In keeping with being different, we bring you something different. This is in fact a throwback exclusive interview with the man himself, Youngsta, yes indeed. We remember this day clearly, I mean how could we forget it?
It was a cloudy day in the Cape, the year was 2012. It was a suggestion by Youngsta himself that we meet in the not so cosy suburb of Wynberg at an oh so Cosy Corner.
To our surprise Youngsta showed up with his entire crew, we said our greetings and tackled a plate of koeksisters and a few cups of coffee organised by the YGeneral himself. And then….we got to the talking, this is how it went….
- So….why the name?I had the name for long, since I was about 11 years old. It developed into a character from that age. I was the youngest out of my friends and I still am today, so everyone just refers to me as the “youngster”.
- How did you meet the crew you are currently with?We met back in the day, mostly through mutual friends, it was an “I know someone who can do this for you kind of thing”, I know most of the guys for 2-3 years now, we formed a clique and it evolved into a brotherhood, we don’t call it a family, we call it a gathering.
- What are your views on the South African Hip Hop scene?There is a lot of developing to be done. Developing needs to be on a big scale, we can’t be small scale anymore. We need big buildings with good studios and support from all aspects of the music industry especially for local up and coming artists. The development needs to show local artists that they can live the dream, where all elements of hip hop can come together.
- What makes you different to other local artists?No two people are the same, no two people can make the same Gatsby, one Gatsby might taste different than the other, and one might have a harder roll the other might have less chips. I don’t sound like any other artist, you have to sound like yourself, be yourself. People want me to create new tracks all the time just because I am who I am and I think they feel that, I might perform over Lil Wayne beats but the way I unlock my imagination and my flow just has to be different. People fall in love with who you are as a person.
- Which artists have influenced your style?Being born in the 80s and growing up in the 90s, I would say artists such as; Jay Z, Biggie, Tupac, Nas, Slim Shady, and groups such as Cypress hill and the Ruff Ryders all influenced my style of rap from back then. Some newer artists that I enjoy listening to are Kendrick lamar, Big Krit, Currency and Dom Kennedy.
- Who would you like to work with in the future?There are many local artists that I would like to work with, firstly AKA, probably get a Cape Town meets Jo’burg thing going. Tumi is another artist I’d like to work with again, definitely a talented artist. Some other artists I’d like to work with would be Garlic Brown, HemelBesem (really good rappers from Cape Town), Kelly lynx, Ice prince, Dbanj, Pro, Kuli chana, Zahara, Freshly ground and Black coffee.
- Performing at the opening of the Lil Wayne concert has to be one of your highlights, what has it done for you?It hasn’t done much for me, just the fact that I can say that I performed at the opening of a Lil Wayne concert in person and paper.
- Do you have any projects that you are currently busy with?I have an EP coming out with Dj Hamma who has also worked with artists such as HHP. The EP that we are busy with is called Dollars and White Pipes. I am also working with Game City who also produced the track “Salute Ya”, I’ve got a project going with Gary Arsenic (Cape Town Hip Hop producer) and I’m busy with something called 3T (Things Take Time) coming at the end of the year, so watch out for that. One more project I’m busy with involves Audiophile 021 (Cape Town Glitch-rap Dj) so expect something different. My website to be dropping soon as well!!!!!! www.youngsta.co.za
- What was your experience like working at the Redbull Studios?It felt like I was stuck in the mountains with a mic, no distractions. I actually got to be an artist. It was the first time I performed in a studio of that quality.
- Any other things you’re interested in doing?Indeed, one of the things that I would like to get into is acting. I’d like to be in a movie such as Pineapple Express and mostly comedy movies, short films and documentaries. I’ve also got a clothing label that I’m busy with, which should be dropping soon so look out for that.
- Do you have any shout outs?Shout out to the Y generation, the winning team of 2012 to infinity, 2Bop, Gary Arsenic, Game City, Circa, The Tattooer, Pepper Club, BM Squad and all the haters!
