Taking Xhosa rap to the next level with new E.P
Born in King Williams Town in a small village of Peelton, Flash Ikumkani whose real name is Hlumile Mangoloti left his hometown- to pursue music in the City of Gold with nothing but passion, and prayers umakhulu taught him.
The 24-year-old who was influenced by Xhosa rap groups such as Naked Mind and Driemanskap started writing his own lyrics as a young boy sharing his own experiences,and what life was like growing up in the villages. Due to lack of opportunities, it was only in 2012, that he recorded his first song.
Now the Xhosa Hip Hop star known for his ability to rap in his home language while mixing it with English is gearing up for another milestone in his career, the release of his much anticipated E.P Umbono Wam (my vision) that is set to drop on all digital music platforms on May 28.
The six track EP produced by young2unnebeats features collaborations with P-dotO, Just Bheki, and Lord Script.
“Last year I went through a lot of struggles so I thought to myself I needed to pen this down and put it in an album form. The project is a recollection of events, moments that occurred in the last year. But it also reminisces and looks back at how I grew up, my mistakes and how do I move forward,” he said.
Flash Ikumkani embarked on High School Tour to promote his E.P in King Willliam’s Town and East London and further encourage school children on how to successfully penetrate the multimedia industry.
“The tour was to let my supporters know that all the recent changes are part of my vision. They must not think that I am giving up; I am merely following my own vision. The project is an affirmation to myself and everyone that dreams are valid,” he added.
The E.P will be Flash Khumkani’s second body of work after he released his debut studio album Iqhawe in 2021.
The Umhluzi hitmaker was signed under Emtee Records by fellow hip hop artist Emtee Da Hustler in 2020 until June 2021 where he released three songs under the label including Umhluzi and Ndiyabulela ft Emtee.
He said he left the record label because he was in search of his own path, his vision as the name of the EP alludes.
The songwriter was recently picked by Howard University in the USA for his content to be studied as a subject matter of how Hip Hop affects Africa socially and the impact of his commentary using his home language to rap.
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