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A few months ago, Red Bull Music and Tall Racks Records opened a call for aspiring musical artists from across the continent to submit entries to become part of the Lift As You Rise project.
Comprised of Nasty C, Tellaman, Gemini Major, Rowlene, Lastee and Zino D, the intention is to give young musicians a leg-up by not only gaining studio experience and learning from industry practitioners, but also getting to record songs with established artists.
The competition got a total 11 000 entries, which were whittled down to 11 young talents who will get to live out their musical dream: Deekay_Did_It (Pietermaritzburg), Hanna (Cape Town), KDaVine (Pietermaritzburg), Msimisis (Swaziland), J_Reagz (Cape Town), Tembisile (Cape Town), Priscilla (Botswana), The Real Barry Lane (Nigeria), Thato Jessica (Johannesburg), Jay Hoodsa (Pretoria), and Flow Jones Jnr (Johannesburg).
City Press caught up with the group on a cold rainy Wednesday at Red Bull Music Studios Cape Town, where they were being given industry knowledge by Red Bull culture events manager Thlono Mokoena, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) at Africa Creative Agency Colin Gayle, head of communications and engagement at Africa Creative Agency Yvette Davis Gayle, as well as Universal Music SA Sipho Dlamini.
They were taught about splitting royalties on songs, trading features, signing contracts, and had their questions around music as a business answered.
The group had recorded six songs with the established artists during an all-night session that Monday. The songs will be made available to the public soon.
Record producer Gemini Major felt inspired by working with the group: “It was a really good experience being exposed to new talent. It was exciting sharing our energies and giving them a helping hand.
“They’re talented kids and I hope they learnt as much from us as we learnt from them.”
Rowlene, considered Nasty C’s protégé and the first person to be signed to his record label Tall Racks Records, echoed the sentiment.
“Not so long ago I was a part of the hustle and trying to find my path in the industry. Just being able to be among young people – with pure hearts and souls – who are passionate about what they’re doing was amazing.”
Nasty C had a few wishes for the artists going forward.
“I hope they make smart decisions. And I hope they get managers that care about them as people first before artists, not just seeing them as a cash cows. I hope they don’t ever change, their energy is perfect for what they’re doing. All the kids look like they’re smart and they know what they’re doing.”
One of the 11 chosen artists is 20-year-old rapper, singer and producer Hanna. She was born and raised in Harare, but stays and studies in Cape Town.
Nasty C, Gemini and Rowlene pointed her out as one of the stand-outs of the group, and she was bubbling with energy when I caught up with her.
“It’s been a really cool, immersive experience,” she said of the past few days.
“At first we were all really starstruck, but it’s weird how normal it now feels to interact with these stars.”
Visit redbull.co.za/lift-as-you-rise for more information
