Music
Shane Eagle: Five of his biggest tracks
While he’s released a slew of successful singles over the years, these five tracks have proven to be the most popular among his fans.
Shane Eagle’s rise to prominence started after finishing 4th on Vuzu’s rap reality competition, The Hustle. Soon after, he would release his first single, “Way Up”, featuring The Hustle winner, BigStar Johnson. He would spend 2016 releasing several more singles, including "I'm Back", "Cutting Corners" and "Top Floor", released on his record label Eagle Entertainment. The following year saw the release of his debut album, Yellow, which helped cement him as one of South Africa’s best rappers. He was recently in studio for his episode of Red Bull 64 Bars.
Let It Flow (2017)
While he had released several singles already, “Let It Flow”, the lead single off Shane’s debut album, Yellow, would be his first major hit, even reaching Gold status in 2019. The track features plenty of standout lines, notably “your favourite rapper is a pop star, darling/I’m doing doughnuts in a cop car darling”, which many have speculated is a reference to AKA. As with most tracks on the album, “Let It Flow” was produced by Eagle alongside longtime friend Andile Khumalo, aka Shooter Khumz.
Gustavo! (2018)
Another Shooter Khumz and Shane Eagle production, “Gustavo!” is also rumoured to be another jab at AKA. While not directly referencing him, Eagle makes it known on the track, that he’s coming for the crown of local Hip Hop, a title then held by AKA. The two had also gotten into a Twitter argument earlier that year after AKA felt disrespected by Eagle. The title and opening line “Hey, yeah yeah/Ey I fuck with Gustavo way more than I do with Pablo” references Pablo Escobar's cousin and right-hand man, Gustavo Gaviria, which is an apparent response to AKA’s “Sweet Fire” in which he refers to himself as Pablo.
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Chocolate Milk (2018)
The third track on Never Grow Up, his first EP after Yellow, “Chocolate Milk” sees Eagle reminisce about his childhood when times were simpler compared to the fast-paced nature of his current life. Written by Eagle along with Gabriel Stevenson, an American record producer, rapper, DJ and songwriter also known as Like, it also refers to his mother, who warned him about what a life of music would be like and Eagle noticing the truth in the warning. The track, along with the rest of the EP, features retro-style, more experimental beats compared to the melodic nature of Yellow.
Ap3x (Remastered) featuring Bas (2019)
While originally the second track of Never Grow Up, Eagle re-released “Ap3x” the following year, bringing on US rapper Bas - J. Cole’s Dreamville’s first signee - which was widely praised as the best US feature on a local track yet. The two met when Bas was in South Africa to play a surprise set at the SA Hip Hop Awards, after which Eagle joined Bas on his Milky Way European tour. The jazzy track, laden with keys, sees the two touch on topics such as their current success, travel adventures and unique sounds. The collab also fueled rumours that Eagle had joined Dreamville, a move many fans had long called for, but which was quickly dispelled.
Ammo featuring YoungstaCPT (2021)
Produced by rising talent Shaney Jay, the trap-infused non-album single “Ammo” sees Eagle joining forces with YoungstaCPT for a long-awaited collaboration, described as an “expression of rhythmic force reserved for two independent MCs, unified in the midst of a “world reset” to supersede the current format of anarchy." In practice, the result features a bravado-filled verse by Eagle who refers to his previous releases as “classics”, closing it with the boastful lines “Go against Eagle and you know it's rest in peace/Made this shit happen but it used to be a dream,” while Youngsta drops blistering verse filled with witty lines like “The eagle has landed we take flight.”