No One's Arc Rocks!

Keep watch for these NelCity natives, they've been around for quite sometime. Shame on you if you turned a blind eye on them. We attended their launch at the Emnotweni Arena in Nelspruit, they owned the night! We'll be giving you the 411 on them pretty soon, start the fire so long...

Now that the fire has been started... let's keep it burning... As promised, here's the 411 on the band...

Based in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, the band formed in 2001 while the members were still in their teens. The initial formation of the band was made up of Dylan Bolton (Vocals & Guitar), Robby Johns (Drums) and Lee Nicholls (Bass Guitar) with Phinda 'Goophy' Magagula (Slide Trombone) soon to follow. During 2006 the band made two additions to their sound by including Bongani Mavundla (Trumpet) and Mimi Mthethwa (Backing Vocals).

Their debut album “A Shot In The Dark” was released in 2006 which generated great opportunities and media coverage, taking them to a new level of publicity. After winning the RP Studios Emerging Sounds regional finals, the band gained success outside the boundaries of their hometown which led to many performances in the Gauteng area. The band started appearing on line-ups at Cool Runnings, Roxy’s, Café Barcelona, Tempo’s and Schiva’s Rock on a regular basis.

No One’s Arc has exceeded all expectations in 2010! Towards the end of January the band set off on a nationwide tour known as the “Tour of ARC”, performing at 11 venues in 3 provinces in less than 3 weeks. During the tour the band had the opportunity to appear on the line-ups at the “Up The Creek” and “RAKA” festivals near Swellendam. In the Cape area the band shared stages with the Black Cat Bones in Durbanville and also with Tidal Waves at “Die Jukeboks @ BOHEMIA” presented by Robertson Winery. The band’s debut music video for the song “Fire” was also launched on the tour and has generated enormous exposure with regular airplay on mK.

After the “Tour of ARC” the band featured on the “Jo’burg Burning” line-up with the likes of Ashtray Electric, Wrestlerish and Taxi Violence.The 21st edition of the “Splash Fen Music Festival” was a great highlight of No One’s Arc’s career. The band appeared on the festivals compilation album amongst some of the country’s leading artists like Albert Frost, Hot Water and Dan Patlansky and many others. On the 13th of May the band showed off their acoustic abilities performing live on national television on mK’s “Studio1” with their song entitled “The Days Of Make Believe”.

The final weekend in May saw the band performing outside South African borders at the “STRAB” Festival in Mozambique with bands like Boo!, Zinkplaat and Die Tuindwergies.

By the end of August, No One’s Arc was on the road yet again! The “Cape ARCus” tour was a huge success, which included an acoustic set live on MFM Radio and sharing the stage with New Holland at the “geROOSter” Rock Festival. Returning back home from the “Cape ARCus”, it was time for the “By Die Maan” Festival at Blue Moon. This year’s line-up included Arno Carstens, Zebra & Giraffe, Prime Circle and Die Heuwels Fantasties, just to name a few.

Following the success of the band’s 2010 career, No One’s Arc launched their highly anticipated self titled album at the Emnotweni Arena on the 20th of November. The band then pursued on a nationwide launch tour with performances at “Synergy Live”, “Park Acoustics”, and the “mK 5de Avontoer” with 9 of South Africa’s leading acts including Isochronous, Jack Parow, Pretty Blue Guns and Glaskas!

Sorry ladies and gentlemen, we wished to keep things short but there was no way of doing such when so much of a profile had to be published... READ! REEEEAD!

On their latest single “U.F.O” we see Mr. Goophstar slinging a few rhymes, which remind us just how prolific an artist he is. Check it out...

More on http://www.noonesarc.co.za

Nu Error's Destiny

Poet / vocalist Themba Banda and acclaimed local producer / engineer, Joe Phiri are the two secret ingredients that make up the power duo: Nu Error. Joe or Joe Cymphonic as he has come to be known to the industry is from eMganduzweni and Themba hails from Matsulu the ghetto. Since it’s inception in 2008 Nu Error has been going hard until this day.

We picked up their first ever single: “Hold On (The Grand Piano Edit)” and availed it for download on the blogspot, which did exceptionally well compared to the other MP3s we had availed. Today, their debut album is out, simply titled “Destiny”.

Just like the promo EP they put out, the album is a blend of Hip Hop with a dash of Rhythm &Blues (R&B). We’ve heard the radio friendly “Hold On” and the re-affirming “Uthando lukaBaba”, there is more where those songs came from. Get your ORIGINAL copy of the album and hit us back with your favourites. Let’s support our own sons and daughters...

For Bookings / Telesales: c: Baxter @ +27 (0) 83 383 7701 | e: 8kyk@vodamail.co.za

Afro'traction Owned The Night!

So, where were you on the night of 2 September 2011? This was a very memorable night indeed, you really did miss out on a very good show. Supporting acts like Sizwe Gates, Chocolate, Babyman, Nativz Squad and Chillax took to the stage and the Smoke of Rhyme boys - Hebza Mabza & Perr, repped NelCity well. Kliff Oday (Kasi Empire), Madumane and Sweet Mike of Ligwalagwala FM played very good build-up sets to the main event of the night. TheBigZill from Ligwalagwala FM, was the host for the night, he carried the show well...

When Afro'traction crooner, Wandile Moya, hit the stage, we all sort of knew these guys were here to reclaim what was rightfully theirs - the night of course. The other main attraction, Teargas shook the whole of Ground Zero, Matsulu, a memorable night indeed, bowukuphi?

Check out more pics here.

Afrotraction hits Naspoti!

Afrotraction, birthname Wandile Moya, one of NelCity's rising son's is touring the country promoting his debut album, Soul Deep. Songs like Ngim'tholile and Ngawe are currently making the waves on every reputable radio station countrywide. Hit the play button below and be wowed by this Nelspruit native's musical genius...



Afrotraction and Teargas will be bracing Naspoti (or NelCity, as we have come to know it) in September this year. One of his biggest goals is to channel the spotlight back home, this event is one of many that he will be bringing home in future. Watch this space and start saving up, it will be a very memorable Naspoti night!

The Audio Version of the Advert...

The house version of Ngawe, with the Mechanix of House. There is another very soulful version of this song... keep your ears open, you might just bump into it on the next Afrotraction release.

Now that you've seen the videos and heard the music, it's time to go behind the scenes. Here's the making of "Ngimtholile", the Music Video.

3 Days to go before the event finally goes down. Have you saved up? Are your Original CD's ready for autographs? Good! The NelCity Basement team will also be at the Afro'traction event, so let's all meet there and support our own!

The Official Women Salute Video

We finally got hold of the Mr. Hebza Mabza’s Women Salute Video... Yes! There was a major and unnecessary hold up with getting the video here but we eventually did get it here. Lessons were learned; patience was tested; true colours were shown; there were disagreements but the agreements outweighed them; love was shown; good actors discovered; we got chased away; had stubborn 1400 vehicles speeding to hit us; ego’s clashed and all the stuff that only the cast and crew knows...

The original storyline and direction of photography for this video was done by Rapper / Producer: Muzi “Ehm’sHe” Mbungela, sadly he couldn’t see the project through because of his sudden move to Gauteng. On Ehm’sHe’s absence, Martin Mabilane, who was also quite pivotal in this whole project as the producer and sole camera man, had to step in to do the final editing without any input from Ehm’sHe.

The Cast:

Hebza’s Mother Figure - Dimakatso Thabane

Hebza’s Little Brother – S’fiso “Yung Fess” Mabuza

The DJ West’s entourage – Pedro Kan-ill & Lungstar

Special Thanks to: Pamela; Yung Fess; Perr; Romeo;  Hoodrat; J.O.B; Kliff Oday; Kwasi Akontoh; Lungstar; Pedro Kan-ill; Sanza; Dj West; Tebogo; Sga and all who braced us with their presence.

Without further ado... Hebza Mabza, with Women Salute, enjoy. Please send us your comments to subsnb@gmail.com or a facebook / twitter.

Meet The Cru

WRECKED is the CRU' and motswako is what they do. The style which comprises of Setswana and other indigenous dialects like: Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa and poison English is the discipline that the crew chose to share their life experiences. It's all about expression and the interplay of language, text and context. To describe the crew's style we would need to discuss mad flow, with slick lyrical content and of course beats that you can move to.

This is the cover art of the current EP that they are pushing

Three members make up this outfit: Bafsy, Proph and Impo's. Bafsy – is a Mooi Dorpie native who thrills with punch lines and slick delivery; Impo's – is the 'Ghetto spokesperson' and heart of WRECKED CRU', he is responsible for the unique sound WRECKED pride themselves with and is a proud representative of ITSOSENG - township in North West province about 45 km from the capital city Mafikeng. Proph - is putting GALESHEWE on the map with nothing but desire and lyrics. This Kimberly native flips his flows in Afrikaans; English and Setswana in order to claim agency over a place where Afrikaans' "Moeder Taal" is forked and furious.

The cru's influences stem from greats like: HHP; Tuks; Zola; TKZee; Busta Rhymes; Tupac; Heavy D; Dru Down; Outkast; Mos Def and The Roots. The cru's highlights, among others – include appearing on the following compilations: The HYPE Sessions vol.20 cover disc; the Babble Rap mixtape - an international mixtape, with over 30 MC's rapping in their indigenous languages; The Benchmark by Black Moss - one of Durban's acclaimed MC's and; the Brainstorm compilation, starring Brain (Life check's all elements battle producer of the year 2008).

They have shared the stage with the likes of Slikour and Shuggasmax from Skwatta Kamp, Mo Molemi, Tuks, HHP, Ewok, Big Idea and Black Moss. Anyway you don’t have to take our word for it, just hit play below and judge them yourself. There is more to these gentlemen than their professionalism and their fresh graphics. 

For more of Wrecked Cru’s music click on the photo above or just click on their album cover on the sidebar to download one of their songs. . .

As Toxic As They Come

Mpumalanga born, Zakhele Lekhuleni, known to you as “Toxic”, hails from Nelspruit aka NelCity the city that sleeps no more! Coming from a musical family, it was inevitable that this 23 year old ended up pursuing a career in music. After getting good reviews at the tender age of 7, for his stage acting, he has focused on his education and music.

His first recording was in 2004 with a group he had formed with his friends. Working in a studio setting opened his eyes to numerous things, like how the beat they had was under standard. This led to him producing his own music which led to him founding his own stable, 256 Productions.

From that day onwards, Toxic honed his skills behind the mic and on production. Some local acts that he has worked with to date include Kaspero and Sdunkero from Groova Records; Stone Krekha from Nativz Squad and Sean Sharell of Tsonga Blooded Productions and numerous up and coming Hip-Hop / R&B artists.

He concluded by announcing that he will only be releasing and album late this year or early next year, he will be writing and producing the entire project himself. The title of his offering has not been finalized as yet however, a promo disc will availed for radio very soon.

In the meanwhile, you can download Ngiyohlala Ngik’khumbula by clicking on Toxic’s photo above.