HHP stars sees
Hip-hop star teams up with lifelong idol
Hip-hop star HHP could not contain his excitement when he met his idol Leee John of the UK group Imagination yesterday.
HHP sampled the band’s 1980s single Music and Lights and earned himself a hip-hop classic that cemented his place as a trusted Motswako hitmaker. And now the two will perform the song together at the upcoming DStv Delicious Festival in Kyalami on Saturday and Sunday.
Meeting John, the lead singer of Imagination in Melrose Arch, northern Johannesburg, HHP said: “This is surreal. I’m so star struck. I was raised on Imagination. When I heard they were coming I wanted to see if we could work together, but the tone I got was that it would be complicated. And now we will be singing together, doing the song from its origins. We will find a way to merge the two.
“It’s going to be amazing, the song has broad musical changes and in my sample we only looped the beginning. I feel like I have come full circle. I want my dad and family to be there to witness this. ”
John was complimentary of HHP’s achievements.
“I’m a fan of his music. I’m amazed, I didn’t think my music would go so far and reach so many people. I didn’t think it would be a classic. I first came here in the mid-1990s and I was embraced, and I still feel this love. It’s a blessing.”
John said he was looking forward to Delicious Festival “for the cross pollination of local and English talent”.
Tonight he performs at the Kaya FM Lounge in Rosebank. His latest album Retropia, charted in the UK after its release.