Music
Blxckie: Five of his best tracks
The breakout artist of the decade has gained popularity thanks to his versatility as an artist. These five tracks prove the point.
The last two years have seen Blxckie, the Durban-born rapper, emerge as a leading figure in the new wave of rap that has been bubbling up recently. He features in Episode 1 of 64 Bars, here where he showcases just how much of a talent he is.
Having used the 21-day lockdown in 2020 as an opportunity to focus on his music, which helped the 23-year-old artist release one of the biggest tracks of the year. Since then, he’s released a slew of singles that have all easily crossed the 1 million stream mark, an album, and an EP. Although a rapper, Blxckie hasn’t committed himself to any single genre, which only has helped his popularity grow. Here we look at five tracks that show the range of this exciting new rapper.
Blxckie
© Mpumelelo Macu / Red Bull Content Pool
Big Time Sh’lappa (with Lucasraps) 2020
Although he’d been releasing music since 2018 and released freestyles, singles and music videos daily during the 21-day lockdown, 2020’s “Big Time Sh’lappa” is what put Blxckie’s name on the map. Featuring a minimal, 808-heavy, trap beat, the lyrically-dense release features Lucasraps, a fellow Durbanite he first collaborated with during the three-week lockdown alongside 808Sallie, Shouldyuang, and Yungseruno. Within days of its release, it was clear that Blxckie was a name to watch. Produced by Franck Ribes, the chorus-free track features a verse each for Blxckie and Lucasraps that sees them delivering boastful lines about their lyrical and bedroom prowess, along with biting take-downs.
David - 2021
While he released several other tracks between “Big Time Sh’lappa” and “David”, including the popular single “Uppity”, the Wxvambient-produced track would help bring even more people to team Blxckie, thanks to its more laid-back and approachable sound, a showcase of his versatility. The track also served to announce his debut album, “B4Now”, which he described as an introduction to his artistry and featured a mixture of tracks created before the “Big Time Sh’lappa” era and work created between 2020 and 2021. On the track, he uses the biblical figure David, who always carried a sling and sack of stones and with which he infamously defeated Goliath, as a metaphor for Blxckie always wearing jewellery.
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Behind the Bars with Blxckie
Ye x4 (with Nasty C) - 2021
It should come as no surprise that when one of the hottest names in local hip hop teams up with one of the biggest names on the scene, the resulting track would dominate the airwaves. Produced by SN Go Krazy and Geek Fam, the trap-infused release features a punchy bassline and eerie synths over which the two Durbanites drop punchline-heavy raps. Featuring lines such as “How do you feel about being so saucy, ye?/That's what they ask me, ye/I be so fly like a fuckin' saucer ye/I am an alien/” that demonstrate his ability to play with words and pronunciation, the release is only one of three tracks on “B4Now” with guest features.
Sika - 2021
Yet again demonstrating his versatility and gaining a slew of new fans in the process, with the release of “Sika” Blxckie showcased his talents as a singer and ability to write lyrics in Zulu which he delivers over a downtempo Amapiano beat produced by London Rhodes, Loud Haileer, and Christer Kobedi. Instead of his usual braggadocious lyrics, Blxckie opts for a laid-back performance that shows he’s just as good creating at creating tracks for the streets as he is at creating them for the radio.
Cold - 2022
The first single from his 2022 EP “4Luv”, “Cold” sees Blxckie exploring trap-infused RnB on another London Rhodes production. The track is a love song that explores a relationship facing difficulties such as honesty and trust. While Blxckie has described his foray into RnB as a phase, the move once again showed that the artist is more than a one-trick pony that isn’t tied to a particular sound or even genre.