Fans relive ProKid’s epic rap battles

Linda Mkhize’s death at age 37, reportedly from a seizure, left fans shocked and saddened, but also with the desire to relive some of the more iconic moments of his time as one of SA’s best known MCs.

Mkhize, better known by his rapping name ProKid, is known to have slaughtered fellow rapper Kaydo in a battle on DJ Fresh’s show in 2005.

Now fans are reliving the epic rap battle, after Twitter user @KatlehoMK posted it on the platform.

Some fans also mentioned another battle, the “battle of the Pros”, between ProKid and ProVerb, real name Tebogo Thekisho, who as well as having a successful rap career behind him went on to host SA Idols.

That battle is widely considered closer than the one against Kaydo, in which ProKid was seen as the clear winner.

Many considered ProKid the winner of that one too, though.

Meanwhile, a moving tribute posted by Kabomo Vilakazi, a well-known R&B singer and actor who, as manager of Skwatta Kamp’s late ‘Flabba’ Habedi and one-time editor of Y Magazine, was well connected within SA hip-hop circles, details how ProKid, a new artist at the time, managed to win over a Tembisa audience with a song about Soweto.

https://www.facebook.com/KabomoV/posts/487338585041056

Listen to ProKid vs Kaydo below, and see what some of the people who remember the battle, as well as the one against ProVerb, had to say on social media.

The Epic Rap Battle of ProKid vs Kaydo (2005) on Yfm

Thread pic.twitter.com/Z4l3gZcsFG

— KatlehoMK (@KatlehoMK) August 10, 2018

ProKid vs Kaydo [Part two] pic.twitter.com/t7X6BlYUuD

— KatlehoMK (@KatlehoMK) August 10, 2018

ProKid vs Kaydo [Part three] pic.twitter.com/K24ymJesfl

— KatlehoMK (@KatlehoMK) August 10, 2018

ProKid vs Kaydo [Part four] pic.twitter.com/Xk2lHEez7v

— KatlehoMK (@KatlehoMK) August 10, 2018

ProKid vs Kaydo [Part five]

Final Words pic.twitter.com/U11vGW4l5U

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— KatlehoMK (@KatlehoMK) August 10, 2018

Damn, Prokid destroyed ProVerb in this RAP battle. The battle of the Pros. It’s a pity the top artists now can’t even freestyle rap to save their lives https://t.co/J7euDEWFQi

— Njabulo. (@iNJBL) August 10, 2018

battle of the pros was lit. prokid was the biggest new rapper, and proverb was considered the best south african lyricist at the time. . they were were equally matched. both cats were getting wild reaction till proverbs third where he pretty much, handed the crown over to prokid

— FERNO FROM REVIVO (@infernoWilliams) August 10, 2018

i was routing for Verb but when he gave prokid props in the 3rd round, my mind exploded. WHAT A TWIST! Prokid spat hes 3rd round(still dissing proverb)and won the match. AND THEN they gave us a bonus 4th round. Battle of the Pros was one of my favorite local Hiphop moments

— FERNO FROM REVIVO (@infernoWilliams) August 10, 2018

Remember when ProKid killed Kaydo live on air.
Kaydo gave up the battle and gave up rapping 😂

— Theloniuos Jaha (@Real_Nelson0) August 9, 2018

The music industry is still in shock following the death of the award-winning hip-hop artist.

A family statement read: “The renowned artist died on Wednesday night while visiting friends in the Johannesburg CBD. Paramedics were called to assist Mkhize but failed to revive him. They did their best to revive him to no avail and called his time of death at 8.38pm”.

Fellow hip-hop artists and his fans, who described him as a pioneer and a motivation to other artists, have expressed their sadness and offered condolences to the family.

Artists Slikour (Skwatta Kamp), JR, AKA, Blaklez and ProVerb all paid tribute to the “No 1 Soweto Boy”, as he referred to himself.

Blaklez, who previously collaborated with ProKid, said: “I’m very sad for the hip-hop fraternity, for his family. Hip-hop has lost its day one. Pro is South Africa’s hip-hop poster child, because before South African hip-hop became a commercial thing, he was one of the guys that actually broke though, rapping in vernacular, isiZulu, and telling kasi stories with this music.

“His signature was his voice and his use of language; he was just incredible, and we grew up looking up to him. He was hip-hop in the full sense of the word. He was South African hip-hop and for many years when his name came up, you thought South African hip-hop.”

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