Pinetown rap artist wants to inspire his peers

“STARS only shine when they’re in the dark.” IS quite a deep bar from his latest single, Rock Star and one you would think is coming from an experienced artist who’s seen the ins and outs of the industry.

Although Verge the Rapper, (real name being Sphesihle Mhlanga), isn’t close to reaching that peak yet, the young rapper certainly has a story to tell and it’s worth hearing.

The J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar inspired artist tells a meaningful story in his verses, but one can easily mistake his work as commercial and heavily influenced by his high school youthfulness.

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Mhlanga doesn’t deny that his sound is influenced by modern-day hip-hop that old cats love to loath and Gen Z fans blast on their portable speakers.

Mhlanga explained: “I do trap, I also do conscious and my conscious rap speaks about a lot of problems, like addiction – which is something the youth can relate to.”

Mhlanga doesn’t come from the easiest background.

Before moving to Pinetown, Mhlanga was moved to a children’s home, Malvern Child and Youth Care Centre (MCYCC), where he’s been living in for most of his childhood.

“There’s 85 children at the home, but there was more when I first joined. My goal is to inspire everyone at the home when I get out, even if it’s one person.”

Mhlanga was 13-years old when he first stepped into a booth and it was at the children’s home.

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“One of the fathers at the home had recording equipment and I was nervous at first as to how my voice would sound but I ended up liking the whole process and it’s escalated from there.”

Mhlanga has achieved a fair amount of clout in his young career so far, with a Mr Price Radio feature for one of his songs, Forever love me and also having 3 000 streams at the tender age of 16.

He has also shared a stage with one of his idols, Nasty C and another Queensburgh local, Shekinnah Donnel.

“It was a children’s home event which was organised by IBV Gold at the ICC and they invited some exciting local acts,” said Mhlanga, who was disappointed to not formally meet the stars he shared the big stage with.

They all had to rush off to the Durban Picnic event but I’m sure I’ll bump into them at a later stage,” Mhlanga reassured himself.

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Looking ahead, he wants to release an EP this coming December and it will be his first complete project. The young muso has a nice circle of artists that he works closely with who should feature in his upcoming EP.

“There’s this kid called, Lemida, who’s a producer and I actually met him at boy scouts. We reconnected on a music Whatsapp group and it was amazing because we had lost contact over the years.”

Mhlanga also works with producers, Cameron Kyle and Theo Beats, who are in his age-group. Verge the Rapper, much like Chance the Rapper, has his work well recognised on Soundcloud with 2 000 followers, which has seen him receive plays in the US.

“There’s this talent manager in the States, called Pino and he’s been following my work since I was 14,” said Mhlanga who is also considering a future in Sound Engineering when he matriculates this year.

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