X-Malatji
How’s it going Waking Life readers! Glad you could be with
us this week as we bring you more stories about the life & times of today’s
rising stars!
Now we all know that South Africa is filled with talented
artists, and the hip hop world is growing faster each day. With artists like
Rouge & Monzol coming up, we figured we’d let this run of hip hop stories
continue. Introducing to the fold: X-MALATJI!
“I remember the day I first got into hip hop.
It was back in the day, was listening to fabulous’ track ‘Yep, I’m Back’ &
the beat was just too sick. I was really attracted to that dirty south kind of
music & I just wanted to be in there, make my music sound like the ones I’m
intrigued by. I also just want my music to be pure and true, that way everyone
who’s anyone can take a listen”
If you were at the interview you’d be able to feel the
passion flowing from his words. This Phalaborwa native grew up rapping at a
very young age (14), & as he grew as a man, his passion and love for hip
hop grew with him.
X-Malatji: “I started off by making tracks in my room
with my friends, one of which was Monzol, & we spread it out with our new
Motorola V3’s hahaha, & people just ate it up. It was then & there that
I realized I had an ear for music even though most of the time I had no idea
what I was doing.
My family, my mom especially, thought it was
just a phase I was going through. So when I got to Varsity they were like
“Okay, you’re a grown man now, we expecting you to stop with the music &
focus on your degree” – which I did, but music was still my passion, & as I
kept on making beats, I slowly but surely started to land gigs. Places like
Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, even my home town Phalaborwa, came calling. So I KNEW
that I couldn’t let music go.”
The name ‘X-Malatji’ actually means Xavier Malatji. Xavier, the
name adopted by him while on a spiritual path, was chosen by X-Malatji when, as
he says, he became a soldier for God. Realizing that rappers are more than just
musicians, he soon started making music that always sent out a message without
coming off as, some would say, ‘Holier Than Thou’.
X-Malatji: “I am
nowhere near perfect nor am I nowhere being the perfect Christian, but I am
Christian. And although I still rap the way I do & swear in my songs, my
music has some Christian elements into it, even though most won’t notice it
unless they take a really good listen.
I personally think that it’s good to be different,
especially in hip hop. Considering the fact that music sends out such a huge
message, a message about how we should behave, dress, react to situations &
so forth, & I think that with my music, it’s good for me to just be real.
Let people see that hey, just ‘cause you’re into hip hop doesn’t mean you got
to live the shady lifestyle that SOME hip hop artists portray. Especially if
you’re in that scene, there’s a certain way you should be but I refuse to
conform to the norm, that’s why I say my music isn’t religion it’s more like “REAL-Legion.”
I just want to be known as the realest around & so I stay real & I hope
my music inspires others to do the same.
SKYF the Miiix tape
X-Malatji: “It’s all
about the good life! Not necessarily the rich life or anything like that but
more like just living good, doing your thing, being with the boys, hanging with
the girls but at the same time, talking about real issues & just being
mobile. There’s this one track called ‘What Is It’ & it’s all about just
living, being mobile, being on social media & just doing you.”
“Skyf the Miiix Tape” was inspired by “Skyf the Movie” [Which
Can Be Viewed In Our Video Gallery (The Trailer)]. A movie about a man trying
to get out of a world where drugs and alcohol are the way of life. Being a part
of the production team, X-Malatji began making music which can be heard in its background
giving the movie its dramatic element. ‘Skyf theMiiix Tape’ doing is the exact
same, where every track tells its own story as well as the stories of others.
Back in the Day
X-Malatji: “Man I was
very conservative as a kid. Mainly because I was always sick so I didn’t want
to be around many people, I preferred to be indoors. So I don’t even know how I
got into hip hop, I guess it chose me. But yeah, growing up I was just chilled,
enjoyed being with my brother & chilling with my mom from time to time.
Life was chilled for me, nothing crazy. So when I burst into hip-hop it was a
huge shocker to everyone like I said before, not much support from anyone but
now my dad supports me, especially because I haven’t negated my academic
responsibilities. That’s basically my back story in a nutshell, not much to
tell.
What I will say though is, back in the day, I
got most of my stories from my brothers’ stories. Because I was very young, I
couldn’t go out. So when he’d return late at night, talking about how sick the
club was and how the girls were, so what I’d do is write lyrics about his
stories, basically living through him you know? It was crazy because here I am,
maybe 12 or 13yrs of age, rapping about the club hahaha, ridiculous man!
What to Expect
X-Malatji: “Well I’m
a romantic, so expect some romanticism in some of my tracks, which I think is
important. The way I see it is, as a musician, you can’t always be about one
thing, such as drugs, money etc etc. You need to also be able to melt hearts
with your lyrics. I mean look at Drake. But at the same time, expect me to be
making music that is all about dancing & just being out there.
After the interview, X-Malatji, who recently performed this March,
the 24th to be exact, also told us that he releases music every
Sunday on Twitter: www.twitter.com/XMalatji ß
Follow Him on Twitter as he releases links to his music which get you up and
totally crunked up!!
That’s it for this week folks. We’d also like to give a BIG
happy belated birthday to X, Hope it was a great one!
Catch us again next time as we bring you more stories on the
life & times of today’s rising stars.
Until then, take care of yourselves & each other.
PEACE!!!!
