minutes and the forementioned Sjava was by no means ready to leave when his time ran out.

A few heavyweights took to the stage and delivered chilled performances like Reason, Kwesta and Nadia Nakai. All celebrated acts but they all seemed to be in first gear on the night. That wasn’t the case for Priddy Ugly who relished coming on after the headliners as reports suggest his exit from music is imminent.

The principal, Ammunition, brought out the old guard to send everyone off and this included his group Township Frequency, Skwatta Kamp and Zola who people turned back from the exits just to marvel at the still undeniably captivating music he has in his catalogue.