South African rapper and songwriter Nasty C has once again stirred the hornet’s nest by comparing Hip-hop, Afrobeats, and Amapiano genres.
Per his analysis, he believes many Afrobeats and Amapiano music are “better than Hip-hop”, and also come with quality videos that keep audiences hooked on the African style of compositions.
“I feel like Amapiano and Afrobeats are better than Hiphop…Obviously not all Amapiano songs, not all Afrobeat songs, but I am talking in general about songs that go viral or end up mainstream.
When I listen to Afrobeats I hear live instrumentation, I hear a lot of original melodies, and I hear a lot of actual good singing…live instruments, original melodies, people who can actually sing — that is music,” The Said crooner stated on his Twitch live stream.
He went on to compliment the creativity in the music videos of Afrobeats musicians, saying Nigeria has been leading “for a long time” when it comes to music videos, and “it’s not even a joke.”
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Praising the two genres of African origin over Hip-hop, Nasty C maintained that Afrobeats and Amapiano music “last forever and everyone and anyone can listen to it,” indicating that Amapiano/Afrobeats sounds are motivating and “make you want to dance.”
“It is about real life. The people who make Amapiano/Afrobeats are making real music. But when you look at Hip-hop, we sample a lot. That means we don’t have lots of new original melodies.
“We are taking melodies from Jazz, slow jams, Jamaican music, Indian music…I am not being ungrateful to Hip-hop. I love Hip-hop, I am Hip-hop till I die, but the truth is the truth, Afrobeats and Amapiano are better than Hip-hop,” he stressed.
The 27-year-old is convinced that many of the Hip-hop songs that end up trending are a “disgrace”, as “everyone is fake rich, fake gangster…”
Nonetheless, he admits that more Hip-hop artistes were recording good songs but they could make it sound better to “mean more.”
Nasty C, born Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo, recently called for a rap battle with top rap musicians, saying he was ready to “put up a fight” since he does not consider himself “inferior” to other top rappers.
His latest comment is likely to spark more debate about the Hip-hop genre, and whether he has not shot himself in the foot, considering his heavy Hip-hop background.
In September 2023, Nasty C dropped the Hip-Hop album titled I Love It Here. The 19-track project has songs including Release Me, Endless, Crazy Crazy, Broken Marriages, No More, I Love You, and many others.