By Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza
The name BA7 is one that resonates with fervent and impassioned followers of Zim Hip Hop. To those who don't know BA7, this article serves as a perfect introduction.
BA7 is a Zimbabwean rapper based in South Africa whose inimitable grimy flow is beautifully impressionable on the ears. He unequivocally asserts that he is not an "underground rapper" per se, but the cold flows that he unapologetically spits do not place him in the mainstream either. He is that I'm-blessed-to-discover-your-music rapper.
His style - loping tempo, samples, and flow; choice of beats; haunting use of space and echo; accentuated bass; and enigmatic lyrics - transcends the conventions of modern rap. The unorthodox style may appear disjointed to the unacquainted at the first listen; but with reverent patience (with the listener allowing the music to grow on them) it becomes crystal-clear that BA7 is an iconoclastic rapper - one whose lyrical fury and missiles of bars over lush street-themed beats reveal eloquence in simplicity.
The last LP he dropped much to newfound critical acclaim - Cognac and Crimes 3 - is the third instalment in the Cognac and Crimes series. It exudes understated brilliance, without being convoluted or banal. His movie-like real stories of suffering, survival, debauchery, and profligacy are incendiary - what more with the probing kicks and swirls of samples his beats are laden with!
Real stories - stories of pain glossed over by momentary spasms of debasement, profanity, and extravagance - are the sole basis of real hip hop that moves hearts & souls. BA7 makes it clear that his music is not for everyone, but at the same time the vibrant images he portrays have the sonically immortal dexterity to ground complex emotions of a troubled childhood and trauma into tangible metaphors. Something that leads you to a path of redemption when you listen to his catalog - in particular, Cognac and Crimes 1, 2, and 3.
With the poetic polemics and apologetics of "real negus [niggas]", he presents himself to new and old listeners as a recalcitrant rapper with a deep reverence for the culture in its entirety. He considers commercialized versions of rap as sacrilegious - respect must always be given to the OGs; they must be venerated. BA7 radiates a proclivity for respecting socially-conscious and evocative rap.
ZimSphere had the priceless opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with BA7 – the Cognac Fly Writer - and we absolutely love how he embodies the universal struggle of the human condition and experience.
Below are excerpts of the interview [edited for clarity, brevity, and readability].
[Interview done by Takudzwa Hillary Chiwanza for ZimSphere.]
ZimSphere:
Most followers of Zimbabwean hip-hop, particularly those with a bias towards
underground hip-hop, knew the name BA7 via Cognac and Crimes 3, with
loads of curiosity about your identity. Who is BA7, the “Cognac Fly Writer”?
BA7:
Peace Almighty, hope all is Palm trees
your end. BA7 is Amun Heru Neteru aka Both Hands Of Tehuti, The CognacGod.
ZimSphere:
Is BA7 the “Cognac God” the same with Heru Neteru? May you
elucidate these personas.
BA7:
BA7 is my moniker and Amun Heru Neteru is
my government.
ZimSphere:
Take us through the music you made before the Cognac and Crimes series
BA7:
I made a few wack projects before the
Cognac & Crimes series. The old music is not worth the attention coz it was
straight basura haha. In 2017 I rebranded and dropped my debut album
Zero Tolerance which gave birth to the Cognac & Crimes series. Will upload
the album on Audiomack some day. Shot five videos from the album but took ‘em
off YouTube this year. Tryna move mystic from here.
ZimSphere:
Where do you derive the inspiration to continue hip-hop?
BA7:
I’m inspired by real life and my surroundings.
Society’s decay mostly.
ZimSphere:
How has been life in the diaspora? How do you keep on making music?
BA7:
Life in the diaspora been both sides of
the coin God. You know the grotesque and the gorgeous but good times always
outweigh the bad. I love music and its my escape from the grim life I lead. I
would be 730 (crazy) if it weren’t for music.
ZimSphere:
What would you tell someone who desires to live in the diaspora?
BA7:
Be willing to live under pressure and out
of your comfort zone coz you will get tested more than a whole varsity. It’s
hard in the diaspora and social media should not be the lenses you view life.
Stay focused and grind ten times harder.
ZimSphere:
The underground hip-hop scene is where your impact has peaked. May you take us
through the dynamics of your relationship with underground hip-hop, and why you
have eschewed the mainstream path?
BA7:
I don’t like the underground scene, I just
wanna make money and live off the grid mysteriously. The industry is full of
demons that scheme underground or mainstream but I curved the mainstream lane coz
I’m none trendy. I like to create freely and live on my own terms, nah mean.
ZimSphere:
What is “real hip-hop” to you? Do you find yourself often nauseated
by the contemporary currents of commercialized hip-hop both in America and in
SA/Zim?
BA7:
Hip hop is life to me, Hip hop is how I
live, walk, talk and grind. Anything outside those lanes is just perception. I
respect the business side of it and am happy rappers are feeding their families
off hip hop/rap. I like a lot of commercial/mainstream hip hop, am not a stuck
up old head fanatic. The current state of hip hop globally is more political
than it is musical. Corporations and labels turned it into a money machine and
means of influence cuz it’s the most played music in the world, they forced
artists to dumb it down and neglect the intelligence. It’s all political.
ZimSphere:
We have ploughed through your impassioned Cognac and Crimes catalogue
with a sonically unmatched precision. What motivated you to use the title Cognac
and Crimes, with all those ‘caine and lawyer narrations?
BA7:
Cognac & Crimes is real life stories.
I was just painting pictures as it is, that’s why I ain't tried to be technical
or esoteric. It’s a splash of my real life cuz I live it far from being
creative.
ZimSphere:
Favourite cognac you sip on?
BA7:
I love Honor.
ZimSphere:
Why did you decide not to make Cognac and Crimes 1-3 publicly available?
– we understand only Cognac
and Crimes 3 is available on Audiomack?
BA7:
Cognac & Crimes 1 & 2 are so Avant
Garde and grimy so wasn’t sure if peeps would be receptive to such. I used them
to create demand after dropping
part 3 which is light sonically and less grimy. It actually
worked cuz peeps started looking for the first two. I will upload them soon
though.
ZimSphere:
To a keen, new follower of your music, and to those who already follow it, how
would describe your strand of hip-hop? What is your music about – your message?
BA7:
My music is Avant Garde. It’s acquired
taste and definitely not for everybody. My music is about my real life, my
struggles, my loses and my wins. It’s my journey documented. Sometimes I splash
esoteric gnosis and arcanum so that there is always jewels too.
ZimSphere:
Sampling is a key feature pervasive through your music – the track Kudakwashe
in Cognac and Crimes 2 samples James Chimombe – how crucial
is sampling to you? If you can take us through your sampling procedures and the
producers behind such magic.
BA7:
Sampling is everything to me, I love old school
music from all genres so I bring the songs back to life in a hip hop form. I
always wanted to splash on that James Chimombe track but lacked inspiration on
many occasions till I went through some difficult times and lyrics came through
easily. I dig for my own samples 99 percent of the time. Masta BC is the
producer behind the Cognac & Crimes series, he does the mixing and
mastering. I write to the original songs before sampling and I prefer recording
albums in a day. I like to keep the same energy throughout so I record albums
in a day getting drunk.
ZimSphere:
What inspires you – that which no one can wrest from you – to remain loyal to
the lifelike reverence for old school hip-hop?
BA7:
Real life inspires me in most cases and
hip hop gave me a voice and freedom with the abundance of knowledge. I won’t
trade that for anything.
ZimSphere:
Cognac and Crimes 1-3 convey animated, recalcitrant stories of crime,
sheer survival, and profligacy. Tell us about your lived experiences in Zim and
SA, and how these have shaped your music?
BA7:
Life in SA been grimy God. Been the
grimiest and I been outlawing for survival from the streets to them prisons
hence the music be spooky and scary to some. I left Zim as a shorty and ain’t
much to reflect on. SA made me the man am today, SA basically raised me and gave me game.
The environment is a reflection of my music, was a kid so made a lot of poor
decisions.
ZimSphere:
How do you perceive capitalism’s impact – positive and negative – on hip-hop in
Zim and SA, and as it comes from the States? How has America destroyed
our organic hip-hop contexts?
BA7:
In all honesty everything in the industry
revolves around profit and that’s the new reality we cant escape, positive or
negative and capitalism is at the centre of everything. It’s been positive in
most cases especially in SA cuz they have an economy unlike Zim. America has
not destroyed our organic hip hop contexts at all, it inspired and continues to
inspire but most these rappers just create a life after watching videos of
their favorite rappers in luxury haha. They emulate that and forget
their own reality hence the disconnect.
ZimSphere:
Sometimes, your music is punctuated with morbid penmanship. For instance, the
oxymoronic title in the opening track of Cognac and Crimes 1 called Beautiful
Torment. Is this your statement of
portraying “real life”?
BA7:
Mos’ definitely God. That’s me just
painting vivid pictures of my day to day life.
ZimSphere:
Would you agree with the assertion that profoundly real art comes from a
place of pain? Take us through some of your painful experiences that have
shaped your art.
BA7:
I agree to the phrase. Pain brought the
best outer me, I was facing life in prison at some point after leaving his body
for 6 pallbearers. That changed my life for the worse and topped up on the
grimy things I had already went through as a kid. Losing my moms at 4 and my
pops coning back to SA and never coming back. Growing up in different foster homes.
Being a five times felon at 21. All these things built me up. Losing my
daughter Maat was the hardest and gave birth to Cognac & Crimes 2. It’s
many things I can’t talk about.
ZimSphere:
Walk us through the soul-stirring creative process when you wrote and recorded the
track Raw and Uncut.
BA7:
I was hella drunk that day. Masta BC
plugged me with Mmasello and she laced the hook then tOGa came through and
blessed me with a verse. It was one of those wavy days but can’t remember much,
haha.
ZimSphere:
Has it been difficult for you to establish a Zimbabwean support base from SA?
BA7:
Not really cuz I always pushed the
narrative that my music ain’t for everybody and am cool with that.
ZimSphere:
Any thoughts on the 2021 Zim Hip Hop Awards nominees and winners held in
Bulawayo – particularly the impact for the underground scene? How has the
mainstream success of Zim Hip Hop songs in 2021 helped the game, and how has
this created a dangerous narrowness of the game?
BA7:
I think the organizers are trying their best to wave it up, and I’m not that
tapped in with Zim Hip Hop Awards but am happy Malcom Mufunde won and Stiiv was
nominated. I don’t know any mainstream top songs of 2021. I really have no
clue.
ZimSphere:
The stories in Cognac and Crimes 1-3 are painted with riveting
simplicity, yet so manifestly elegant, evoking visceral feelings of melancholy
and victory. How do you achieve this, whilst maintaining an inimitable
flow?
BA7:
I have mastered this style and way of
writing and spitting. The magic is in the beats. Those comfy beats make it easy
for me to create.
ZimSphere:
Your catalogues have songs with the titles Tiara Baluti Fly and Nadia
Nakai. What’s behind those?
BA7:
Tiara Baluti is my people and her hustle
and way of life inspires me. Nadia Nakai is fly and am just paying homage to
the queen and also letting her know I can ghostwrite for her if she want wavy
bars, hahahaha.
ZimSphere:
Who are your top emcees and producers in Zim Hip Hop? [no particular order]
BA7:
I like Begotten Sun's production more far
as producers go.
Top
emcees: Damien Marcus, Malcom Mufunde, Ill Manner, Myneim, Abed, Stiiv. I like
these emcees at the moment.
ZimSphere:
Top emcees and producers in the U.S.?
BA7:
Producers - Apollo Brown, DirtyDiggs, RZA,
V Don.
Emcees
- Planet Asia, Tristate, Hus Kingpin, Smoovth, Rozewood, Killer Ben, Nas, Sean
Price(RIP), Ka, Roc Marciano, Snotty and Eto.
ZimSphere:
How much do you value and venerate the synergy between media outlets and the
hip-hop artistes – indie outlets such as ZimSphere, Zazise Media, The 263
Post, Support ZimHipHop, Nova Review, Greedy South, etc. – how important is
media to Zimbabwean hip-hop?
BA7:
Y’all like Rain, Oxygen and Flames. Y’all
are needed for the growth of the culture and hype/shine on the artists. Y’all
just important as the rappers and working together will benefit the Zim
industry.
ZimSphere:
For those who want to work with you [both Zim & SA], how may they get in
contact with you? And where can people find your music?
BA7:
They can get at me through email: heruneteru2@gmail.com,
or DM me on my socials.
ZimSphere:
Peace, Almighty. We wait for more profoundly touching art.
BA7:
Peace Almighty. Thank you for giving me a
shot.
xxxxxxxxxx
You can listen to Cognac and Crimes 3 by BA7 (Amun Heru Neteru) via this Audiomack link.
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