S.A' s JAY and CHRISTER: BACK 2 HIGHSKOOL - THE INTERVIEW

                Hip-hop has produced many collabs, some good and others not-so-good. When you hear a collaborative effort in a song you keep an ear out for “who did better than the other”, even listeners of "holy" hip-hop weigh artists in the same way (others will consider my statement as counter-productive due to the nature of the music; some will say “it’s supposed to be complimentary and the message is what is more important – and I will agree). However, we tend to listen to holy hip hop with “that” type of ear regardless of the fact that it is “holy” hip-hop. More often than not, collab efforts will leave you feeling as though one rapper contributed better than another and instead of denying the reality it is better to accept it and encourage our rappers towards improvement and constructive growth. So when Jay and Christer announced they would be releasing a collaborative project my first reaction was "who would sound the most...different?" I AM GLAD TO ANNOUNCE THAT THIS MIX-TAPE HAS DELIVERED A CONSISTANT COLLAB EFFORT! Both Jay and Christer gave their best and at times I confused the two – but Jay has a deeper toned voice – they both have a great style of delivery and lyrical ability; they were cut from the same clothe having grown up together and both sharing a passion to make Christ known to the masses. The mix-tape was released digitally on 1 December 2012 (here are the links: http://www.chekadigital.co.za/the-hangout-presents-back-2-highskool-mixtape/ and my favorite link: http://www.mediafire.com/?7ydy2fale0dq127 . Before its release, Jay and Christer leaked the "Oh Snap" single which did its job to create anticipation for the mix-tape; straight up head-banger with some chop-and-screw on the hook, this song was a public declaration announcing their presence in the game - go hard or go home! Bottom line, these two play off each other creatively very nicely.
                 Something that Malawi could learn here about the digital release process for this mix-tape is that “Back to Highskool” could (and still can) be downloaded as a whole at one time. It was uploaded as a zip folder; this was very convenient because I didn’t have to download a track at a time which is time consuming (perhaps that would be more feasible for mobile users so t have the option for both would be perfect). Here is the interview which is LONG overdue, please expect the mix-tape review later titled “BACK 2 HIGHSKOOL – THE VERDICT!” Finally, I would like for Malawi to embrace holy music from the rest of Africa so that we can grow our ministries and our platform may increase to ears that have never heard the gospel before. Enjoy the interview and be informed.

 

Introduce yourselves and tell us how y'all met…

Christer: My name is Christer kobedi. Jay and I basically grew up together. I have known him since I opened my eyes. He is the one that got me interested in rap; he has been rapping since I was 10! (@ItsChrister)

Jay: Hey! Am Kenneth "Jay" Makopo. I started rapping at around the age of 12, 13 but I stopped when I turned 16 because I focused on dancing during that time. I only started getting serious about music last year. I'm currently 21 and Christer is 18. We are both solo artists but we come from a group called "The Hangout" a.k.a Trill Mobb. We're hoping to see Christer drop an album next year, if not then the year after that. I've been in Australia for 2 years in Hillsong International Leadership College studying youth ministry. My studies come to an end this year and then I'm going to work for my church full-time and work on music! (@JayMakopo)

 

What is the “Hangout”? Trill Mobb? And explain “Back 2 Highskool”?

Christer: The hangout, that's the crew. #TrillMob is the movement. Trill/Treal is a combination of true and real. We wanna do music that glorifies God and relates to mainstream fans. We just wanna keep it true and keep it real yet at the end of the day we glorify God.
So at the hangout, it's just young people who come together and "hang out" with each other and that is just where real life happens...We are true and real with each other.
So back to high school is a mix-tape, the heart behind it is to just stay young and real! Remember that you can have fun in Christ, we are called to be upright, but not uptight... So even though we walking the faith, we don't HAVE to be acting weird to be considered holy. We can still be ourselves and have a great time in Christ! "Oh snap" is also just a fun track! But at the end of the day it's about us saying that we are here and we about to go HARD for The Lord. One way of relating to folks who are not Christian is actually just simply having a great time and being human!
So we just keep it true, keep it real! #TrillMob.

 

Should the listening community consider you two as a rap duo?

Christer: We are not a rap duo at all. We just felt we should do a collab project together coz we share the same heart and vision, still not sure what God has in store for the future but we are not a crew... Individually, I write songs, produce, and rap. I started playing keyboard at the age of 12 then went on to production at the age of 15, and started rapping at 16  

 

Do you have discography outside of the “Back to Highskool” mix-tape?

Jay: Sure thing, Christer has a mix-tape titled “I am Christer” which was released in November of 2011.Here is the link: http://christermusic.tumblr.com/post/16654879974/i-am-christer-mixtape-tracklisting-free

For work by me see the following links: HazzadasMove remix : http://www.mediafire.com/?y9i97t5vx0czold and Jaylousy remix: http://www.mediafire.com/?w6c2cq8w8w3dl38

 

@rowmasi
for other international reviews and interviews see this blog
for more on Malawi music see http://www.elevationmg.net/arts/