Wilhelmina Iimene
Since the beginning of last week, social media, Twitter especially, has been flaming red with fire emojis as fans celebrate, enjoy and hype Hyphy’s newly-dropped EP, titled ‘Pen to Paper’.
Hip-hop rapper Nestor Shikongo, better known by his stage name Hyphy, had his first mixtape, ‘Insomnia’, released in 2012, but he had to put a halt to making music because multi-tasking – school and music – became a challenge.
Picking up from where he left off, he managed to release a second mixtape, ‘The Black Essay’, in 2015, with the same passion and enthusiasm.
The 29-year-old, who has been in and out of the industry, made his official mark in the business in 2021.
“It was only last year after my two freestyles, called ‘Beer Flows’ and ‘Frosty freestyles’, that I told myself that to put out something official this year,” the rapper told VIBEZ!
He described his EP as “more of a short speech or thought”.
The birth of his EP was an idea run to him by his brother, Shavy Shav, who wanted to create their official project and put everything on paper.
“He had envisioned a small project about ‘Pen to Paper’, which became the title of the EP. So, we created it – and here we are,” he said.
Featuring the likes of Uncle Dimitri, the talented Lena Deon and his favourite producer, Slage Pro from Zunde records, the five-track hip-hop EP delivers nothing less of a banger. The ‘Verbal Talisman’, as the artist calls himself in one of his rap flows, likes to think that the fans and listeners are better suited to pick whichever song to which they relate and call it a hit.
Which, after listening to the songs, should be all songs.
“The track ‘Celebrated’ has my soul, as it is one song that shares a few sentiments about my life and friends’. But I recommend people listen to the full body of work. Everything makes sense when you listen to it in the end,” he told VIBEZ!
The artist dabbles a little in writing in his free time, which very well complements his music career.
The industrial psychology and sociology double major honours degree holder said, apart from music, he independently consults for companies with regards to industrial relations, as well as markets and creatively directs projects for small businesses and corporates.
The ‘Celebrated’ singer said he wants to achieve a lot with his music career and to share his passion with everyone.
“I love writing and rapping. I want to sit with my friends and sing along to our songs, and I would also just like the world to hear that I aim at being the best at what I do. Lastly, I want to inspire people with the same dreams to follow theirs; life is way too short to not do what you want and/or love,” he said.
Currently, the EP is only available on digital platforms: iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer and Tidal.
CDs will only be made available when there is a growing demand for something physical.
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