CURATED BY ZOOCCI COKE DOPE
Today, Atteridgeville born rapper, 25k ‘The Plug’ finally drops his debut album ‘Pheli Makaveli’ arguably the most anticipated hip hop release of 2021. ‘Pheli Makaveli’ tells the gripping tale of a young hustler on the come-up. “The project is about my upbringing, my story and my journey before the music and when I fell in love with the music. It sums up a bit of everything about me from back when I was in the streets, hustling, when I used to stand on the corner, hoping to make a little sale.”
The story of the album begins with him meeting Zoocci Coke Dope, who produced and curated the project. “I met Zoocci when I had just shot the ‘Culture Vulture’ video. He told me it’s one of his favourite songs and that’s why he hit me up for a studio session. We knocked a beat out immediately, and after a few sessions with him, he said that I should release the songs we’re recording as an album.” It was also Zoocci who suggested that he should name the album ‘Pheli Makaveli’. “Zoocci sent me a random text saying I should name the album ‘Pheli Makaveli’ because I’m from Pheli and influenced a lot by 2Pac and the West Coast. Every song we recorded after we put a title to the project, started making sense.”
The album opens with the now popular intro ‘Pheli Makaveli(Intro)’ that encompasses the rappers then current state of mind and that of the hip hop scene. “As Zoocci was making the beat in studio, the melody hit me, and then I took out my phone and wrote three or four lines. I did the verse in one take, and we added the “Pheli Makaveli” chant after those raps. It sounded like my current state of mind at the time, in terms of how I felt the industry is going, my accomplishments and people having me misunderstood because of being on so many features.” The outro skit is a news report from Atteridgeville that showcases the daily lives in the hood. Watch the video here. Continuing with the West Coast inspiration, ‘Blarofonia’ pays homage with the 2Pac and Dr Dre sample of their hit song, ‘California’. An avid lover of gangster movies and series like The Sopranos, Goodfellas and The Godfather Trilogy, Omerta is the oath you make when being initiated into the mafia. “Firstly, it is an oath to brotherhood with his homies, secondly to never let his mother down and ultimately himself and his contribution to the game. It is about holding each other down and never succumbing to culture vultures.”
Listen below: