Slikour: Don't pit hip-hop against 'yanos and gqom

Local hip-hop heavyweight Siyabonga “Slikour” Metane wants to put an end to the notion that hip-hop and amapiano are worlds apart.

Slikour shared on his private Instagram that hip-hop culture is still very much alive, urging people to stop underestimating its value.

He and members of Skwatta Kamp were last month inducted into the SA Hip-Hop Museum in Johannesburg, along with legends such as the late HHP and Pro.

“People who see SA hip-hop through billboards, charts, campaigns and brands say that the culture is not alive. I'm from a place where we saw hip-hop through the youth, which was who we were. They try [to] pit hip-hop against gqom and amapiano, so we miss the value of that movement, which was born in our hoods.”

He said comparisons between hip-hop and amapiano were nothing new, pointing out that people had also tried to do the same with kwaito.

“They did this with kwaito. Back then we were bamboozled and thought we weren’t allies. The hip-hop youth today are diverse, have a broader view of music and know the value of collaboration,” he said, adding that the genre has had a significant impact on society.

“Hip-hop is a movement and it fluctuates, only to come back stronger in the word, the drip, the music — and for the first time we’ll see its impact globally through our local acts.

“Music is not a competition — it’s an evolution of people's minds, souls and realities through sound.

“The new souls are finding their positions to be catapulted to the world,” he added.