Hi Pitch Black, welcome and welcome back! Much has been spoken of and made of your big come back; where were you this whole time?
I wasn’t anywhere my man! People say I disappeared or I was away, but really I was working on other things. I starred in a movie with Trevor Noah, Kagiso Lediga and others; I studied extra lessons in Piano. It’s been good.
I’m feeling great! I love making music and I want it to be heard again
Joy Cometh in the Morning is your return single. You spoke a lot about how it’s a song for motivation; what do you hope it could motivate your listeners to do?
I was kind of going for a spiritual feeling; so not gospel music exactly, but the feeling that you get from listening to a song like this, and I thought it was the perfect motivation. Things get dark, things get difficult and the message that Joy Cometh in the Morning is powerful and that’s what I want my listeners to feel.
I’ve read that while you were away you furthered your musical studies by studying classical piano. How big a difference did that extra musical knowledge make in the production of your new album?
When I was growing up I had a stutter, and it made social interaction more difficult for me so my mom decided to help me out by encouraging me to learn music. Now I have a great understanding and I always like to say that piano is one of the main instruments every musician should know how to play.
I love the piano, personally, as it helped me understand other musical instruments. What was your reason for choosing to study piano and not, say, vocals or sound engineering?
I think as long as you’re learning and doing things to improve then that’s good. I’ve got my own production company and I play a big hand in running it, its all about making sure that you stay at the top once you make it there.
Much has been made of your “double platinum” comments. What do you think of where local hip hop is today? I mean people celebrate going Gold today. Is it progress, or are we accepting mediocrity?
See: Pitch Black Afro proclaims that he's the only rapper to ever go Double Platinum in SA.
I think in many ways we are accepting mediocrity. My album, Styling Gel was different and I worked hard on it to get it to where it eventually got to. However a lot of people these days are complacent and don’t work as hard as perhaps they should and can.
Who’s the best rapper on the scene at the moment?
There are a lot of good rappers, especially if you look beyond the mainstream. There are a lot of talented young cats who are in the underground sphere and are doing amazing things.
What advice do you have for anyone who wants to grow a glorious afro such as yours?
Buy hair grow pills and be patient!