Premiere: Muzi Shares Visuals For #FeesMustFall-Inspired "WTF You Mean"

"Great art comes out of necessity and that's what grime is, that's what kwaito is, that's what gqom is, that's what Tsonga-electro is."

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Muzi, if you remember, gained some attention last year for introducing Stormzy to the vibrant, popping party scenes in South Africa. Today, however, we're bringing him to your attention for more serious reasons. Recent years have seen almost constant protest, with the #BlackLivesMatter gaining more and more momentum (sadly spurred on by an increasing number of tragedies), and the past couple of weeks have seen such protests and marches escalate in frequency. Muzi joined the march in Berlin, taking the time to tell us a little about what he saw, but he's also been involved in protests in his home of South Africa.

There, he tells us, people have been fighting under the #FeesMustFall banner against student fees which are currently spiraling way out of control and barring much of the population from higher education. Inspired by that, he wrote and recorded "WTF You Mean" (out today), the video for which we're exclusively sharing with you today, a track emblematic of his sound which combines club ready electronica, bass, hip-hop, and kwaito, mixed with traditional Zulu music. Watch the powerful video above and take a minute to read our brief chat with him below.

I hear you were at the Berlin #BlackLivesMatter march. I was at one of the BLM marches in London last weekend. What was the atmosphere like?
Firstly, thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Really appreciate it. It was great! Was really cool and encouraging to see so many people come together for a common cause and a justice one at that.

What do you see as the next step for the movement? 
I hope the movement takes it to a level where policies can be changed for the better and the people that cause these crimes can be held accountable for their actions. Countries/governments need to go back to the drawing board because it is evident that the current system only works for a few.

On to music, I saw the film you made with Stormzy. Do you see/hear any parallels between grime and what's going on in South Africa?
Thanks for checking it out. Yeah there's a lot of parallels. People from marginalized backgrounds using what they have at their disposal and making some dope shit out of it. Using their influences but flipping them and making them their own, I love that. Great art comes out of necessity and that's what grime is, that's what kwaito is, that's what gqom is, that's what Tsonga-electro is.

South Africa seems to be getting some global attention now, for example Mary Anne Hobbs digging into the culture for her show. Are Durban and South Africa as a whole seeing any benefit from this yet—either financially or culturally?
Financially I wouldn't know, but culturally definitely. When we see people that come from where we come from doing great things we start having forms of reference that are way closer to home and ones that we can easily relate to. It moves the culture forward. It's inspiring and tells us that we can also do the same.

Tell us about some of your influences and what should we be checking out in South Africa?
JUSTICE, The Prodigy, Eastern Music, Timbaland, Linkin Park, Chicco Twala, Coldplay, Fela Kuti... there's so many. I'm influenced by dope original music. There's so much talent back home, Nonku Phiri, Youngsta, King Dizo just to name a few.

"WTF You Mean" is taken from his upcoming debut album Boom Shaka, out on !K7/WE.THE.BUNDU Sept 2.

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