South African hip hop continues to rise and our artists are getting more love and support from fans. But, even with their great influence in the local scene it seems like they will never be as good as international artists in some people's eyes.
This was proven at Saturday night's Axecess Jozi event where local rappers like Cassper Nyovest, Reason and others, were performing alongside international acts including Kid Ink and Rae Sremmurd. According to Reason, the show was great except for the fact that Mzansi artists were treated like crap when the international guys showed up.
#AxecessJozi was dope last night. Everything was amazing. Except for security treating us like s*** when the internationals showed up.
— IG: ReasonHD_ (@ReasonHD) March 8, 2015
The rapper added: "I swear. As much as I disagree with @akaworldwide's "No International openings" rule... I can't deny that he's right about why he doesn't."
AKA responded by saying he's been telling SA artists about this. He added:
If you SA artists want to get treated like Kid Ink ... All you have to do is catch a flight to HARARE or LAGOS or WINDHOEK or NAIROBI etc 😌
— AKA (@akaworldwide) March 8, 2015
Reason then said he understands that international acts need to be protected and added: "But you're protecting them from the biggest acts in SA too? Really?"
My point is. I dont see why the levels are still so severe between local and international when we ALL kill the same shows.
— IG: ReasonHD_ (@ReasonHD) March 8, 2015
He also added that what happened at the show broke his heart.
I don't understand why SA musicians are being disrespected in 2015. Our music has grown tremendously and I think SA hip hop is finally getting the respect it deserves. We've reached a point where we don't need American artists to headline shows because our local guys are THAT good. We need to start believing in our own talent for a change.