Raptor

Meeting With The King

No Childs Play (feat. General C'mamane & Deejay Jackzin)

SMS for Location, Vol. 5

Pink ft. Kris The $pirit

Off-White ft. Vanyfox

Head of the Gqom Oh! label, Nan Kolè has been undertaking a massive project over the past few months. Allying with Rome-based radio station Crudo Volta, Kolè has been travelling around South Africa, and Durban in particular, to investigate the various shades of Gqom that are gradually emerging. For many of these artists, the resultant Woza mixtape and the accompanying documentary are their first chance at exposure outside of the country. It's also an opportunity to contextualise Gqom and educate the rest of the world about the culture as a whole. Crafting a balance of the biggest hitters in the scene, the biggest tracks and those most representative of the sound and its scene must have been a difficult tightrope to walk. One of our favourites—and it really was tough to pick just one—was "Cruel Drumz", a dubby example of the gritty, minimal, bass-heavy sound of Gqom by Cruel Boyz (whose "Touch It" we premiered last year).

Read the full interview with label boss Nan Kolè here: http://uk.complex.com/music/2016/07/premiere-cruel-boyz-cruel-drumz

Premiere: Cruel Boyz - Cruel Drumz

The anthemic ‘Asbambeki’ featuring local crew WorstHood and TLC Fam, translating loosely to being unstoppable; “It means you can’t catch us basically”, Emo Kid says proudly, “On the dance floor, you can’t touch us, we’re on fire.”

Capturing the raw, street sounds of his city, Emo Kid is the latest Durban artist to take the music global and with ‘Gqomtera’, put Sgubhu firmly on the map.

Gqomtera EP

Emo Kid - Asbambeki feat. WorstHood, Resto & Ayanda (TLC Fam)

Durban’s 23 year-old producer Emo Kid has announced he is to release eight-track debut EP, ‘Gqomtera’, through Gqom Oh! on October 27th.

Although titled ‘Gqomtera’, which Emo Kid explains is a slang term he and others use for the music, the record actually explores Sgubhu — another strain of South African dance music that shares many stylistic parallels with Gqom, though is always written with a 4x4 beat. Like DJ Lag before him, an artist widely considered the king of Gqom, Emo Kid is also considered a pioneer in Durban; “Some people call me the Sgubhu king, but I'm just happy they're enjoying my music”, he says.

Based in Inanda, in the Etafuleni area township in Durban, Emo Kid’s house looks out over an area called Isandlwana — the spot where the Zulu army famously defeated the British Army in the Battle Of Isandlwana in 1879. It is from this backdrop that he has written the majority of his music over the last few years, including new record ‘Gqomtera’. He has also spent time producing for well-established South African artists like DJ Tira, a DJ who has been tipped to win an upcoming Red Bull Culture Clash in Durban.

At eight tracks long, ‘Gqomtera’ provides a comprehensive overview of the Sgubhu sound, with the aim of taking the listener on their own ‘Durban Journey’. “I wanted to show the uniqueness of my own style which I would describe as more musical”, Emo Kid explains, “you can feel the music when you listen but it still hits hard with that Gqom flavour.”

That Gqom flavour, powered by hard, fast, uncompromising drums, provides a solid core from which everything else functions. Bright, shimmering trance synths feature on ‘Futuristic Gqom’, while on ‘Enkwarini’ — “another word for a party or fantastic get together” — vocalist Fawell skips over light, playful Sgubhu rhythms. There’s also space for harder, deeper cuts like ‘Ground Shaker’, cut with a twinkling melody line, the charging pace and power of ‘Insimbi Yase Dubane’ and the anthemic ‘Asbambeki’ featuring local crew TLC Fam, translating loosely to being unstoppable; “It means you can’t catch us basically”, Emo Kid says proudly, “On the dance floor, you can’t touch us, we’re on fire.”

Capturing the raw, street sounds of his city, Emo Kid is the latest Durban artist to take the music global and with ‘Gqomtera’, put Sgubhu firmly on the map.

Emo Kid - Isukile feat.Mapopo

Gqom Oh! records presents "The Originators"; a five track EP respresenting the past, the present and the future of Gqom - the thunderous club sound from Durban, South Africa. 

The Gqom Oh! label was set up by Rome-based DJ and musician Nan Kolè to highlight the music and artists of Durban, the often overlooked cradle of the new South African sound. The label's 2016 compilation - ‘Gqom Oh! The Sound of Durban Vol.1’ - broke the sound out of South Africa, Pitchfork calling it “The largest and most thoughtful survey of the genre available to western audiences to date”. Recently joining Kolè is Sboniso Brandon Luthuli aka Citizen Boy on the ground as local A&R. 

The EP's A-Side is dedicated to two of the genre's most prominent producers. DJ Lag is a frontrunner in pushing Gqom worldwide. Making music from a young age and building up a solid reputation in South Africa, he’s known as the "King of Gqom". Griffit Vigo, a real innovator in the Gqom genre, grew up in the same area as DJ Lag and has attained a legendary status amongst his peers.

"When I was in Durban the first time I noticed that Griffit Vigo was a kind of legendary figure, he'd been inspiring all the Gqom Durban artists for a long time. Nobody knew where he was but everybody was playing him and sometimes using his beats to make new songs. The main track 'Ree’s Vibe' was the peak moment of DJ Lag's sets all over the world. If Lag is the Gqom King then Griffit Vigo is the Gqom Legend."
- Nan Kolè 

Sbucardo is one of the most respected DJs around the streets and the townships of Durban. Featuring Abnormal on 'Iphoyisa', whose lyrics in Zulu translate to “We at the club, Mr police man don’t disturb us", the track represents the South African scene and Gqom culture in Durban very well. Naked Boyz (officially the first in Durban to explore new territories in broken beat in 2011) 'Story Teller' is characteristic of the Sgubhu style, a blend of Gqom with more conventional house sounds, the new genre taking over Durban and finding its way onto mainstream radio. Scene kingpins Rude Boyz round off the release's line up of Gqom originators with 'Umshunto'.

The Originators

Sbucardo da Deejay - IPhoyisa feat. Abnormal

Hagan - Asantewaa

South African Gqom meet Nigerian Afrobeats.

Alala

Citizen Boy feat. Dapo Tuburna - Alala

GQOM LEGEND GRIFFIT VIGO RECLAIMS HIS THRONE WITH NINE 
TRACKS OF ‘ANCESTRAL FUTURISM’... 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Durban native - ​GRIFFIT VIGO​, is a real innovator of the Gqom sound. Starting out in 2004 his journey as a musician has produced releases such as the timeless ​‘DJ’ EP​ and global anthem ​‘REES VIBE’ ​on ​GQOM OH!.​ He has attained legendary  status amongst his peers as one of the originators of Gqom, with his tracks being a constant in sets from the likes of ​DJ LAG​, ​RUDEBOYZ​ & ​BBC RADIO 1’S TODDLA T. 
Following the self released ​‘GQOM WILL NEVER DIE’​ ​EP ​earlier this year, ​GRIFFIT VIGO ​has really come into his own on ​‘I AM GQOM’​. Producing nine ​cinematic tracks, equipped for the club, that explore both his ancestral heritage and vision for the future of Gqom. 
“Gqom is all about sampling, looping and creating your own vibe, I say so 
because I Am Gqom.’ - Griffit Vigo 
The visual concept by ​MIKAEL CALANDRA ACHODE​ and audio journey both draw inspiration from early Zulu culture...  more
credits
released October 20, 2020 

Graphics : Mikeal Calandra Achode 
Master and file restoration : LoudnProud Studio 
A&R : Francesco Cucchi
license

Griffit Vigo - I Am Gqom (Out Now)

Vinyls and Cassettes collection of Gqomu. Gqom Oh! Records is a label dedicated to the sound of Durban, South Africa. For sync & licensing please contact gavin@syncsmith.com
Management/Remix Requests: gqomubhenga@gmail.com
Gqom Oh! Showcase bookings : live@3feethi.com

Emo Kid - Asbambeki feat. WorstHood, Resto & Ayanda (TLC Fam)

Gqom Oh!

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