Long way up for Maverick and ‘Response’
Germiston’s youngsters have great plans for the future.
Childhood friends, Keagan Scullard (19) and Thapelo Motaung (20), are joined at the hip by music among other things.
The talented youngsters are upcoming rap artists who dream to become successful in the music industry.
Lambton resident Keagan’s stage name is Maverick and Thapelo’s is Response.
Thapelo is from Buhle Park and said they both fell in love with music at a young age.
“My mother tells me that I started humming tunes when I was a few months old,” said Thapelo while Keagan explained that he loved music so much that he actually wanted to become a singer but then realised that he can’t sing.
“I then started expressing my thoughts through rap which is one of the things we have in common,” said Keagan.
Their tender music career has seen them release three songs – two songs late last year and another on Valentine’s Day this year.
The song, titled My Love is romantic which is why they decided to release it on Valentine’s Day.
According to the pair, versatility describes their music.
“We add different styles to our music. Among other things we incorporate old-school hip hop and mix it with the new trap music,” said Thapelo.
The GCN asked the budding artists what inspired their stage names.
Keagan responded that his mother loved the film, Top Gun, and spoke about it a lot, including one of the main characters named Maverick.
“I liked the name and after researching it, I liked the meaning and decided it will be my stage name,” he said.
Thapelo said his life journey inspired his stage name.
“Growing up was difficult for me and I faced a lot but I would always be strong enough to come back and respond to anything life threw at me,” said Thapelo.
The duo has also recorded an extended play (EP), Long Way Up, and plan on releasing it later this year.
“People can expect great production in our EP and our music in general. We couldn’t do it without the help of Khotso Moeti who makes all our beats – he is very good and we appreciate his help,” said Keagan.
The youngsters also said they will keep pushing hard until they succeed. Their advice to the youth is: ‘Never give up on dreams and go ahead and conquer’.
