Once a kid from Soweto, now a man paving his own way through the rap game, YungKiddReezy, born Refentse Mohlake, took his journey as one of the odd ones out ekasi and turned it into existential lyricism and a style that is without apology. Surrounded by the legacies of kwaito culture and the glorification of vernac, the rapper nicknamed MaTen10 stayed true to himself, showing that there are many other ways of expressing kasi essence that are worth appreciating and affording respect.
Growing as mfana wakokasi, YungKiddReezy’s influences stemmed from an environment saturated with music lovers, from next door neighbours to the very people he shared a home with.
“From a young age, I always found myself around people that loved hip-hop; for example, one of my neighbours, who eventually wrote my first song, and people like my uncle used to play a whole lot of Eminem. So I grew up as a boy from ekasi who loved music and who was also into literature,” he said.
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With his sights locked on the release of his forthcoming album, Reezy dropped his mixtape Road 2 Don Skelepan, something for the people to nibble on to ward off the itch of the wait. He spoke about how the concept of the tape came to be.
“With ‘Road 2 Don Skelepan,’ I was working on a few projects when I started tapping into skelepan energy, which basically talks about boss mentality and confidence. A mindset. So the music on the project actually comes from other records, and I brought them all together so they can exist under one roof,” he said.
Reezy shared some of the inspos that helped him construct the mixtape. From the good vibes of “Good Yawning” to the commanding introduction of “Steppin’ In,” the forerunning tape may contain castaways that didn’t make the final cut of the upcoming album; however, they were glimpses of artistic intimacy unified under the banner of skelepan energy the musician felt had to be shared with his fanbase.
“On ‘Phases,’ I simply talk about my mind state and how I’ve been feeling, like reflecting on how hard we’ve been working while waiting to reap the benefits of what we’ve been cooking. With ‘Angel of Grace,’ I speak about betrayal, life, and resilience from a dark place, and in the midst of it all I find love with this particular person whose love takes me out of earth. Another song that was supposed to be on the album, which was the last song I recorded, was ‘Good Yawning,’ and it was supposed to drop with Okmalumkoolkat, but because the verse took a long while, I decided to drop ‘Shay’ Nduku,’ which went crazy. So the tape was about me growing up since the three years have passed without me having dropped anything, and I wanted to give something to the people because I was on that kwaito energy and the reception for ‘Shay’ Nduku’ was so good,” he said.
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YungKidd talked about the significance of understanding himself as a man slowly becoming, and coming to his own by channelling the energy of a don skelepan.
“I mean you can’t be a Don Skelepan as a ntwana,” he said, chuckling. “Even the lyrics in the project touch on that idea, so it’s about me talking that talk and embodying the title of my next album. Every song leading up to the last one on this tape leans on that bravado. It’s me peeping everything in the game and feeling like what sets me apart is my bravado. I feel like I’m exactly what Nelson Mandela fought for, being the fact that a boy from Sotra can come out and be able to speak all these languages and be able to articulate himself so well,” he said.
The kasi rising star shared where his greatest focus was: strengthening his foothold in the game by releasing continually for the rest of 2026.
“Right now, I’m looking at growing my catalogue more than anything. What I’m doing is working on the brand and giving people the music and dropping videos as well. I feel like that’s one thing that’s my focal point. The rest of the year for me is going to be about dropping more and more music. After the project, there’s going to be more singles and visuals. It’s going to be a lot of YungKiddReezy more than anything,” he said.
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Reezy talked about the struggle of being a beacon of hip-hop from Soweto, a community where the genre is normally shunned, if not passed over with a fleeting glance at best. The rapper spoke about the impact he wanted to make not only with his music but as a figure set to redefine the ecosystem of the game.
“I’d like to be known as someone who pioneered something special, you know? I want to be that guy who changed the game and also defined the fashion of South African hip-hop by shifting the culture. Where I come from, hip-hop is not dominant. The moment you rap, you get called a skrr skrr, but one thing I’ve noticed is that there is space for the kind of music I do. Some people love that—I want to make my music for them. I want to make music for the kids in Soweto like me who feel they can do anything but rap. Ma-E broke my heart when he said that he saw nobody in Soweto who was doing it right now, and I thought I was doing something outchea. But I suppose I gotta put in more work and drop more music as well as visuals. I have to work on better rollouts for me to get to a place where I can make a lasting impact,” he said.
Reezy remarked on diligence and initiative, keystones he felt were integral in driving one’s growth.
“Staying on top of your game as a musician is pretty much like any job. You gotta wake up in the morning and get to it. You gotta be at it. I’ve noticed that mentally I’m at my happiest when I’m working, and when I’m not I find myself getting tense. When I go a while without doing this, I start doubting everything I put down. So locking in and staying consistent is what it’s about. Being disciplined for your own sake and growth. You have to be a person who takes initiative and takes things upon himself without having to be reminded of those things. It’s not only about partying and girls and fun and drinking. I want to be the greatest, and even though I know there are many rappers out there doing it, I want to be beyond that,” he said.
