WATCH: Zandspruit rapper on the long walk to success
Now 22, he has his own record label, studio, and is on his way to the 035 Awards in December with three nominations.
Four years ago, Ishmael was just an 18-year-old with a silly dream of becoming a rapper.
For Ishmael Ishmiza SA Masuku, Zandspruit was all he knew as he’d lived in the informal settlement for his whole life. His affection for music comes from his younger days, when he was a singer in his church choir. Ishmiza was fortunately able to use the musical knowledge he acquired from his church singing combined with his love for Rap and Kwaito to formulate a unique sound.
“I just try to keep my music real and unique,” he said. “Everybody’s going for Kwaito, Rap, House, or Trap music nowadays, but I try not to sound just like everyone else.”
Music is Ishmael’s only source of income, and he uses the hardships he has faced and overcome in his life as a large majority of his inspiration for his music. “There’s nothing more real than real life, and I aim to keep all of my music as real as it comes,” Ishmiza explained.
Ishmiza incorporates elements from both the Kwaito and Rap genres into his music, often mixing the two together into a song. “What I often do with my music is, if it’s a Kwaito beat, I’ll bring in a Rap sound with my voice, and if it’s a Rap beat, I’ll do the same just with a Kwaito sound to my voice,” Ishmiza elaborated.
Ishmiza’s affection for both Kwaito and Rap can, even at a stretch, be likened to that of South African superstar Cassper Nyovest who, in his 2015 hit War Ready, raps that he “grew up listening to kwaito, But I [Cassper] love rap, I’m a hybrid.”
Ishmiza will be attending the 035 Awards in Kwa-Zulu Natal this December, having found himself nominated for three awards – Song of the Year, Mixtape of the Year, and Hustler of the Year.
He is also the founder and chief executive officer of Honeydew HipHop (HHH), which operates the Qwala Fam Music group that he forms part of. When HHH started out in 2016, they had only a handful of artists signed, and now they have more than 20 artists, from as far afield as Cosmo City and even Soweto.
Ishmiza’s music can be heard on local radio stations such as Cosmo FM and Sloot FM, as well as the weekly hip-hop sessions that are held every Sunday in Zandspruit. He can also be found on music-streaming platforms such as Audiomack and SoundCloud.
To get a taste of the talent that Zandspruit is brewing, you can listen to Ishmiza’s second studio album, Gap Year EP on Audiomack here: https://audiomack.com/album/qwala-fam-music/gap-year-ep.
You can also catch him rapping a short freestyle alongside fellow Qwala Fam Music entertainers Darlington DeE aAr Magatsela (Ishmiza’s producer) and Freddie TwidiMkwagi (Ishmiza’s promoter) here:
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