Musician shoots music video in Plett
It was lights, camera action for Plettenberg Bay and one of the town’s rising stars last week.
Born and raised in Kwanokuthula, musician King Melisizwe returned home on Friday March 27 to film a high-energy rap music video for his single, Into Yam, on his first solo album which he is currently working on.
By his side was one of South Africa’s top artists and SAMA winner MXO who also flew in from Johannesburg to mentor the young star and make a guest appearance in the video.
The video, which was filmed at various locations in and around the coastal holiday town, was filmed by Daron Chatz Photography and directed by Grace Harrison and will be released within the next two weeks.
“Small-town boys and girls – that is the name of the movement King Melisizwe introduced us to. It is a culture of not being limited by where you come from and having the confidence and ambition to get to the top no matter what,” Daron Chatz said.
He added the song also expressed this message and paid homage to his place of origin. “Plett Tourism supported this initiative which brought various local talents together to produce a music video for King Melisizwe, which also showcases our small town’s capabilities.”
And King Melisizwe knows the importance of self-belief and going after his goals despite circumstances. Born in 1986, the young musician’s love for music and rapping started at a very young age which saw him starting out by participating in MC street battles and talent competitions.
He slowly grew as an artist and later left for Johannesburg to pursue his dream of becoming a respected performer.
His hard work has paid off and his first album so far includes collaborations with several top South African artists including Mr Sim, Keith Alexander, MXO, Riot, Tokollo and Zwai Bala. But the cherry on top for the former small-town boy was filming his music video in Plettenbenberg Bay.
“The concept had us walking the streets of Kwano and Plett with the song playing. We asked for organic crowd participation, which we got.
It has an all-round good feeling and celebrates Plett and its people. Various locals teamed up to make this project magic, and so far it has been just that,” Chatz said.
Some of the locations include Hani, Main and Nkqubela streets in Kwanokuthula, High Street in Plett, the top floor of Melville’s Corner, the penthouse balcony of the Bay View Hotel and Robberg Beach.
“We enjoyed the enthusiastic support from Tshisa Talent, especially the Unexpected dance group, and many others who contributed too.”
“The video also weaves in a press conference and performance scenes as layers, as well as showing off Plett and surrounds in the final scene.
Many in-camera artists were locals who stepped up to help and we are very grateful to them all for their time and support.” Chaz said during the time spent on the Garden Route MXO had also “fallen in love with Plett” and was in discussions about future projects in Bitou.
“The video will be released in about two weeks and will go to various television channels as well as online platforms. We will also release an [electronic press kit] EPK with interviews and back story around the same time, so watch this space…”
The youngster said icons such as Notorious BIG, Tupac Shakur and Jay Z as well the political climate of the late 1980s inspired him. He always knew he wanted to be a respected artist and joined several groups on his journey to the top, including Garden Route favourite Ten Triple One.
In 2003, King and his crew Ten Triple One left their hometown and moved to Johannesburg to pursue their dreams and that is where his path crossed that of MXO.
MXO, or Mxolisi Lokwe, who headed MLOK Records at the time, managed the group and was instrumental in securing top venues for the group as well as performances alongside stars like Morafe, Tuks, Prokid and Freshlyground.
In 2006, King Melisizwe decided to further his music education and studied sound engineering at the SABC Academy of Sound Engineering.
This is where he learned to produce his own songs. Two years later he started his solo career with the help of Ten Triple One and MXO.
It was then that he came up with his own sound called ‘Xhosalized rap’ which he defines as “a mix of easy and stylish Xhosa songs produced for the easy comprehension of listeners, even listeners who are not of Xhosa origin”.
King Melisizwe’s first offering, a mix tape, was released in December 2009 and was titled Xhosalized. He dedicated this mix tape to his parents who passed away before he had finished the project.
His second mix tape was released in December 2011 and was called Small Town Boy. King explained that the title referred to a positive movement of small town people who were ambitious go-getters, who were driven to achieve their dreams and goals despite the challenges or obstacles that often went hand-in-hand with small-town living.
“Instead of complaining that our small towns do not have the same opportunities as big cities, we want to create opportunities for the small towns and their people,” King Melisizwe said.
Since then he has tasted success and had the privilege of sharing the stage with Morafe, Khuli Chana, Zahara and AKA.
He has also collaborated with MXO on a song called, Celebrate, which received radio airplay on Kaya FM, Umhlobo Wenene FM, SA FM and was on the Metro FM Top 20 for four weeks.
His song titled, New Sneaker Walk, is also receiving airplay around the country on several community and commercial radio stations and was number eight on YFM’s Hip Hop Hot 99. King Melisizwe has also made television appearances.
One of the scenes in former Plett resident and rapper King Melisizwe’s latest music video, which was filmed in Plettenberg Bay recently, included a press conference setup on the top floor of Melville’s Corner.