If there has been one decent trend which has surfaced across social media over the last year, it’s self-care – and this is exactly the thematic vein Thirdfloor is exploring on his new release Zithande.
The project is dubbed a mixtape, as opposed to an album and it’s just as well. The 12 tracks tend to blend into one extended amalgamation. It’s the sort of thing you might select as a summer afternoon playlist, as the drinks begin to go round, for a solid dose of jive.
Peppered in collabs, from Smash Afrika to Rhea Blek, multi-layered tracks marry baritone beats with record-scratch vocals and stimulating percussion. From spacey synth meanderings in “Kumnandi La” to the typical, homely boom bap leanings of “3PM Ngasi Khaya”, lyrics slip from English to Zulu and back again, without flaw or falter.
Besides stretching on a little too long, this is an ambitious, forward-thinking hip hop release.
