Kempton rapper is Madiba’s Advocate
The young rapper has penned a song dedicated to the late statesman to show gratitude for his contribution to South Africa and the world
WHEN a 28-year-old rapper from Birch Acres proclaims himself as the advocate of the late statesman, Nelson Mandela, it is always interesting to find out why he would make such a bold statement.
“Madiba has always been an icon to me. I’ve always looked up to him and found inspiration in what he has done for us in this country. That is why I started working on an album in 2010,” said Martin Kekana, who goes by the stage name Numi.
His debut album and single, both titled Madiba’s Advocate, is an ode to the world icon which the young musician felt almost compelled to pen.
“Despite there being a lot of positivity around Tata, some negative stories tend to surface about the man and it pushed me to set the record straight. He may have not been perfect but he’s given so much and left such an important legacy to all South Africans and we should always honour that memory,” he added.
The album is being released through his record label, Kempton Skeleton Entertainment, which he co-owns with his older brother, Ernest (35).
They established it in 2009 as they both share a love and keen interest in producing quality hip hop music.
“I’ve been into music since the early 2000s and would record several tracks at Bionic Studios in Croydon. He used to tag along,” Ernest laughs pointing to his younger brother.
The two have complimentary personalities with Martin being the outgoing extrovert while Ernest is the broody thinker behind the scenes, making sure everything goes according to plan.
“The project involved a number of people, including the vocalist featured on Madiba’s Advocate, Botswana native, Liefy Jones. On production we had the talents of Cape Town based Psyko Beats, SP Dub, Dellz, Bosruu, Lombaard, NTO, Blitz and of course the rapper himself, Numi. He also features local artist Priddy Ugly on the upcoming single which we’ll be shooting the video for,” added Ernest.
The video for Madiba’s Advocate was shot by Mpongo Dreamz, the company which also owns the Birchleigh North based recording studio where the album was recorded.
“The late Nelson Mandela was an honourable man and with these songs by our artist Numi we express gratitude to him and with an attempt to inspire the South African community to uphold Madiba’s legacy and kind values and to never forget his great sacrifice to the freedom of our country,” said Ernest.
To read more about Numi’s plans this Madiba Day, follow them on Twitter: @numikekana @epkekana and @kemptonskeleton.
