AFTER facing various obstacles with the release of what was meant to be his debut mixtape last year, rapper Teboho Sokopo, from Jeffreys Bay, finally digitally released his first mixtape earlier this month, which he hopes will be an inspiration to many artists in his community.
As previously reported in the Kouga Express, his love for rapping began at the age of seven and by the time he was 10 years old, Sokopo, together with his friend, Musa Peter, began rapping freestyle and recording themselves on cassette tapes for fun.
It was, however, only in 2011, that he began his career as a full-time rapper and worked hard to record his first song, Money Bag, in his bedroom and released the song on various digital platforms in 2017.
Since the release of his debut song four years ago, Sokopo, better known by his stage name Keemo Bankz, has remained dedicated to his rapping career and, in July last year, released his single Demon Call, which was well received on Spotify and has already reached a total of 100 000 streams.
“The song Demon Call is about depression, which many young people are faced with. The song was inspired by my friend, whom I supported while he was going through depression and was having suicidal thoughts.
“After the experience with my friend, I saw depression as lurking demons and I wanted to write a song about it,” said Sokopo.
“I hope that my hard work, which led to Demon Call receiving so many streams, will inspire other artists in my community.”
Apart from the release of multiple singles, Sokopo also digitally released three extended plays (EPs) titled Trap Bible, Roses From the Trap, and Roses From the Trap 2 between the years 2018 and 2020.
Sokopo said he was meant to release his first mixtape last year, but unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic he was unable to record all the songs on his mixtape.
Fortunately, he continued to work hard and remained dedicated to his music and was finally able to record his debut mixtape which he released to the public on May 14, titled Fresh Prince Of JBay, which features his hit song, Demon Call, among other singles.
The mixtape which was released by his independent label Big Dreamz Entertainment and his Digital Music Distribution label Slumnation Distribution consisted of 10 songs which covered a variety of genres such as trap, R&B, and drill.
Fresh Prince Of JBay can be streamed on all digital platforms such as iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify.
“When people listen to the mixtape, I want them to realise that they can do whatever they want in life and that they should always remain positive.
“I also want them to realise that if they live life with love and passion, they will always attract what they want and they should live their lives as they please,” said Sokopo.
With his digital distribution company, Sokopo hopes to help other artists release their music to the world and receive recognition for their hard work.
