Rapper addresses Kanye West controversy, talks African Hip-Hop
South African Hip-Hop act Cassper Nyovest was recent guest on the Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM.
The rapper got talking about the alleged imitation of his floating stage design by Kanye West.
Kanye West had earlier called out rappers who ''imitated'' the floating stage design he used during his Saint Pablo tour, and DJ Akademiks also tweeted a picture of Cassper's floating stage moment at the 20,000 capacity dome, suggesting that Kanye West might be referring to him.
Nyovest however cleared the air, reminding all that he had done such earlier at his dome concert in 2016.
“I can’t say if he stole but he did it after me,” Cassper said in reply to Charlamagne jokingly stating that Kanye did steal the idea from Cassper. And also that they tried getting Kanye’s manager to the show because they heard he was in the country (South Africa) as at then.
Charlamagne Tha God also addressed his earlier comment where he referred to Cassper as "some African artist" telling Cassper that he thinks the fans acted arrogantly in their response to him.
Cassper tried to explain that the fans weren’t, rather they were demanding respect because to them he is a big deal.
Speaking about how big Afrobeats is in Africa, Cassper says he is a Hip-Hop artist and doesn’t know about Afrobeats.
Cassper talked about being an indie artist and how he doesn’t have distribution to get on radio but with the Internet and going on a lot of tours, his music has been able to resonate and get really big.
Asked if he would sign to a label in Africa, Cassper says “I wouldn’t sign to a label in Africa because I’m doing pretty well over there.”
He however said he would sign to an American label because he likes what they are doing with Wizkid and Davido. He mentions a Jay Z’s Roc Nation would be great to sign on.
Re-investing the money for performance fees into shooting music videos Cassper explained as an example was a strategy he used to keep advancing his career.
Nyovest also addressed how in his hometown, foreign artists, mentioning Rick Ross as reference were treated as more important than the local artists, which made him start organizing his own shows to prove that the local acts are just as good.
“It’s just wack to complain so we decided we were going to put up our own show and show people that we are as big as any American in my country.”
He was out to change the mentality of African kids that they can be as great as their counterparts in all parts of the world.
On why he thinks African artists have not been able to break into the American market, despite the demand, Cassper feels they are starting to gain interest with the like of Wizkid collaborating with Drake and others. He however notes that he is no longer chasing the American market because several American rappers are also trying to make it themselves, saying if he can be as big in Africa as a Drake is in America, then he’ll be fine.
He also spoke about Payola and how it’s all about money and not about the best of music. Cassper says he won’t be paying any DJ to play his music after asked about how radio play for his music is like at home.
Nyovest also spoke about collaborating with American artists, and how they come about, among other gist.