Slikour leads the way
JOBURG – Siya Metane is leading the revolution of South African hip-hop with his digital platform.
Siya Metane, well known in the music industry as Slikour, has a heart for music and a head for business.
He has passed through numerous rites of passage some hard, some disheartening, some positive – but all adding to the skills and insight of a man building new digital platforms for musicians to build their brands on.
Metane (35) has a theory that it was his very passion for music that swept him along the complex pathways of his life to where he is today. There was no plan, he said, but there was a deep sense that conforming to expectations would suffocate him. He tried for a while, completing matric and studying computer engineering.
He gave it up due to lack of funds and, with a home-built studio put together with contributions from friends and family, he made music but felt he was on a road to nowhere. There was music but no growth – and seemingly no future.
Then the renowned hip-hop group Skwatta Kamp came together and in 2002 their first album was released. The group produced three more albums with Metane winning numerous awards for their work, including two South African Music Awards (Sama) awards for the best rap album and a Channel O best hip-hop music video award until they went their separate ways in 2006.
He established SlikourOnLife, which is based in Illovo and is a platform for sharing information on urban culture and music, featuring videos and interviews to give substance to the music and to musicians who may not have access to traditional platforms. It also offers a more cohesive and accessible place for musicians’ videos than YouTube.
Having laid a platform for various artists in hip-hop music including the likes of Yanga and Kwesta, who are now household names, Metane said he was happy to see them prosper and take their careers forward.
“It’s great to see them doing so well for themselves, I was there when they dreamt it to see the winning now it’s a great feeling,” he said.
Read: Industry leaders make musical magic
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