Rappers given stage for club hip-hop battle

TRUFM’s DJ Trusenz, who hosts a hip-hop show every Sunday, will be taking his studio rap battles to the streets today.

The rap battles will take place at Pulse Club in Arcadia, East London and will see local hip-hop heads coming together to witness the rhyme wars.

D J Trusenz, whose real name is Lungelo Nzama, is not only a passionate hip-hop presenter but has also made a name for himself as a rapper.

His love for this genre dates back to the early 2000s when he first hosted the hip-hop sessions around East London.

Since then, he has continued being a force of change and growth in the local hip-hop scene.

Every Sunday from noon to 3pm he hosts the hip-hop show, Ground Zero on Tru FM. He also hosts The Midday Frequency during the week from noon to 3pm.

Nzama said taking the live studio battles to Pulse Club was his way of giving the artists freedom to do whatever they like on stage.

“These battles are mostly in (indigenous languages) and because it’s live, there are some limitations.

“Now we are going to be in a club and there will be a lot of freedom for them to express themselves,” he said, adding that he would then edit the battles for his radio show for tomorrow.

Nzama said the battle would give the artists an opportunity to perform in front of an audience.

“Lyrically, these guys are great but now we are also trying to get their fitness up. I don’t know if they’ve been put on the crowd fire yet and this is the time for them to do that,” he said.

Reflecting on the Eastern Cape hip-hop scene, Nzama said artists needed to start taking their craft seriously and stop performing for free for the sake of “exposure”.

The rappers who will battle are: Mzet vs Mxo Hooly, Dustin vs D Flow and Pun Beast vs AK47.

There will be live performances by Number, Celtic, Ayerz Mabinda, Gap and Wages.

DJs, Yung Reezy and Lycidus will also be spinning the decks. Entry is free. — poliswap@dispatch.