Our boy AKA walked our way with this year’s HYPE AWARD for Best Newcomer beating out rival L-Tido. He also performed “I want it all” alongside PRO and Khuli Chana in arguably the evening’s best performance.

CONGRATS FAM!!!! KEEP DOING IT BIGGER AND BIGGER.

Our boy AKA has made it into the final nomination stage of two categories for the highly-anticipated Hype Awards. Please support one of the most exciting cats to have come out of the local hip hop scene.

Vote for his song “Do It” in the Best Song category by smsing “SongDoit” to 41931 and vote for him as Best Newcomer by smsing “NewcomerAKA” to 41931. Additionally, AKA is also nominated alongside his IV League brethren in the Best Producer category. That winner from that group will however be chosen by a panel of judges.

Support our fam! IV League forever!

We’ve been preaching about AKA for a minute. We’ve assured all and sundry that the Cape Town-born MC got next. Well as the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding.

After dropping a couple of hot joints such as “Do it, do it” and “Mistakes” that ended up on charts on 5FM and YFM, AKA and his IV League cohorts have finally put together what the masses have been asking for: an EP that contains nothing but bangers.

To make matters even sweeter they are giving it to you for free. Consider it a Christmas present from arguably the best hip hop production outfit in the country.

Click HERE for the free download. Enjoy…. 1’s & 2’s in the air!

Pics: Sivu Nobongoza

Last week Thursday saw us launching our first collaboration t-shirts with major artists at Shesha in Rosebank, Joburg. As one of SA’s leading streetwear brands, we feel it is our responsibility to keep innovating and coming up with projects and collaborations that take our industry forward.

With that in mind, we called on our trusted friends DJ Milkshake, music producers IV League and award-winning director Teboho Mahlatsi. With their input and assistance, we came up with really cool tees that personified their individual brands.

The Mash Up served as the official launch for these t-shirts and to say they were well-received would be an understatement.

Joburg’s coolest peeps came out and showed mad love. Everyone vibed to the awesome beats provided by DJ Biz, Master M and VIGIlante, while sipping on some nice bubbly provided by the Head Honcho fam.

A big shout-out to all the peeps that came through and bought our gear. Much appreciated. A big thank-you to Shesha for the continued support. One

AKA

Kamza and lady friend

While out in Joburg two weeks ago I had the pleasure of hanging out with my boys Tibz and IV League. We were invited by the good folks from Urban Weapons Marketing to check out the MTV Base Black and Gold party. We gladly obliged. As you can see from these pics we had a pretty cool time.

Tibz showing off the "Honcho of the city" tee

Fundy and friends

Teboho Mahlatsi, Kut and myself

The Honcho fams stays fresh!

Head Honcho has done it again!

We have collaborated with three young inspiring South Africans(Dj Milkshake, Ivy League and Teboho Mahlatsi) on limited edition exclusive tees.

To celebrate, we will be launching the tees at the Shesha store at The Zone, in Rosebank on the 15th October 2009. Come vibe with the Head Honcho family on this special occasion. You don’t want to miss this!

In South Africa’s much hyped-up hip hop scene, it is always cool to hear a fresh new voice with a brand new perspective. These days, there’s one dude who seems to be on everybody’s lips. He goes by the name of AKA. Formerly part of the teen rap group Entity, which released a single album through Creative Kingdom Records, AKA has grown as an artist and has his eyes set on the local hip hop throne.

As a member of the prolific production ensemble IV League, AKA is well-positioned to achieve exactly that. We sat down with this Cape Town-born lad to get the 411 on his career, his dreams and everything in between.

Whats up my dude, how are you living?

I’m easy man, life is looking up. You know what they say, “live progressively”.

How’s the first half of the year treated you?

The first half of the year has been fresh. My goal for the year was to get everybody buzzin’ bout my music, and so far, im not doing too bad.

You’ve created an incredible buzz with your hit single “Do it, do it”. How did the song come about?

Well, the song is really just about taking control of you and your surroundings and making something happen for yourself. When we finished the beat, we were like,”ok, let’s roll with this” because we knew we had something special. I’m just happy people enjoy it when they hear it.

You’ve also released a remix featuring Maggz, JR and Slikour. How has that version been received?

The remix has done exceptionally well. YFM up in here in Jozi played the s**t out of the original, and 5fm picked up on the remix and ran with it just as hard, and that’s national baby!

Lets take it back a bit… give us a little background on yourself.

I was born and raised in CPT until I was about 6 years old, then my family moved to Jozi. I guess I consider myself more from JHB now than CPT, but I always know where home is…

How did you end up in the music business?

In 2002 I started my first year of high school at St Johns College, and that’s how my friends and I formed a group called “Entity”. We were signed to Creative Kingdom Records in 2004, and we released our debut album. The group ended up disbanding and I formed IV League with my two colleagues and decided to, excuse the pun, “do it” on my own, Lol!

Tell us about IV League. The crew is known as the country’s most prolific hip-hop production outfit. How do you fit into the whole scheme of things and what’s the working relationship like?

Me, Kamza and Buks have great chemistry when it comes to making music, and that makes our working relationship real easy. We all produce together, but I also double up as an artist. We really haven’t even hit our peak yet, so watch this space.

The music industry is paved with many challenges… tell us about the ones that you’ve faced.

The biggest problem I’ve faced is the fact that there is not enough food for everybody to go around when you doing things independently. We can’t just shoot video after video like artists with majors behind them can. Another thing working against me is that doing Hip Hop in English can be a real challenge, but I guess the only way to overcome these circumstances is by making undeniable music, and that’s what we do.

The local hip hop industry has evolved a lot since the early days….. What’s your take on it and do you see a South African artist/crew breaking into the international scene anytime soon?

Firstly, let me say that there has been a considerable amount of growth, but we need to realise that we are far from where we need to be when it comes to competing on an international level. There are only a handful of artists who one can safely say are ready to grace the international scene and make us proud.

The streets are talking and word is you’re working on your debut album. What can we expect from it and when is it dropping?

It’s dropping next year, and it’s going to be the best Hip Hop album of the year, quote me on that.

No doubt! How do you “Live Progressively”?

By making sure that when I go to sleep tonight I’m closer to living my dream than I was yesterday. Hustle Hard, Hustle Large.

Please finish the following sentences for us:

Joburg is in its own bubble.

Local celebs are just that, local.

My dream is being wealthy beyond my years

“Do it, do it” is the tip of the iceberg

My idol is Michael Jackson because he’s the greatest of all time

Head Honcho is for people who lead, not follow.

Haters are the best publicists.

Groupies are one of the many perks of the job

My favourite album is The Blueprint (the first one) because it made me want to rap.

My favourite verse is 3^rd verse from Jay-Z’s”U Don’t Know”…Give it a listen.

Respect! Check out AKA’s hit remix “Do it, do it” featuring Maggz, Slikour and JR on 5FM nationwide and look out for him performing at a club near you!