I caught up with Blxckie fresh off the stage at his New York show in Irving Plaza the night prior and moments before arriving at his hotel to prepare for his exclusive mixer event. We touched on the assurgence of South Africa music including Amapiano, his first North American tour and his hopes for translating his artistry to the Western world.
Blxckie, born Sihle Sithole, grew up in Durban, South Africa, a coastal city known as the third most populous, behind Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the harbor recognized for a majority of the country’s trading. Perceiving Durban from a worm’s eye view, the 24-year-old rapper says you’d notice it’s a mixed-race city. “Most of the people that are born and stay [in Durban], have a white parent. That's where I grew up but, as a Black person. I went to school there. That's where my family still stays, that's where most of my friends still are,” Blxckie shared.
The mixed-race population of SA who may have ancestry from Africa, Europe, or Asia, were formally classified as coloured by the apartheid government in the 1950s. Apart from the country’s coloured populace, Durban also has large Indian, White and Zulu peoples. Blxckie is Zulu of the Nguni tribe and his first language is isiZulu.
However, the country's history and people, as in all African countries, are far more vast than their limited, albeit widespread textbook anecdotes. Blxckie explains “South Africa is a melting pot of so many different cultures, even though they all sort of overlap, like some of the 11 official languages [and English] sound alike and stuff. There is a lot of SA history rooted in Johannesburg and Cape Town and they are probably the most talked about because that's where all the business happens. I feel like every country has their history and their richness.”
Blxckie moved to Joburg from Durban, about 4 years ago when his music career started taking off, a dream that he began pursuing more seriously when the pandemic struck. Before that, the musician was studying Psychology at University and working towards becoming a clinical psychologist. Like a majority of African kids, the boundlessness of higher learning was a surefire ticket to advance social classes. “I came from very humble beginnings. I was super into my books. [Because of that] I had the luck and opportunity to get a scholarship for high school so that was like a nice turning point for me but then even when I was in university, the scholarship didn't continue so it was getting quite difficult,” he recalls. “Fortunately or unfortunately, COVID happened and the academic structure had to be paused for a bit and that's when I started focusing on making music more.”
And of course, any artist pays particular attention to how they are being perceived. A special part of that conception includes attempting to carve out one’s individuality through their stage name. “I started as SIHLE, which is my real name. I went by that for a long time, probably until high school when I started getting more into Soundcloud.” When Blxckie realized that not a lot of people pronounced his birth name properly, he decided to switch it up altogether. “I became Blackie Chan for a while, a play on Jackie Chan. And, you know, I’m Black and dark or whatever.” Shortly after his initial name change, he began searching for his name on the internet to view the progress of his latest releases and noticed there were quite a lot of people with the same nickname. “So I took out the Chan and changed the A to an X just to stylize it.”
Nowadays a few artists have incorporated some version of Black in their name. “Even now I still realize, there's a lot of people who have Black in their [stage] names. You know Black Sherif, BlaqBonez, Odumodublvck. Those are all my guys by the way. I’ve met all of them and we are working on some stuff.”
From being born and raised in Durban to touring the United States through his music, Blxckie ruminates on failing to take it all in at times. The end of tour shindig in New York, courtesy of Def Jam Recordings, was a moment for Blxckie to make an official debut with his brewing fanbase in North America. He officially inked a deal with the infamous label during the fourth quarter of 2023, a partnership he credits to Tunji Balogun, the Nigerian-American record label executive and Def Jam’s current CEO. “I think Tunji had DM’d me in 2021 and I didn't realize who he was at the time. Last year when I was about to come perform at SXSW and still hadn’t signed yet that’s when I met him and everyone was like, ‘Yo, this is the Def Jam guy, you need to tap in.’ When I went to go look, I realized he had DM’d me so far back and it just shows that he’s so tapped in. He’s not just going off hype because back then I wasn’t internationally known but I was known in South Africa,” he disclosed.
Sounds from Africa have been on a steady incline into the Western world. A major contender in genres from the motherland is Amapiano, a derivative of South Africa, that is giving Afrobeats a run for its money. At the 2024 Grammy Awards, South African artist Tyla took home the first-ever Best African Music Performance golden gramophone for her globally recognized pop-piano record “Water.” Her win, by way of SA, is quite the feat as it came before the release of her debut album, in a category that included African heavyweights Burna Boy, and Davido (featuring Musa Keys), Asake, Olamide and Ayra Starr.
“I feel like in South Africa, the dance music scene has always been there and Amapiano is a part of that. I guess right now we sort of broadened ourselves and it’s something that we can claim and own. Unlike the stuff before like Tribal House and Deep House which could be traced back to London or even Germany,” Blxckie dives into the history of dance music in his home country. “But Amapiano is like our thing and that’s what makes it so special. I'm proud of and know all of them that are doing it right now. I’m a big fan of all the South African people that are taking that sound abroad. It gives us opportunities and it's not just for them, there's a lot of people in SA that gained from the fact that Amapiano artists are doing such huge things around the world,” he continues.
Aware of the heights dance music has helped propel the influential sub-Saharan African country, Blxckie reflects on its role in his musical journey thus far, “You know, I'm sure if I was making music around the time that I was born, there probably wouldn't be any dreams of me just being out of South Africa. There's just so much that has happened in the past ten years that opened so many doors and allowed for so many of us to have these types of opportunities,” the rapper persists.
However, Blxckie is not to be mistaken for an Amapiano artist, although he enjoys the subgenre of Kwaito and House music, comprised of synths and wide, percussive basslines. “Sometimes I make and write [Amapiano] songs for artists but I don't feel like it's part of my identity. I've been building this whole Blxckie brand just off of R&B, Hip Hop and Afrobeats. But then when it gets to Amapiano, I feel like it's a little fast for me. Not in terms of enjoying it, but if someone heard a song from me and it was Amapiano, [I think] they’d be thrown off, even though I make a lot of different genres. I dibble and dabble but I’m not into making dance music,” Blxckie explains.
He concedes his point further by making the clear distinction that he isn’t a conventional rapper, but a rapper, nonetheless. “I’d say I’m a melodic rapper for sure. I’m not a traditional rapper. Like all the beef and battling, I don't think I'm traditional in that way, but you know I think a lot of rappers right now are into the melodic vibes, [we are] more about the flow and stuff. But then, since we are hip hop artists, we can tap into that sound that's more hard-hitting and more intentional.” Honing in on nontraditional rap has served the Def Jam signee well so far.
The Durban artist’s sound-maneuvering between hi-hat patterns and snare drums, with his soothing voice and melodies is a conscious effort as he is a student of southern American trap music. “Rap-wise, I listen to a lot of Atlanta rappers like Young Thug and Migos.” Blxckie spent three months in Georgia’s capital city, mainly creating music. “Atlanta's a vibe. I feel like if I had to get a spot out here, it would probably be in Atlanta.” Outside of rap music, he finds inspiration in the new wave of trap R&B and Afrobeats. “I’ve been bumping a lot of Bryson Tiller, PartyNextDoor and Roy Woods. On the African side of things, I’m super into Afrobeats, Rema, Wiz and Blaqbonez are very big inspirations whenever I'm tapping into that pocket because no one does it better than the originators.”
Blxckie has already been named Apple Music’s Up Next artist, and had a solo certified gold song and album in South Africa with “David,” off of B4Now in 2021. That same year, he took home Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Collaboration at the South African Hip Hop Awards, as well as earned a double platinum song “Yex4'' with fellow SA rapper Nasty C. In 2022, he was nominated for Best International Flow at the BET Hip Hop Awards and a single he was featured on, “Sete” with K.O. and Young Stunna also went double platinum. With the larger part of his successes found in his native country, embarking on a North American tour opened Blxckie up to a whole new world.
The “We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re Fucked Up” North American tour, headline Dreamville’s Bas, the Sudanese rapper from Queens, New York with diasporan special guests Reuben Vincent who is Liberian by way of Charlotte, North Carolina and Hoosh also of Sudan, based in Miami, Florida and, of course, Blxckie. Bas and Blxckie met in South Africa and began cultivating an ongoing creative relationship. “Bas is really into SA, every year he makes an effort to be out there and since he's there so much, he has a solid fan base [there]. I think it was after this show called ‘Rocking the Daisies’, he was at some club called Coco. We spoke about a few things, but honestly, at the time, I didn't believe it was going to leave the club, 'cause you know, everyone is so lit, so most of the conversations don't,” Blxckie recalls their first encounters.
The melodic rapper is featured on Bas’ “U-Turn” with A$AP Ferg off of the We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re Fucked Up album, and have a few records together in the vault. “When he was finishing up the album, he was like, ‘yo, I want to hear what you would sound like on this one song I’m doing.’ He sent it, and then I did it the same day but sent it the next day. He loved it.” From collaborating on the album to linking up in the motherland on numerous occasions, Blxckie was asked to officially join Bas’ tour. “It’s been very dope. The reception and I also figured out where my people are and where the strongest fan base is. I’m super humbled and appreciative of everything he's been doing for me.”
Blxckie continues, “Bas’ crowd is not into the hype. They're not there to jump around and get lit. It's more about the music and the lyrics. There's no chance that an unknown person would get on stage and not get attention because they learn to hear what you're about. It's a very dope crowd. He also touches on the added layer and importance of African solidarity and representation. “Him having artists with African roots just made it that much more special. And the stuff that he speaks about on his album is very much related to all the difficulties that are going on in his home country of Sudan. I feel like he just thought about the representation of other African countries. Which is super selfless and commendable ‘cause, he didn't need to do that. His album is going well, he could've just gone by himself. But he was like, yo, I just need my guys on it. All thanks to him.”
Durban’s own does well to place his career into perspective and speaks highly of those who have played a part in his journey so far, from his team to family and friends, who he says often remind him of how far he’s come. “I try to speak to people that were there in the beginning and they give me a [different] perspective. Like recently, I posted 28 shows, 20 cities done, or whatever. They’re the first people to be like ‘Did you realize that you just did that? It's not something light.’ They remind me when I’m doing something right, progressing, and not stagnant,” the SA rapper shares.
Blxckie hopes to continue to take note of how far he’s come and hopefully, one day, reach the point where he looks back at his career, in his 50s and maybe even takes up another art form. When talking to his younger self, he’d say, “You made the right decision moving to Joburg and to keep taking care of your family and friends, for sure. To keep taking care of your heart, mind and your soul. So that by the time you reach 50, and you are making jazz, that everything is balanced.”
Choosing to bet on himself and leave the seemingly promising trajectory of studying clinical psychology to chase his creative dreams has led Blxckie to wondrous heights. He says he’s learning to remind himself to take it all in, as the fast life has a way of blurring the days and his stand-out accomplishments. The intro to B4Now “Mama It’s Bad,” is an introspective letter to his mother about navigating through the hardships present in rising to fame yet ultimately trusting the process. On it, Blxckie croons, “I know God works in perfect timing / I just bow down and wait in line for my blessings.” In his current state, fresh off tour, I asked if he’d still tell his mother that it’s bad. He chuckled and then replied, “There are different problems but it’s definitely not as bad as it was back then.”
Photographer: @ByTunde
Stylist: @Styledbyglo_2
Stylist Asst: @Demeir.Wav
Creative Direction: @Styledbyglo_2
Creative Direction Asst: @Demeir.Wav
Art Direction: @Fyeobt
Design: @deeds.studio (@Dianeadanna)
Writer: @Veeeracity
