Blxckie doesn’t seem be a fan of taking days off. How else would you explain his ridiculous musical output?
In the year and a half since he burst onto the scene with the anthemic Ye X4 ft Nasty C, he’s released an award-winning, gold-selling debut album, countless singles and features, and a sprawling RnB EP that’s been topping charts across several streaming services.
And he’s showing no signs of slowing down. His latest EP, 4LUV, was an experimental project that saw the gifted lyricist flex his versatility by switching to RnB. In a chat with Blxckie, I asked how the response has been in the months since its release. “I feel like everything I’ve released since the debut album gets a better response as time goes,” he said. “I didn’t expect 4LUV to be topping charts even to this day but we’re two gold plaques in already and that’s amazing.”
Blxckie was encouraged to compile a full on R&B project after the incredible response he received for last year’s experimental RnB ballad, Hold. “When February started I realised that Valentines Day would be the anniversary of when I decided to release Hold spontaneously, as I was doing with most of my music at the time. The response to that particular song amongst other RnB sounds that I experimented with on the album a few months later encouraged me to compile the RnB project. The way people were reacting showed me that they enjoy it and need more and I always listen to the people.”
One of the standout songs on the EP, Umoya follows a similar formula to a fan favourite release he put out last year titled Kwenzekile. While fans were surprised but its kwaito and house vibe seeing as until that point he was knwon only as a potent rapper, for Blxckie it was just a natural progression in his journey. “I’ve always had it in me really,” he said. “I’m a big deep house fan. I grew up listening to it and enjoying the vocalists that would hop on. It just so happened that I started off with hip hop but I always had ideas for different types of genres and I think I’m only really getting to freely explore those ideas now.”
Last week, Blxckie celebrated one year since his breakout debut album B4Now was released with 10 plaques for achieving gold, platinum and double platinum for hit songs from the album as well as the 4LUV EP. He also took the opportunity to announce a new partnership with fashion brand Redbat and an accompanying single titled Kuphuka.
Blxckie’s openness to trying out new sounds and not being stuck in his ways has been a hugely successful approach. Now, he’s one of the country’s most in demand artists and he’s seemingly only getting started. “It’s all really amazing, I knew it would be like this one day but definitely not so quick,” he said. “I’m very thankful for the team I have and all the fans for believing in me and making sure I stay at the top. If anything, everything that has happened in a year suggests to me that the future is super bright and I should just keep doing what I’m doing.”
