Saturday, 14 August 2021

Friday the 13th is often regarded as a 24-hour nightmare for those who dread the malediction that’s attached to it.

But for EasternVille Music and its staunch followers; it was the rarity of a series of daydreams that finally became an exciting reality.

Yesterday afternoon, the proficient stable hosted a systematic press conference at The O Shop.

The O Shop is a sacrosanct land of hip-hop. Owned by Vaal based hip-hop DJ, radio presenter and founder of O Productions, OB Gwala, the store is a safe room in the colossal home of the rap culture.

It’s a mannequin of local clothing brands, a shelf of rap magazines and a sound system of banging hits.

The chief purpose of the press conference was to expose the fans to the productive structures of EasternVille Music, and make a huge announcement of a magnificent deal for the artists that are signed under the fast evolving record company.

The virtual event kicked off with the executive producer, Vincent Kheswa, also known by his stage name – Simply Vincent comfortably sitting between two of the entity’s talent, Kxng B The Great and Leqhwa.

Asked about managing an assortment of artists; Vincent Kheswa attributed his management degree, amongst other things, for his remarkable performance at the helm of the company.

“I studied management at tertiary level, and it taught me that people are managed according to their personalities. It also helps that I connect with the artists on a personal level. The music comes from the person, so I make it a priority to understand the human being first,” he said.

Every village has a king, and EasternVille isn’t an exception. An A-class student of the entertainment industry with a “B” attached to his imposing name.

Kxng B The Great is a diverse artist who’s adamant to break boundaries in all spheres of the industry. He doesn’t want to conform to the stereotypes of falling under restricting categories or traditional genres.

“I’m not a rapper, I’m an all-round entertainer,” said the   versatile artist who also performs as an MC amongst an arm length of his handful capabilities.

The snazzy king explained his noticeable absence from the spotlight, and also painstakingly  divulged his plans for the near future.

“I needed time to align myself with the direction that we’re taking as a unit, especially because I’m not just an artist but also the director of the business. But I’m officially back. My album, According To The King is scheduled for release before the end of the year,” said Kxng B The Great.

The king of the jungle said that he’s going to address the elephant in the room. “It’s going to be an educational project whereby I explore different topics about my personal experiences, and incorporate them  into my music.”

While the kingdom (as Kxng B The Great’s fan base is affectionally known) eagerly anticipates the vivacious star’s debut album, Leqhwa has already given the music fraternity a fine taste of his own delicacies.

The ingenious Sotho hip-hop veteran released an EP titled  The Ice Project on various digital stores in April this year.

The unexpected success of the project saw it reaching over 40 000 streams on Spotify.

“Initially, it was only meant to be a mere build-up to my upcoming album, Tladi Mothwana. But its success led to us deciding to prolong its marketing and PR campaign because it has proved that it can go beyond our confinements of its potential,” Leqhwa said.

The Ice Project is widely regarded as  one of its kind. Besides the dazzling music; a solid effort went towards its branding and packaging.

The Ice Project Pack consists of a book that he co-authored with Vincent Kheswa; a branded pen; a poster of the man himself; a water bottle and a can of MOFAYA energy drink.

To accentuate that an artist is a brand; Leqhwa’s name is accompanied by a logo.

The Teboho Theoha designed logo is the ultimate representation of Leqhwa as an artist, and every thing that he stands for as a human being.

It’s made up of triangles which represent his native residence – the Vaal Triangle. Furthermore; the triangles on the logo also symbolize the beautiful mountains of Basotho land and other monumental African creations like the Egyptian pyramids.

The poster was primarily included in the package for the listeners of his music to have an image of the man behind the voice.

It’s also a great opportunity to revive the culture of having pin-up posters of one’s favorite artists on the wall. If walls indeed have ears, then they’d definitely want to listen to Leqhwa.

The poster was shaded in black and white to ressurect the greatness of the African monarchy.

“If you take a look at the pictures of African kings like Moshoeshoe and Shaka Zulu, they were of that particular shade. The pose is also in line with those of our ancient rulers. Leqhwa is simply emulating the greatest of Africans to ever walk this earth,” said Vincent Kheswa.

According to the Sotho tribe, there are three elements of life, and water is one of them. Music is life, and water is a component of that composition, hence a water bottle couldn’t be excluded from the representation of Leqhwa as a brand.

It takes water to put out the fire, but sometimes the raging flames spread wildly and cause MOFAYA.

It’s DJ Sbu’s unremitting tenacity as the epitome of black entrepreneurship, black excellence and the art of hustling that impelled the EasternVille Music team to include his energy drink as part of the Ice Project Pack.

“We want to promote the culture of supporting black owned companies or products without feeling entitled to their success. We don’t want to wait for a brand to endorse us before we can contribute towards its growth. It’s about the aspirations of a black child,”  Vincent Kheswa said.

The team’s praiseworthy efforts at supporting black owned companies can also be seen at their recent involvement in aiding to restore the recently looted Shape Café.

An integral part of the package is the BOTJHABELA Ba Lekoa book. It’s a documentation of the artist, his music and journey. It selflessly proceeds to offer sound advice to artists about the music industry.

Written in both English and Sesotho, the book also contains educational history lessons about the Sotho culture. It’s a powerful compilation of valuable teachings for people of different kinds.

A book is a wet ground beneath a sea of ink. Where there’s a page, there has to be a pen involved.

Leqhwa’s artistry begins with his superb songwriting abilities before it extends to other commendable constituents.

The streetwise wordsmith sincerely honored his fans by including the pen that makes him lyrically lethal in the package.

It’s the same pen that he used to sign an administration agreement with the biggest independent music publishing company in the continent – Sheer Publishing.

After weeks of intense negotiations, Sheer Publishing and EasternVille Music finally came to a mutually beneficial agreement for the latter’s artists to be part of a global success.

The deal will see all the artists who fall under EasternVille Music being proficiently housed by the same publishing home as the likes of Cassper Nyovest, DJ Switch, Kelly Khumalo, K.O, Lira, Shane Eagle and Zahara.

Vincent Kheswa’s conscientious expatiation on the matter is, “for every creative work that they (EasternVille’s artists) do, they’ll have a representative that will collect the money. It’s a worldwide copyright representation. It’s inclusive of sync licensing, sample clearance and collecting the royalties.”

In a nutshell, it’s a suitable deal where the royalties meet the royalty.

The EasternVille Music team proceeded to state how the deal will open doors for the record company. “They’ll pitch our music for opportunities such as international films, and also give us access to major collaborations.”

Kxng B The Great couldn’t help but express his protuberant elation  about the deal. “I resigned from my fairly decent nine-to-five job a while ago, so I’m glad that the hustle is finally paying off.”

Ironically, he left his job to make his career work.

“It’s a win for the Vaal,” said Leqhwa.

It definitely seems like a huge chunk of success is heading towards the east.

Written by Lesego Ginger Dithebe

#EasternVilleMusic