IZE breaks silence with album
RAP duo IZE have released their longanticipated second album, The Down to Earth Kind. This comes after almost eight years of not releasing any new material.
The group, also known as Iintloko Zeenyoka, is made up of friends Khaya “Mboza” Mcasa and Lunga “Hooba” Mampangashe.
Their 2009 debut album, Promise to the Province , had many in the Eastern Cape falling in love with their content.
They also received recognition from the country’s biggest hip hop magazine, Hype.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch, Mampangashe said their supporters had begged
for new material and they felt now was the time for that.
“From our first project we learnt so much as musicians. The album did well and it opened a lot of doors for us as artists,” he said, adding that the challenges they encountered on their first album had prepared them for this one.
“We’ve come a long way in our music and believe when you know better, you do better. We know where to go for specific things in the music-making industry and we are glad we took our time before releasing this album,” he said.
Mampangashe said they had more than 50 songs that they have been working on all these years.
“We have been making music all these years; we’ve never stopped. We thought we would release a double-side [album] but that would have cost us a fortune and we decided to make it one CD with 17 tracks.”
Mampangashe said their album highlighted the importance of ubuntu in communities. “As black people, our biggest asset is ubuntu and we feel we have lost that. We are not just complaining about this in our music, but we also explore ways that could revive that spirit,” he said.
To get IZE’s latest album, follow them on their Facebook page, Ize iintlokoZeenyoka, or e-mail them at