Method R-9 releases new mixtape

Hip-hop artist Raphael ‘Method R-9’ Dhlamini hopes to usher people into the festive season with his third anticipated mixtape,The Poetic Doctor, released in early November.

The mixtape talks about his upbringing and also tackles challenges teenage boys face, especially after matric.

He released his first mixtape, Fearless But Not Brave, in 2017, followed by I.V.P before his latest instalment, which is receiving great reviews online.

According to Dhlamini, the mixtape focuses on the social changes one faces from being a boy to being a young man.

“It also focuses on the battles one faces with the media displaying the superiority of beliefs and cultures. “The youth continue to be misled at some point as to what they should believe and what they should not.

“The mixtape addresses the concept of faith through poetry, inspired by the likes of Shakespeare, Zakes Mda and other legendary artists from Jazz to R&B genres.

“It is a fusion of jazz, R&B, hip-hop elements and gospel rhythms.”

Dhlamini said the fusion of different elements was inspired by the likes of Hugh Masekela and new pop sounds.

“Today, people fail to differentiate between rap and trap. Trap is the fast kind of music, others call it ‘mumble rap’ born from hip-hop. Rap, on the other hand, is all about the lyrics and sharing the message.

“Through this project, the message is clear, I try to motivate one who listens and one who is discouraged in life by daily challenges, especially the youth.

“The aim is to bring the old hip-hop sense into the music which is being a lyricist. People must be able to relate to your content. While expressing yourself, you must also remember to minimise vulgar because children can also consume your music.

“Music is a universal language that connects people, but also keep in mind that the young generation must be aware of the different genres from the get go. Fusing the different genres together is also teaching the young generation about the origin of music.”

Dhlamini also worked with several local artists, such as Mizz and Moza and hip-hop producer H2O.

“When you do music, you need to find people who understand your style and they are people who express themselves differently as well,” said Dhlamini.

“Mizz added a nice hook to the song titled Meditation and Moza was featured in the song titled Talk To You.

The 23-year-old aims to release another project Fearless But Not Brave 2.5 in April 2020, his birthday month.

He hopes to break into the mainstream music industry one day.

To follow him, visit his Facebook Page Method R-9 as well as Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, sound cloud and audiomack.