Nasty C on his global transition and new music
MULTI-award-winning rapper Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo, better known to his fans as Nasty C, is one of the top rappers in the country.
He’s always on his A game and is on a mission to break into the US market.
Ahead of his E! VIP episode, IOL Entertainment caught up with the popular rapper, who was recently shown love by Chris Brown on Instagram.
“I was stoked, not going to lie. It was so random, it was out of nowhere, I was excited.”
Well, it’s not every day that R&B legend Brown posts a clip of one of your freestyles on his Instagram Stories. Especially for an artist who wants to make a mark on the global scene.
“It gives me all the motivation I need. Because that’s all we need, right, we just need a chance from them, an ear from them. We know our music is good enough. We just need that break, just for them to put us on that stage or to put us on that radio station.
“The rest will figure itself out, just like people say, the music will speak for itself, every time.”
As he evolves as an artist, Nasty C’s music is reaching different kinds of people and that’s why he is telling his story on E! VIP.
“I’m making a huge global leap, transition, right. So I don’t want it to be the music that gets that side, my story has to get that side, to provide
all the context that my music needs.”
The 26-year-old rapper recently dropped his first single of 2023, Blackout, where he flexes his cadence. He admits his sound has evolved but wants his fans to be able to take it for what it is.
“Once again I’m taking risks with the sounds and just the whole theme of the album. I didn’t theme it based on what I’m doing with my transition to being a global artist. I just followed the way I feel and what I want the music to feel,” he said.
For his upcoming album, Nasty C worked with producers from across the world. “Some of these songs might not make it to the album,” he added, when asked who he was working with.
He worked with American music producer DJ Khalil, a legend on multiple songs. “What was really dope about that is that he came to the house I was staying at and we made these songs from scratch with him. The beats were made from scratch, they were literally playing instruments.
“It felt really good, when I’m this side we don’t really get to do that. It’s always like a pack that gets sent to me and I have to pick a beat I like. So it was nice to be in that environment and really connect with him like that.”
In the past year, collaborations have been a big part of the work Nasty C has been putting out. He hasn’t focused only on established artists but also on those making their way up.
“It was organic, there was just a lot of new blood that came out, it was crazy. There was like a crazy new wave of rappers and singers that I was just such a huge fan of. It was just so dope that they were fans of me too.
“Whenever they reached out to me, I had already just caught on to them. It was like a no-brainer to do those features.”
The Durban rapper collaborated on the banger Lemons (Lemonade) with the late multi-award-winning rapper AKA.
His verse had the streets talking, with everyone raving over his cadence and lyrics – and to think he was hesitant about the record at first.
“I sat with it for about three weeks, maybe even a month, then one day I was like, you know what I have all the time, let me just go in there and vibe out.
“I didn’t even write anything, I was there freestyling. I was mostly channelling my inner OkMalumeKoolKat, maybe my inner K.O, my inner AKA even. Me being a fan of those guys for so long, I kind of know how they approach the hip hop/kwaito sound.”
Nasty C is never afraid of showing love to those who inspired him in the rap game. Speaking to Darryl Nyamz of The Episode, Nasty C shared his top five favourite South African rappers of all time.
He later amended his list when he shared separate posts with images of five local rappers, without any captions. He started off with AKA, whom he previously listed as his favourite local star, before moving on to Stogie T, K.O, Cassper Nyovest and Da LES.
“I was kind of going through this nostalgic little moment, where I was just thinking about how my daily routine was when I was in high school. I just get home and play one of those few artists. If they weren’t already playing on MTVBase or Channel O, I would literally go sit on my computer and just play their music from top to bottom and just vibe out.”