To the untrained eye, Blxckie\u2019s<\/strong> rise to superstardom may appear to have happened overnight, but upon taking a closer look at his jump into SA\u2019s mainstream arena, one realizes that there are peeled scabs beneath the smooth surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Sihle<\/strong> Sithole<\/strong>, better known as Blxckie<\/strong> to his throng of adoring fans, the music grind has long been in pursuit since 2017. Although a music career had been an afterthought for the Durban native before his uncalculated blow-up, Blxckie was actively pursuing a Degree in Psychology. It was during the height of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 \u2013 precisely, during the initial 21-day lockdown that was imposed by the government – when Blxckie found himself \u2018\u2019stuck\u2019\u2019 in Johannesburg for what would be the next life-altering 3 weeks of his existence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSomnyama<\/em><\/strong>\u201d as Blxckie<\/strong> is also affectionately known, due to his shadowy melanin skin tone \u2013 another distinct factor that he uses to his benefit \u2013 used this time to lock in with fellow coastal rapper Lucas Raps and Dr. Pepper and began churning out a slew of SoundCloud cuts. It was the catchy \u2018\u2019BIG TIME SH\u2019LAPPA\u2019\u2019 tune that garnered national attention and helped catapult Blxckie into the forefront of the SA music scene. It was also around this time that he was announced as APPLE Music\u2019s Up Next Artist<\/em><\/strong>. Soon thereafter, Somnyama <\/strong>was tearing up stages all over the country whilst simultaneously killing every verse on every single song that he featured in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s another exceptional trait about Blxckie<\/strong>\u2026his sound! Only Somnyama<\/em><\/strong> (yena<\/em><\/strong> yedwa<\/em><\/strong>) can pair melody with his raps seamlessly \u2013 like how a seamster sews threads, albeit this is<\/strong> merely a tiny spec in the grand scheme of his artistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am versatile but if I had to classify my sound, I\u2019d say I\u2019m expressive. I make expressive music\u201d, Blxckie affirms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is his relatability and real-time interaction with his fans that has seen him amass 580,678<\/em> Spotify<\/em><\/strong> monthly listeners, a cumulative 2.5 million followers across his social media platforms, and a few coveted accolades under his name. Not shabby for a dude who began doing music professionally 3 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy journey as an artist has been somewhat quick. Now that I think about it. I\u2019ve been in the mainstream for about 3 years now, but a lot of my success is a result of the work I put in before people started watching\u2019\u2019, Blxckie explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2021 Blxckie<\/strong> released his debut album, B4Now<\/strong> much to critical acclaim and mainstream success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think that\u2019s why my debut album did so well, and the (B4Now<\/strong>) deluxe too. Since then, it has been a steady rise to where I am right now\u2019\u2019, he reflects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is public knowledge that in the music industry, you are as good as your last project, and the pressure to prove your staying power can weigh heavily on an artist, especially one that blew the floodgates open from the onset. Blxckie is calm and confident and reassures that he takes his time with each project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the beginning, I put pressure on myself to prove that I can make really good music but as time goes by, I find it more valuable to create pieces that people can relate to, no matter how long it takes\u2019\u2019\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although Blxckie<\/strong> is confident about his craft, he is wary of complacency and ego. \u201cI try not to let too much get into my head, I have a fear of becoming too comfortable or complacent. It does help to know that what I\u2019m doing is correct because it helps me map out what I need to do next musically. I know what people want to hear but other than that, I approach making and putting out music the same way I always have. I believe in consistency\u2019\u2019, the \u2018Ye X4\u2019 <\/strong>hitmaker confidently enthuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blxckie<\/strong> has been fortunate to be embraced by his legion of fans and peers alike. In 2022, he featured on arguably the biggest song of that year, K.O<\/strong>.\u2019s \u2018SETE\u2019<\/strong>. \u201cSete is a massive song, I\u2019m grateful to have been a part of it. K.O.<\/strong> is one of the most celebrated artists in our country and for him to have me and [Young<\/strong>] Stunna<\/strong> on that song was monumental because we (myself and Stunna<\/strong>) were both at the beginning of our [musical] journeys\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blxckie expands on how the historic collaboration came about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018\u2019He [K.O<\/strong>.] told me about the song when he was dropping off the Skhanda World merch. I told him I\u2019d be glad to hop on it. K.O.<\/strong> pulled up again, a week later, with the song and only my verse had not been laced. I do features all the time so it wasn\u2019t a hassle, and I too didn\u2019t have any expectations. I was just happy to be on such a beautiful song\u2019\u2019, he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflecting on how far he has come and some of the highlights of his music career, Blxckie is grateful. \u2018\u2019There have been a few [highlights]. I think being able to travel, is up there as one of them because I never saw my music getting to the places it has, let alone me getting to go to those places and witnessing it for myself. TheB4Now<\/em><\/strong> tour is another big highlight for me. [Specifically] the Durban show. The album had not been out for long but the fact that people came out in those numbers was amazing to see. It\u2019s different when you are in the same space with so many people that believe in you and understand the content of your songs\u2019\u2019, he says delightedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While discussing shows, Blxckie<\/strong> is quick to express his desire to do his own one-man shows, like most of his musical peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoing my show is something that is in the works. I think it’s dope that so many of our artists are doing their shows. It highlights the growth in the industry and the maturity of the listeners to be able to support their favourite artists to that extent. If it all goes well, I\u2019ll be doing something special in 2024\u2019\u2019, says a cheerful Blxckie<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The platinum-selling rapper is not one to be idle, fresh from a USA trip, where he was putting in some work with some of Atlanta\u2019s prolific producers and musicians, Blxckie elaborates on his expedition to the States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018\u2019The US trip was mainly to record music and I did a whole lot of [recording]. The experience was a bit surreal being that America is what we always imagined as the pinnacle of hip-hop music and entertainment, in general. I met a lot of cool people and was fortunate enough to get in the studio with people like Smino<\/strong> and Wale<\/strong>, both of whom I\u2019m a big fan of\u2019\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blxckie<\/strong> is determined to maintain consistency and hints at what to expect next from him. \u201cThere\u2019s always new music coming. I\u2019m hoping to release a single or two for this fourth quarter and then [drop] a couple of projects next year amongst other things\u2019\u2019, \u2018Somnyama\u2019<\/strong> concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Somnyama<\/strong> is indeed, \u2018\u2019That 1 in 10,000\u2019\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writer: Teboho Kawawa<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every artist is unique and has [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,53],"tags":[41,31,38,68],"class_list":["post-219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-music","tag-featured-5","tag-home","tag-life","tag-photo"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/coolnblack.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Broken-Glass-Photoshop-Template-791x1024.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
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