DJ Vigilante reports the AKA/ Cassper feud from the trenches: Everyone was catching feelings

How real was the feud between Cassper Nyovest and AKA last year? Did it really split SA hip-hop?

When the two rap heavyweights collided last year, many thought that their high-profile feud was merely an act, developed by the pair to market themselves and their music. But it seems nothing could be further from the truth.

Speaking to TMG Entertainment recently, Cashtime's DJ Vigilante gave us the inside track on what it was like during the months where local hip-hop seemed to be embroiled in a civil war.

As one of the many artists on the ground, Vigilante said that the beef many were seeing reported in the media was very real. "It wasn't fake. What's happened has happened but at the time everyone was catching feelings," he said.

He revealed that as some acts drifted into camps, artists started shading each other in their music more, making for a tense atmosphere.

As fans chose sides, the entire industry seemed to be waiting to see where hip-hop's most famous family, Cashtime, would side.

DJ Vigilante said that the label never picked sides and he would often communicate with both AKA and Cassper, even if it was just to punt their music on his platforms.

But now, with the beef all but over, DJ Vigilante has dropped a single with some of the industries biggest names including AKA and Nasty C.

The track, Bang Out, has been warmly received by fans both here and abroad, DJ Vigilante reveals.

"It did really well on the day it was released and even trended for several hours. It was also picked up and played in the UK, on BBC 1Xtra, and I've been getting love from across the continent," he said.

Vigilante added that the appeal of the track is found in the fact that you can listen to it a dozen times and each time have a new favourite verse.

"It's not the typical trap song sound. We decided to break away from that and do a more typical hip-hop song. When people heard it for the first time they had a favourite verse but now they are coming back to say they actual now prefer another," he said.