So the other day i got a direct message on instagram from @doingmeforaliving (Peter Papers) about doing an interview with BlaQBeatz_ZA and i got to admit i haven’t done blog posts/ interviews in a while but i was like okay I’m up for it it’ll be good to bring back some old traits although i had some doubts about doing this since this interview I’ve conducted three more (still under drafting) and my doubts stem from Tumblr being no longer a thing i thought it’s the same for all blogs and as usual with my guessing i was wrong.
Fast foward a date & time was set up & the interview was conducted over text “WhatsApp” and below is how it went
You Good G? Also What name do we use here Ayanda or your stage name ?
@BlaQBeatz_ZA
So stage name it is huh? Awesome i like that…if i may i ask why did you want to do this interview ?
Basically for exposure i got a single dropping soon with Dibi, an artist who appeared on BET cyphers, who should’ve been on the Vuzu Hustle season 2 & who won Freshman Hype of the year.
Right right but let’s try and focus on you a little, BlaQBeatz for those who don’t know you especially the readers here. I’m sure they’d like to connect with the person BlaQBeatz/Ayanda mind giving us a young summary about who BlaQBeatz is more like that young question asked on survey’s or when you signing up for a social media profile or on a job interview actually yeah bio in your own words note I’ve read the pdf bio but can u describe who blaQBeatz is off the top of your Dome ?
Uhmm BlaQBeatz is a producer/engineer & co-founder of a record label/creative agency from Free State.
I was born on the 29th of March 1997 Government name (Ayanda). I’m not a producer of only one specific genre only but I can finesse other genres as well.
In terms of signing up on social media, my handles are;
Facebook page: BlaQBeatz ZA
Instagram: @blaqbeatz_za
I’m still a student studying “Sound Engineering & Audio Engineering” here in Bloemfontein. Uhmm this year is my final year so I’ll be graduating soon.
Can you name these other genres your capable of doing? Also is it only production or you can do sound Hocking and all that?
Dance/New Age Rnb/Dancehall/Boom Trap/Boombap. Those are the main genre’s whereby I could say that I’m blessed with the skill & talent of producing them.
Yeah I can do mixing/mastering/beat production/record artists/ work with film directors in terms of soundtrack also in mixing & mastering for a movie etc. I can also do radio jingles, run a record label because I know alot about the music business & work with live analog setups for events or shows.
Mmmmh guess your knowledge about this music thing is broad but if i may ask why production i mean for some it’s a calling some stumbled on fruity loops at an early age some say they ivision sound as visuals for you why production ? What inclined you to production?
I could say its the homies that I used to hangout with back in primary days. I mean we were youngings at that time aspiring to become rappers but we lacked beats.
So that’s when I took a step to venture into beat production so that we can never suffer from shortage of beats. It was back in 2010, no producer in my hood wanted to vibe with us because you know egos…
Yeap I’m very well aware of egos and talking about egos how far you wanna take this craft like let’s say for this 2020 to 2030 decade any projections plus who inspires you production wise ?
I want to expand bro because now, me & my team we’ve been discussing on alotta things like how we gonna work on our marketing/promotion strategy in order to create buzz in the streets.
We’ve got alot of fire content ready to drop throughout the year. I’m dropping a beat tape in June & hopefully an EP with different artists in the hip hop scene of SA who are on the come up as well and Dr Dre, Lex Luger, Kanye, Spikiri, Metro Booming, Noah 40 (Drakes producer specifically his early work) just to name a few those are people who inspire me in production.
Do you know anything about making your music available to platforms like Apple music Spotify ? Because that’s where the streams money is at including availability of your music worldwide plus anyone anywhere can Shazam it.
Yes you need a distribution & publishing company in order for your music to be placed on those platforms but me & my team have noticed that there is no point placing our music on those platforms when we don’t have enough fan base & buzz.
So for now till further notice we will be using sites like AudioMack & Souncloud to secure enough fan base & buzz
Oh i see & If I may ask how you plan on building that fan base ?
Investing in a marketing team.
All the best in your craft my G i see you’ve pretty much answered everything i wanted to ask but i usually end every interview with the interviewee /artist giving words of encouragement to anyone/ any kids who’s also on the same journey as u especially black ghetto kids.
I’m honoured bro. We also appreciate your generosity to putting this effort to make it work bro. I’d like to urge every black kid to never give up on their dreams no matter how many obstacles occure in their journey.
Thank you bro for giving us the platform to promote ourself. May you be blessed for eternity G,
Keep on showing some love to the underground hip hop movement.
Twitter: BlaQBeatz_ZA
Facebook: BlaQbeatz ZA
Instagram: blaqbeatz_za
& below it’s his full bio
Ayanda ‘Revelation Benedict’ Khuse Born on the 29th of March 1997 in a small town in the Free State named Virginia. A multi-talented versatile South African producer & co-founder of Broken; an independent media house based in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The company’s founders come from situations where they had to work with broken equipment/people and they still made the best from the situations they were placed in. When in studio he goes by his producer alias BlaQbeatz. Mostly known for his international & impeccable quality of hard hitting Atlanta trap & African sounds. BlaQBeatz is from a proud Xhosa heritage and has strong ancestral belief which he believe guides him. He discovered his love & fascination for music at the tender age of eight fiddling around with his father’s Hi-Fi stereo & at the age of fourteen year-old he ventured into production after been introduced to production by the likes of Dr Dre, Lex Luger, Timberland and the legendary Mandla Spikiri. In his first year of high school, BlaQBeatz began to produce beats using one of the DAW software programmes known as Fruity Loops focusing heavily on his hard hitting 808’s, articulation of harmonies in his melodies & African sounds. His new wave trap sound is mostly influenced by the likes of Metro Booming, Wondergurl, 40 (Who produces for Drake), Murda Beatz, Martin Sky, ZayToven, Mike Will Made It and most of the Atlanta based producers. Towards mid-2017, BlaQBeatz worked with one of the emerging local artists Osiiiris. They both worked on an EP titled “The BlaQ in Osiiiris” & also produced a single for P-$tash, a Virginia based native, long-time friend and collaborator titled “Dream”. BlaQBeatz is currently studying sound engineering at PAS media academy in Bloemfontein and is consistently working on music whether his own music or producing for others. He also plans to release more content through his co-founded media agency and business with his business partner Peter Papers.
newagehistory 