                                SITHEMBISO “INSTRO” HERIMBI BIOGRAPHY

Instrumental. adjective: serving as a means. This definition is extracted from the Oxford English Dictionary. However, if one takes a peek at the Beats Against The Beast (BAB) lexicon, one is sure to be greeted by the picture of a grinning producer and musician Sithembiso Herimbi.
Better known as Instro, derived from the word Instrumental, this Vaal Triangle dweller is a mainstay in the BAB dictionary yet he also epitomizes Oxford’s definition of his elongated alias. On the surface, explains Instro, “I named myself Instro because I obviously make instrumentals.” However, if one looks past Instro’s role as one of the three BAB producers (which include Battlekat and Rustic-Ras), this rapper-cum-producer’s purpose is much greater. 
As part of the BAB collective, Instro serves as the means to music’s advancement. This is done through providing his signature drum-driven beats which are propelled by his introspective nature. Born out of the need for good beats to rap on when “I started rapping around grade seven,” Instro took it upon himself to make his own.
And while he started rapping “because it was cool at the time,” Instro –who was born on October 22 1986 – quickly became the rare dual jewel in hip hop: a rapper who doubles as a producer. Engulfed by words and sounds, some mistook Instro’s love for music for fickle infatuation but others may argue that he is merely following in the paths of his most notable influences. Great names like JDilla, Hi-Tek, Battlekat – all of whom rapped on and produce some of the hip hop fraternity’s favourite songs – as well as Ill Mind. 
His dexterity in these fields have seen Instro pursue a career in Sound Engineering – anything to keep learning about and ensure greater access to the avenue of honing his craft.
In the spirit of honing skills Instro is a novice keyboard player, a trait that will accelerate his creativity when tackling different instrumentals. 
Beautiful Hell On A Record, Instro’s brainchild, is the mixtape-like series which featured some of the Vaal’s rappers at their peak. Some of which include his rap crew, Six Feet. It’s with this experience in the burgeoning hip hop hub of the Vaal that Instro tackles most music projects. 
However, Instro does not restrict his work to his hometown. An apt example of this is his compilation album called NASA (Now And Still After). The album sees Instro at his peak and boasts the likes of Nthabi, Golden Shovel, Big Ben and others on beats by Instro, MoKatalyst and Master.
Following a very successful launch the compilation has been doing exceedingly well and was sold on the online music site rzarecters.co.za as well as at Ritual Stores in Newtown. Following the compilation, Instro then became a part of popular youth culture radio station, YFM. 
This experience saw Instro bring his talents to the radio industry where he excelled as a technical producer, compiled and presented news bulletins as well as learned the craft of being an on air DJ.
The radio bug might have bitten, however Instro’s first love, music saw him back in the studio doing what he does best. Instro was awarded an opportunity to work as a studio engineer and producer at one of South Africa’s leading and highly respected independent record labels, Outrageous Records. During his tenure, Instro produced for SA hip hop’s foremost artists including Zubz and Reason. Instro also produced critically acclaimed albums like rapper, Nthabi’s Welcome To Me.
Already a sought-after hip hop producer, Instro changed his tune and worked with afro-jazz maestro, Ringo Madlingozi and legendary vocalist, Sibongile Khumalo on a well-received project surrounding the 2009 general elections entitled Healing In The Land Of Forgiving.  
Staying true to his nom de plume, Instro has become the means to get many a rapper’s message across. Some of these rappers include Mawe-2, The Original Backpackers and of course, the BAB family.  So it’s safe to say that Instro acts as a catalyst for this music and thus brings his name to life. But he doesn’t think it’s this complex as he exclaims, “I make beautiful music, that’s all. And I like it a lot!”


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