In hindsight: Dope bars by my fave South African Rappers
We gave you some choice picks of lines we weren’t quite feeling so its only fair we give artists their props when they get it right. Our list of dope lines is us doing exactly that. Check out some of the lines we absolutely loved, spat by South African Rappers:
Kid Tini — Is That You: “Well spoken, audio crack dealer… pardon the slang”.
Kid Tini is a quintessential MC; his delivery, wordplay and metaphors are really top shelf. To fit the perfect definition of dope lines, we picked out a couple where he compares his rhyming to crack (the drug). We don’t condone drug abuse but we’re definitely fiends for his elevated lyricism. His play on words on Is That You is really impressive in how he compares slanging to his use of language. On New School Bully he continues the theme when he says he’s “still with that audio crack and you can’t fix it”. Wow, entendre alert! We’re sure he’ll keep supplying us with dope lines and we’ll keep coming back.
Nomoozlie — Don’t Panic with Dj Speedsta: “All I see is dead presidents.. I’m the new Graca”
We might have given Nomoozlie a hard time before, but she more than makes up for it with this line that has an undeniable punch. It’s the audacity of it that elevates it! A jaw dropping historical reference to Graca Machel’s ex husbands; it would definitely touch a few on their audios. Rest In Peace Nelson Mandela and Samora Machel.
Summertime Cane on Ginger Trill ‘s Forrest Guap: “To be frank, I’m all about my Benjamins”
Trilly’s always been nice with the mic, it’s kinda hard to not find great lines in his songs. On GVNG Tapes he finds a sweet spot between hot lines and entertaining songs like on Swaggaphobia where he spits “they sleeping on the kid, I find that so alarming”. On Forrest Guap, Summertime Cane has the standout line for me thou, with “where the hell u been… to be frank, I’m all about my Benjamins. It’s a dope nod to Benjamin Franklin and proves simplicity is a rapper’s best friend.
Tshego — Fomoza with Nasi & Veezo: “Ain’t nothing new, I still put it to your girl like I’m Barry Roux”
This song is awesome and all three artists come through on it. Tshego stands out with the shock factor though. This line is so disrepectful (and it’s not the only one), but we suppose that’s its purpose. On a track about Skhotaning with your Fomoza, showing off your prowess — lyrical or otherwise — this line fits the theme perfectly. This gets a high rating for it’s resonance… and also making us scrounge our faces like we’re being interrogated by Oscar Pistorious’ lawyer. By the way if it sounds mild at first listen: he also says “I sleep with your wife… then i sleep with your daughter.” Can’t remember another time such ugly bars were delivered so melodically.
Stogie T — Sub City: “Still battling, scrambling. Watching the rand drop to the value of a Curtis Jackson”
Stogie T hasn’t lost his god-level lyrical abilities on his new project. He’s always been an intelligent MC whose extended metaphors and witty one-takes separate him from the pack. Sub City’s a heartfelt track lamenting the seedy underbelly of the urban city but still manages to deliver on sharp contextual lyricism. Referencing 50 Cent is just genius and pairing battling with scrambling hints at Stogie’s work on the battle circuit with Scrambles For Money. Pretty clever huh?
Rouge — Now Or Never La Femme Remix: “Calling all the sisters, calling all the niggas. I’m swinging like Bruce Jenner”
If you haven’t been you should definitely Sheba Ngwan’ O. No? Okay… let’s leave this to the pros. Considering that the theme of Rouge’s verse is a message to her competition of any gender, her line referencing Bruce Jenner’s sex change is masterful. She manages to get her point across without being offensive here, and the play on words is sharply delivered. It’s a stand-out effort even in relation to the original track. Sort of proves her point then.
N’veigh — Donneboom: “Hung like a horse but I’m stable. Reason why your h*** wanna jock me”
One of Cap City’s finest spazzes on this barfest. You can forget a catchy hook on this one. It’s just line after line of great bars. There’s so many memorable ones to choose from but N’veigh manages to combine aspects of some of the lines above into a single verse. He shows his skill off by making a cool reference with “you got ice, me I take the cold off you like Corenza C” and takes a dig at his competition when he spits “what we do when we get stoned, is we don’t rock wichu”. It’s the extended metaphor where he brags about his prowess with the opposite sex that gets us though: “hung like a horse but I’m stable… reason why your hoes wanna jock me”. So non-PC. So gully. So Hip Hop.
Thank you.
