Fans of Atteridgeville born rapper 25K The Plug are in for a treat as he has released his long-awaited debut album, Pheli Makaveli.
Pheli Makaveli tells the gripping tale of a young hustler on the come-up.
“The project is about my upbringing, my story and my journey before the music and when I fell in love with the music. It sums up a bit of everything about me from back when I was in the streets, hustling, when I used to stand on the corner, hoping to make a little sale,” says 25k The Plug.
The album is produced and curated by Zoocci Coke Dope.
The rapper spoke on how the title came about, “I met Zoocci when I had just shot the ‘Culture Vulture’ video. He told me it’s one of his favourite songs and that’s why he hit me up for a studio session. We knocked a beat out immediately, and after a few sessions with him, he said that I should release the songs we’re recording as an album.” It was also Zoocci who suggested that he should name the album ‘Pheli Makaveli’. “Zoocci sent me a random text saying I should name the album ‘Pheli Makaveli’ because I’m from Pheli and influenced a lot by 2Pac and the West Coast. Every song we recorded after we put a title to the project, started making sense.”
Diving into the songs
The album opens with the now popular intro ‘Pheli Makaveli (Intro)’ that encompasses the rappers then current state of mind and that of the hip hop scene.
Continuing with the West Coast inspiration, ‘Blarofonia’ pays homage with the 2Pac and Dr Dre sample of their hit song, ‘California’.
A-Reece features on the fourth track and smash hit, ‘Hustlers Prayer’ that resonated with a lot of people who were affected by Covid 19.
‘Trap Jumpin’, track four, feels like you are hanging out with 25k at the trap having a good time and features an outro skit of the infamous gangster, Maleven.
The second half of the album opens with a guest appearance by Emtee the Hustler, one of 25k’s biggest influences, on ‘Self Made’ a track about making it from the bottom and not switching up when you get to the top.
‘Dagwood’ follows and discusses true events of coming up in the industry and having all these different women showing love and you never really knowing who’s genuine.
‘Project Baby’ is an interlude, about being a baby growing up in the hood (projects) and how he used his street knowledge to get out of the hood.
On ‘Apple Soda/ Record Deal’ 25K shows off his versatility. The first part of the song, ‘Apple Soda’, is the first episode and connects to the second episode, Record Deal, with a 2Pac interview discussing people’s misconceptions about him after being released from jail.
On ‘Record Deal’ 25K speaks about his fans saying that he sold out because he signed a record deal, “but they don’t understand that I’m actually smarter than they think I am, my legal team is A1.
FLVME appears on track 10, ‘Dusk till Dawn’, the only song that isn’t produced by Zoocci on the album. FLVME did the production and came through with the fire vocals.”
‘Kings Gambit Bag Man’ features Killer X, a former member of their high school duo.
Lastly, 25K ends the album on a high note with Maglera Doe Boy on ‘Quarter To 6’. After recording the song at a hotel in Pretoria, 25K played the song for Zooci who officially hailed him the future of street rap in South Africa.
You can stream the new 12-track album below:
Apple Music
Spotify
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