The first time I saw this guy was at another local hip hop concert all about supporting local artists breaking into the music scene. He immediately caught my eye because apart from the fact that his hip hop is spat in hardcore Sesotho, his stage presence is amazing for a freshman on the scene and he immediatley removed any doubt in my mind that he truly hails from Bethlehem in the Free state and has come to J-sec to seek his share of gold.
His real name is Andile Mahlangu and he uses stage name Andrianto, “it’s a nickname I received while in high school because I was one of those students ba phapang (highly loud and over confident) and I used to love wearing Carvella shoes which is an Italian brand!” At least that explains the name but does that filter into his product? His rhymes are fierce and possess the hunger of a child who has not been fed in days and you can smell and see it a mile away. Many people will remember his single “hele helele” which was on high rotation on Yfm but the first time Andrianto caught my attention was when he performed at the DJ Lemonka mix tape launch performing his track alongside Maxhoba and Mathematics “skantla jwalo”.
There is certainly an assortment of talent in Mzansi and I think that many people have the ability to put pen to paper with rhymes and lyrics but not many have the ability to put life into it and make me notice but every once in a while comes that one individual who manages to do that. Andrianto has definitely accomplished this. The young man wishes to see himself owning both a recording company and a production company in years to come, he holds a media studies diploma majoring in Video production attesting to the fact that education is very important and as a South African artist you have to try different areas as to be versatile in your craft.
The wait was drawn out but he has finally dropped his second single “tshwara ngwana” and I am happy to say that it still packs heat and what works for him is the fact that he has found his own distinctive mode within the Motswako fraternity, even though there might be politics regarding the fact that he raps in Sesotho and not Setswana, but issues aside he makes his mark and shouts loud enough to be heard.
He’s the current champion of South African hip hop artist Hip Hop Pantsula’s hip hop competition called ‘Y.B.A nights,’ held in Melville in Johannesburg, he has managed to work with some of hip hop’s finest - namely Thasman, Tuks, HHP and DJ Lemonka. He even opened for American act Bow Wow when he performed in SA. I look forward to his debut album which hits stores May 2010 and is titled Ngwana Mosotho. Asked why the title “well people need to know about my origins and not be fooled by my Italian nickname, Andrianto”. Truth be told I hope the album will not disappoint because some of these artists, not mentioning any names, have a tendency of heightening one’s excitement with their singles only to find that the rest of the album leaves one unfulfilled. My suggestion, get yourself a Sesotho dictionary and listen intently to what this boy has to say and let me know what you think.
