With the help of various local individuals from the arts and entertainment industry, rapper Kurt-lee Hammond from Jeffreys Bay has finally received recognition for his hard work when his music video was nominated for the best music video award by a Western Cape-based talent agency recently.
As previously reported by the Kouga Express, as a teenager, Hammond began writing down his experiences in the form of poems to keep himself entertained while his mother, Geraldine Hammond, was at work.
In the year 2018, after mastering the art of composing well-written poems, Hammond, who is better known by his stage name, Die Twaalf, began rapping his poems to the sound of various instruments and released his first single, titled Een Kans.
Since his debut single, Hammond who relocated to Humansdorp earlier this year, has been hard at work on his highly anticipated album, titled Sonder ’n Sent, which is set to be released next year.
The first song and music video on his album, titled Kappedien, was released on August 12, and in just three months has already received 28 000 views on Die Twaalf’s YouTube channel.
The song and music video, Kappedien, which was filmed in Humansdorp, was produced by Jeffreys Bay hip-hop music producer and beat maker, Leolin Jeggels, better known as Oakley 808, filmed, and directed by aspiring film director, Llewellyn Breda, from Humansdorp, and was engineered by Aidan Roach, a music teacher at JBay Academy High School.
Hammond said the term, “Kappedien” was used when referring to someone who did not wait around for things to happen, instead, they were brave, ambitious, and audacious.
He said in the music video they focused on adding humour for people to enjoy and have fun while listening to his song.
“In the video we have added a few simple dance moves for people to catch on and enjoy,” said Hammond.
“Fortunately, we have noticed that people have taken a liking to our dance moves which we have seen with the increase in videos on TikTok.”
All the hard work and effort put into the song and music video was finally recognised in October, when Public Health Entertainment (PHE), a Western Cape-based talent agency, nominated the Kappedien music video for the best music video award.
“I was excited when I first received confirmation of the nomination and I also felt honoured to be the first Eastern Cape-based artist to be nominated for the PHE best music video award,” said Hammond.
“I am also very proud of my team who worked to develop the song, Kappedien, and the music video.”
To his surprise, the music video was selected as part of the top two with the award ceremony and final selection taking place on December 22, in the Western Cape.
“We believe that we will bring the trophy back home. However, no matter what the outcome is, we are so proud of coming this far,” he said.
While he waits in anticipation for the awards ceremony, Hammond said he is currently working on his next song and music video from his album which will be released next month.
