Brandvlei rapper wants to bring change

An aspiring mainstream hip hop artist, Matome Mokgolo, aka Ma La Tino, said once he reached stardom he’ll make the genre relatable to South Africans.

Looking up to those like Cassper Nyovest and Kwesta in the space, he said he wanted to follow in their footsteps as he believed they got the Mzanzi-flavoured recipe, suitable for our ears.

At just 21 years old, Ma La Tino said he’s already seen that the hip hop industry is mostly influenced by foreign culture, instead of speaking to the indigenous roots of the South African youngsters. He said it’s his task to change it.

One day I wanna be known as the guy who brought hip hop back to the motherland, because you see many artists make dope hits, but they simply don’t speak to us because there’s a disconnect somewhere.”

He said although there’s great talent among people on the West Rand, they should tell the South African story to remain relevant, instead of knocking off the foreign culture.

“The other thing I wish to do is that if we, as the rappers and artists of the West Rand could unite and tell the story of living on and surviving the West Rand; I mean that’s our heritage. The audience can enjoy that type of content because it’s closer to home,” he said.

While Ma La Tino hasn’t gained enough popularity and is still working on making the name for himself, he said in the next years he’ll be releasing a few EPs as he spent time in the studio.

He said he wouldn’t be focusing only on music. As soon as he’d reached stardom, he would do community work where young people would be given opportunities to study or explore many adventures, and he would invest in entrepreneurs in his area.

I wanna be known as that one who brought change in the West Rand, but first we have to change where hip hop is going,” Ma La Tino added.