Skrypt announces new EP

The rapper maintains that his silence has not been due to a lack of work – he has been perfecting his craft.
Michael Kayunde
Hitji Katjatenja, popularly known as Skrypt, is arguably Namibia's top hip-hop artist. After dropping his critically acclaimed EP For The Wait in 2018 and collaborating with the likes of Kp Illest, Lioness and more, he scooped the best hip-hop award at the Namibian Annual Music Awards last year.

This hip-hop crooner and acclaimed lyricist is set to drop his brand new EP in the first quarter of the year.

Skrypt recently released his latest track, The Way featuring another industry heavyweight Top Cheri, a song that has garnered over 6 000 views on YouTube in just six days. “I've had the song for about three months and it was strategically released for Valentine's Day.

“I did not want to release it on Valentine's Day itself because I wanted people to have it before and the response has been more than amazing,” Skrypt said.

For the forthcoming body of work, he said he is not taking a specific sonic direction, and that the project will be versatile. He stressed that the foundation of who he is as a hip-hop artist is never going to change but he can bring elements of himself to other genres. “Of course my project is going to be a hip-hop project. There are people of a certain genre that do not necessarily listen to hip-hop but if they hear a hip-hop verse on the genre that they love, it could open doors for other hip-hop artists to have a whole new fan base.” He has been challenging himself, and is working on various sounds.

On being the reigning king of Namibian hip-hop, the rapper shared that he is confident in his abilities, adding that when one truly feels and believes they are the best, they don't itch to prove it. “I won best hip-hop, it was an opinion that people had and I can only be grateful. If people don't think I deserve to be the king of hip-hop, I can't say their opinion is justified but their opinions are valid as well.”

Even though the music is ready, the project is yet to be named and the cover art and track list are yet to be designed. He said the reason he takes this approach is because he believes no project is ever complete. “The cover art for my last project was designed the day before the EP dropped and I am sticking to doing things that way so that I can have the freedom to always perfect the songs before they hit the market,” said Skrypt.

In terms of the roll-out plan, the rapper shared that the EP will be available online and physical copies will be available as well.

He highlighted being hands on with his brand as the secret ingredient that keeps him relevant and makes his work stand out. On top of recording music, Skrypt designs his own cover art and sometimes he even masters his own songs. He acknowledges that having a team is important, but being involved in your own work is just as crucial.

“I am an independent artist and if I had to sign to a record label, I will still make sure that the terms of the contract grants me creative control of my work,” he said.

MICHAEL KAYUNDE

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-29

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53%