Limpopo-born producer, beatmaker and vocalist Dopekid Shewacher’s latest EP Only You moves effortlessly between Amapiano, hip hop and Afrobeat, running wild across a rich sonic terrain that thrives in the fusion of genre.
Real name Nyiko Emmanuel Sambo, as a young boy, Dopekid would steal his father’s cassettes and erase everything on them to record his own vocals, and it’s this unstoppable desire to create even the most rudimentary of sounds that needs satiating on Only You.
Released via Present Global, the EP’s title song, featuring Kulani, Trima C Cotha, Sheriff and TEA SOR, is an effortlessly produced dance track, ready for the heat and smoke of the club, while “Cheese” (feat. Sheriff) offers a kind of subdued Afrobeat that contrasts with the energy of closing track “Walk Of Shame”.
Of all three tracks, this one is easily my favourite, simply by virtue of the madly irresistible groove that’s on display.
It’s Afrobeat/hip-hop fusion at its finest, with complex rhythms running under vibrant vocals and rich instrumentation, and while the EP’s overriding sound might seem a little one-sided, leaning in the direction of repetitive amapiano, it’s Dopekid’s ability to renew his music with surprising stylistic cut-ups that make for this thrilling three-track offering.
Feature pic supplied by artist
