It’s easy to turn a cynical ear to the work of young musicians. Entitled, untrained and festooned with face tattoos and colourful hair, their more conservative contemporaries tend to look at the next generation of young hip hop artist with a level of disdain. The criticisms are sometimes warranted but for the most part they are completely overblown and only serve to distract from the narrative of young musicians who are pushing the genre in exciting directions.
Enter Espacio Dios. Hailing from one of SA hp hop’s meccas, Mahikeng, Espacio Dios has been making quiet waves for a couple of years now, and with a solid full length debut ( featuring Anatii no less), a new video and the thrust and imagination to keep getting better, we wanted to hear form the artist himself on his life and work.
Words: Tshiamo Seape
Congratulations on the song (Uri Fire) and the video. How long did it take you to put together?
The video took me 2 months to put it all together.
Is this your first time stepping into the role of editor and do you prefer taking on this responsibility yourself?
Yes, it is. I learnt a lot and I’m excited to edit many more of my own visuals & hopefully other artists’ videos too.
How involved are you in the other aspects of the video making process? The styling on “Uri Fire” stands out. Did you have a lot of input?
I’m involved from the beginning to the end, however, I also do collaborate with other artists such as Gondo (who shot Uri Fire) & Eddy (who styled the video).
Aside from music, where do you find yourself mining for inspiration most often?
I’m inspired by everything and everyone so I ultimately live my life for inspiration.
You’re young and a lot has been made of that fact. How does that hinder or ease the way you move through the music industry?
I don’t think it affects me in any way, because I’m just doing what I love doing; which is creating. Nothing else matters.
What do people most often misunderstand about young musicians?
Older musicians misunderstand the fact that young musicians are the generation that they should be collaborating with in order to grow the music industry. Instead, they want to monopolise and close doors for the younger generations.
You’re from Mahikeng which, for anyone who follows SA hip hop knows, has storied history within local music. How closely or not do you relate to artists like HHP, Cassper and Khuli Chana?
They are all great artists respectively and therefore they all inspire me.
How did the Anatii feature come along?
No comment.
What was the last personal goal you remember achieving?
I bungee jumped for the first time yesterday.
What are your plans for the remainder of 2019?
I’m planning on releasing new music and visuals this year. I would also like to challenge myself creatively to reach my full potential.
