When one mentions the term “Cap City Hip Hop”, the first thing that comes to the mind of an avid hip hop follower is the group of rappers who had the capital city of South Africa on smash in a time frame that spans from the year 2004 right through to the year 2009.

Pressure Point, Rebel Nation, Ba4za, The Anvils, Urban Malitia are some of the crews that played a major role in creating a solid hip hop scene in Pretoria. The above mentioned and many others are also collectively responsible for coining the term “Cap City” – a name that was initially used to refer to collective of gifted emcees who hailed from Pretoria. The name went on to become an alternative name for the capital city of South Africa, Pretoria, hence “Cap City”. Producers such as Thir[13]teen, Nyambz, Zwayne Tech, Trompie amongst many others, established a distinct sound for Cap City hip hop by merging Boom Bap with Jazz while emcees like Mic Beth, Damola, Maliq and Seida Crook made it very clear that Pretoria emcees are nothing to mess with. Although the Cap City sound was known for being influenced by early nineties underground New York hip hop, it had various influences, as shown by the acts that emerged from some of the city’s most popular townships.

The infamous Blood Spillaz clique from Soshanguve in the Northern Region of Pretoria brought to the table a more mainstream sound while the super fast rapping Biz Makhi along with the Ghetto Boyz from Attridgeville on the West side was merging hip hop with Bacardi House – A genre of music that was born in Pretoria.

A lot has changed in Pretoria hip hop with a lot of the pioneers venturing out of the hip hop grind. Some have left music entirely to join the corporate world, while others have remained in show business, however, stepping out of hip hop to explore their other talents such as acting and presenting.

With the immense growth that South African hip hop in general has experienced, one could only imagine how the hip hop game would have turned out if some of the originators of “Cap City” hip hop were still participants in the rap game today, because along with being great emcees they were also intelligent and forward thinking individuals.

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Metros Magazine, SA is South Africa's informative Metropolitan magazine, promoting metropolis lifestyles stories with a fresh and new perspective to lifestyle journalism. Metros magazine caters for a versatile audience with an interest for relevant and developmental information in South Africa. We focus on Corporate, Art, Finances, Business, and Lifestyle issues from all metropolis with a bit of local relief highlights.