When rainy days come flooding in your life, it’s hard to see through the dark clouds of chaos. One healing component that has been the source of hope & inspiration for humankind through these tough times, is music. This became more evident when Emamkay & Bokang Ramatlapeng came together to bring us a beacon of hope in the form of their recent song ‘When The Sun Rises‘ . This beautiful record comes courtesy of the recent compilation ‘nane’ by Under Pressure Sundays, a platform dedicated to unfolding the talented musicians in South Africa. Currently running on SZN ∞ (Season 8), they’ve curated a listening experience filled with different stories & sounds from some of the country’s gifted greats.
Listen In Browser (Via Youtube):
Artist(s): EMAMKAY & Bokang Ramatlapeng
Song: When The Sun Rises
Album/Mixtape: nane. by Under Pressure Sundays
Released Date: 25 July 2021
On the collaboration…
Emamkay & Bokang Ramatlapeng are family friends who grew up together as kids, but it was only recently when they contacted musically. Bringing the soulful vocals to the chorus is the multi-talented singer, composer, writer and founder of Her Own Skin Bokang, while the production side of things is of writer, keyboardist, emcee and record producer who’s “obsessed with creating all-things beautiful”, Emamkay.
On the inspiration…
According to Emamkay, this jazz-infused record is inspired by the likes of renowned composer and pianist Robert Glasper. “I was listening to a lot of Robert Glasper’s earlier work with the trio. His compositions became engraved in my playing as I would learn a lot of his music. This piece is a by-product of my learnings from him.” Emamkay’s source of sonic inspiration comes as no surprise as he is well known for his dense sound that is often likened to Lo-Fi with Jazz overtones and a touch of hip-hop. The producer then went on to add a feature by calling on the soulful vocalist to add her creativity on the record.
He goes on to describe the song saying it “embodies positive thinking, or seeing the silver lining in a dark cloud. It’s a personal reminder that even when days get dark, the sun will rise eventually”. The singer also goes on to echo the same sentiments adding that it’s “about finding hope in dark times.”
What’s more impressive about this classic record is the fact that despite growing up together, this is the very first collaboration between the two artists. The chemistry however, begs to differ suggesting years of maturity with them complementing each other so well. Besides this fact, the two are poised to keep blessing us with more collaborative works and continue to nurture this bond. The two recently showed their musical inclinintaion when they did an interpretation of Afro Blue, a Robert Glasper and Eyrkah Badu song, alongside Emamkay’s band SOUNDS.LIKE.U. The collective took the song from the essence of how it was created and moved it to a nuanced jazzy, and hip hop rendition.
SOUNDS.LIKE.U – Afro Blue (with Bokang Ramatlapeng):
As an organisation dedicated to enriching the careers & ambitions of creatives in South Africa, New Age Artistry highly appeciates & values the work of platforms like Under Pressure Sundays who’ve brought us closer to amazing artists like Emamkay & Bokang. It reminds us that when looking for diamonds, we should always start digging in our own backyards, spotlighting the vast talent in South Africa & the gift they posess. Our hopes to pass on the torch is crowning this amazing song as our #SongOfTheMonth for August.
Follow & Listen to Bokang Ramatlapeng:
Follow & Listen to Emamkay:
Emamkay’s journey as a music producer has been a wonder with him releasing impressive bodies of work like his debut EP ‘Thetha’ that received great reception and went on to be reviewed by Okay Africa. His recent soul and electronic inspired project ‘Delta‘ dropped in 2020 was showcased on 5FM’s (South Africa’s national radio station) award-winning show, Selective Styles with Kid Fonque. These are some of his formidable projects he’s released in the past:
Follow & Listen to Under Pressure Sundays:
Under Pressure Sundays has put a spotlight on very gifted artists and given them space to showcase themselves to the country, and beyond to the world. Speaking on his experience with the organisations, Emamkay says “this isn’t my first rodeo with Under Pressure Sundays, and we continue to collab with them because they’re all about pushing local talent, and showing the rest of Mzansi what we’re about.”
Source: Soundcloud – Under Pressure Sundays | QnA w/ Bokang Ramatlapeng & Emamkay by NewAgeArtistry |
