Digital Spook may some day become a big part of the music scene in South Africa.
Velile Neville Mtshweni, AKA Digital Spook, has started his own independent label named G.H.O.S.T Music Empire.
He has also released a mixtape with the same title.
The 25-year-old Tembisan artist says he was introduced to his favourite music genre when a friend of his gave him two rap cassettes.
“The first cassette was Eminem’s Marshal Mathers LP and the second was Pharaoh Monch’s Internal Affairs.
“I listened to both artists for some time and that caused a burning desire in me to express myself through the culture of hip hop,” said Digital Spook.
He said he started writing verses in 2003 while in fifth grade, impersonating Eminem’s style of rapping, but only mastered the skill of this kind of writing in high school.
“I made a name for myself selling beats to recording artists around Johannesburg. In 2015 I started my independent label G.H.O.S.T Music Empire [G.M.E], along with my DJ Master Fu and manager Chadley.”
Digital Spook said in December 2005 he started recording his songs for the first time, mostly “spitting” on beats downloaded from the internet because the studio he was working in had no in-house producers at the time.
“This quickly became taboo for me, so I came up with a plan that twice a week I would come into the studio and make recordings of myself beat boxing in the booth.”
He said in 2015 he started working on instrumentals for what would be his first offering as a rapper, the mixtape with the title G.H.O.S.T Music Empire.
It took Digital Spook months to record the mixtape with various artists. He said the mixing and mastering process was completed in July 2016.
The Damelin graduate said the entire recording, mixing and mastering process of the mixtape was done by him.
He said he wants to acknowledge all the artists he featured in his mixtape.
“They are Benzo, Verbal Snatch, Gabbz, Street Carnivore Beats, M.K, Keitumetse Gama, GhostFam and R-Senic.”
Digital Spook is currently working on a project called TheNewTembisa LP.
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