Zubz has the best three-album run in South African Hip Hop. Listener’s Digest (2004), Headphone Music — In A Parallel World (2006) and Cochlea — One Last Letta (2009) are undisputed classics. I sat down with him to discuss not only those albums, but his musical influences, writing inspirations, and the anatomy of his music.
On the relation of the trilogy
In hindsight, I believe the albums have been companion pieces to one another largely because they were concept albums separately, but also part of an overarching concept in their sum. The songs on each album may have had differing subject matters and different musical arrangements. But each of the albums listened to holistically have an overarching thematic narrative around them. There are obviously moments where the narrative doesn’t hold and I find myself veering off with some songs but despite that, I’m still able to go back to the overall theme present in each of the albums.
On the target market of the music
When I make music, I don’t really think about who will be listening to it. I approach it from a perspective of me having to be a fan of what I create. If I’m lucky, there’ll be people who are like me, who will also enjoy it and become a fan of it too. I’ve never written from a perspective of saying, ‘this is going to really appeal to this particular person or people’. There’s never been a target market I have in mind when I make music.
But of course, one is aware of the kind of audience a particular song will most likely resonate with after it’s done; in so far as identifying whether it is a potential club or radio hit. Sometimes I might even think, ‘I bet you Jabba is going to like this, or Tumi is going to like this or Pro would’ve killed this’, but that’s about as far as it goes. The primary goal when I create music is always to make the song come out as close to how I envision it in my mind as possible. Little thought goes to who will be listening to it once it’s done.
On the lack of rap features in most of the music
It is always intentional. The exception being “Heavy 8” of course, on [Listener’s Digest] — I mean that was an event on its own. But generally, if I had it my way, there would be no rap features in any of my songs. The only people I would feature are singing vocalists and instrumentalists. When I built songs, the elements to it are lyrics, rapping and flows, then music — harmonies and melodies.
One rapper is enough to bring the elements inherent from a rapper. If the rapper is one dimensional, then maybe they might need another rapper to add another dimension to those elements but for me, I’ve never seen myself as one dimensional. I don’t need to make that addition most of the times. I couldn’t care if it was Nas, Jay, Black Thought, Cassper or Kiernan. I’m not that keen on it, to be honest. Whether it’s on my songs or I’m the one being featured.
On the collaborations he has been part of and memorable features
There are times I have collaborated, of course. Perhaps for a specific appeal or for a grander vision and purpose. This is largely because for me to collaborate, I need to really relate with the collaborator’s energy. If they exude an energy that I don’t particularly relate with, I won’t do it. Regardless of how great they are at rapping. It takes more than that for me. Every emcee I’ve ever collaborated with, I love their energy. I love them as people and we will have built an energy rapport before we got to work on music.
A memorable feature I did was with M.anifest for a song called “Liberatum” on Dragon Lion — Full Circle. He and I were introduced to one another by Kojo Baffoe, a good friend of mine who would always insist that I needed to hear this Ghanaian emcee, and hoped that I would work with him. I dismissively kept saying I’ll check dude out but I hardly did. Then M.anifest came to SA this one time and Kojo once again nudged me. I still wasn’t keen and eventually, he left. Incidentally, after that first visit to SA, that’s when I started checking for his music seriously. As I delved deep into it, I regretted not working with him the very first time he was here. Nonetheless, I started to engage him and we built a good connection. He would come to SA frequently and we would just hang out. After a couple of visits, we eventually locked down in the studio and did the song. The song only came after him and I really got to know one another and I resonated with his energy.
On his musical Influences
If there’s one thing I love and resonate with about Tumi, is that like me, he has a very musical ear. I think he’s my soulmate in that sense. This is why when he and I rap, we rap in key. We’ve been rapping in key and sometimes there would be a melodic tune to how we structured our raps. This explains why I’ve always had a melodic slant to my delivery and style. But in terms of the music and soundscapes I create, I’m heavily R&B influenced. Harmonies and melodies are where it’s at for me. Black American R&B, from the 90s era especially. I’d say that’s the primary influence of my musical sensibilities.
Instrumentally, there’s a wide range of artists, you know? Growing up in the 80s and 90s in Harare, I got exposed to everyone, from Sting and The Police to Tracy Chapman. But I think it boils down to the instrument, you know? What instrument, what sound and what emotion. I love a Bra Hugh Masekela, for example, when he’s on the trumpet, you know? It’s deep and powerful. I also love a Gary Clark Jr, when it comes to the way he plays the electric guitar. I think his bluesy vibe has a certain edge to it. So, yeah, musically those are some of my biggest influences.
On what he prioritises when he makes music
I feature a wide array of vocalists and instrumentalists in most of my music. I do this because, while there are certain things as a rapper one can appeal to in terms of painting pictures through words, metaphors and layering, there are certain things that melody brings to life without trying. Without effort. There’s no language barrier with melody and harmonies. There’s no barrier when it comes to context. I mean, one could be a German guy, for example, who started listening to hip hop in the 80s, but when that melody hits them, you know? When that double bass comes in or that saxophone hits them and it’s sad, something inside them will wail along with that sound, right? This is important for me because I write a lot of themed music, and a lot of it is mood themes, it appeals to the energy and the emotions of the listener.
In my experience, nothing pulls at one’s heart-strings than melodies and harmonies. So when I’m trying to do something soft, loving and melodic like “I’m Here” or visceral like “Handiende”, I need to connect emotionally. My raps could be incredible with dope metaphors and punchlines, but if there’s no emotion that connects, then I would have failed in my attempt to make those particular songs come to life how I envisioned them in my mind. I play the guitar as well — I’ve been playing for years and I’ve always had an affinity to musical instruments since I was a kid. For me, melodies, instruments and musical sound are fundamental in delivering my message, because all of my work is focused on delivering a message. Like, how can I best deliver that message? With my words, sure, with my cadence, great, but its music, so how best can I deliver and transfer the emotion sonically?
Take a viola for instance. It has a deeper and rounder feel than a violin. There’s a reason for that. It’s designed to appeal to a different emotion, that a violin can’t — even if you play it as low as possible, it just doesn’t have the resonance of a violin. Every instrument taps into a different frequency of emotion for the listener. So, of course, when I choose beats, that’s what I hear. I hear Nyambo drop a beat and yeah there’s kicks, drums and snares, but there’s a feeling, bro. What is that feeling? That is what I write around, that’s what I bring out and try to transmit. In the themes and in the approach and pretty much every aspect of the music. Ultimately, this is why for me, melodies, harmonies and overall music is important.
On what inspires most of the content in his music
All my life, I’ve had many interests besides music. And my interests are — I don’t want to say geeky but they are not narrow. For instance, my interest in Quantum Physics is not the same interest of a Physicist or Scientist. I’m just literally interested in the fact that the principles of Quantum Physics relate to a world that is inaccessible to us. And I’m like, Yo! This world is not a make-believe Sci-Fi world — which is something I love by the way, but this is actual Science which is very much Sci-Fi-based. Like, we’re talking about particles jumping in and out of existence, bro. We’re talking about time no longer mattering — I mean, a Quantum Reality is a whole other world, bro. That’s fascinating to me, you know?
So, of course, I talk about Quantum Convergence and things like that. And in my fascination and almost obsession with the ‘other-worldly’, whether it’s Sci-Fi or Spirituality, normal occurrences take me there easily. I will easily go into the world of the spirit realm or different dimensions where I’m thinking: Are there other versions of us somewhere else out there in the Universe existing at the same time as us? Are there actual aliens out there, who are not just as advanced as us but are in a different plane of existence? What does that mean for us and what we hold dear? What does that mean for them?
So, I engage a lot of Philosophy, a lot of Science, a lot of Sci-Fi and a lot of Art Literature. All that stuff is a testament to how I grew up, you know? I grew up in Zambia and in Zim, in a time where, on TV, we would watch Star-Trek, Dallas, Falcon Crest, Six Dollar Man and all kinds of weird American shows. Some were sort of like American cultural exports, where they would school us on Science, Physics, Chemistry, Geology, and Astronomy. Also, in school, I would be interested in those kinds of books and subjects. I would also read C.S. Lewis and Enid Blyton books. I loved those books. The Chronicles of Narnia — that’s the kind of mindset I’ve always grown up in.
So it was easy for me when studying Biology to be really engrossed like, Damn! So there’s the Lymph System and the Blood Circulatory System, all existing in one body? How do they function together? How do they talk to one another? What does that represent as a metaphor? Now, when I write music, my mind can already go there very easily because I’ve just always been an inquisitive kid, growing up. This is why it’s not that much of an effort when I make songs like “Warp Speed” — when you’re travelling at warp speed, in the blink of an eye or the beat of your heart, you’re travelling faster than light or a speed of a thought — I literally combined Sci-Fi with Quantum Mechanics and brought spirituality into it. Resonating to sub-atomic strings — that’s String Theory — vibrating to the chorus of philharmonic things — I mean, if at the core of who we are, we are particles of vibration, of course we’re going to love music, of course the chorus of togetherness brings us beyond time and space, and once you start realizing that, you’re travelling at…warp speed.
