Nthato Monde James Mokgata (born 14 May 1985), known by his stage name Spoek Mathambo, is a South African artist, producer, singer-songwriter and rapper.
Here, he also began to collaborate with Waddy Jones (later Die Antwoord), producer Simon Ringrose (known as SiBot) and Markus Wormstorm.
[7] In 2006, Mathambo and Wormstorm started their electro rap-duo project Sweat.X and quickly rose to national prominence by releasing various mixes on their MySpace site.
A series of mixtapes titled H.I.V.I.P., periodically released on his blog in 2009,[13] helped build Mathambo's reputation for creatively arranging different styles and genres.
[18][19] The title is derived from "Umshini Wami", which translates as ‘Bring me my machine gun’, an anti-apartheid struggle song popular with Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress, in the 1960s.
[20][5] Regarding the album's title, Mathambo stated: "My Machine in this case … is my platform to express a new wave of electronic African music blowing through the continent!
The track's video was directed by South African photographer Pieter Hugo and Michael Cleary, who received the Young Director Award at the 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
[33] Mathambo also contributed two tracks to the 2013 Red Hot + Fela compilation[34] and released a collaborative mini-album with US rapper Shamon Cassette calles Wave Crusher.
Twenty years after the end of Apartheid, the three-part series Future Sound of Mzansi presents samples of South Africa's vibrant landscape of electronical music.
[3][39] For the film's production, the Mathambo and Rasethaba travelled the country for two years to explored local genres and styles of electronic music.
"We tend to get stuck on the radio stuff but in the country's crevices, nooks and crannies there are some really exciting progressive movements happening, from the poorest people to the upper classes.
DJ Spoko from Pretoria, Maskandi multi-instrumentalist Bhekisenzo Cele from Durban, psychedelic rock guitarist André Geldenhuys from Cape Town and drummer Michael Buchanan.
[45][46] The five combine wide-ranging influences from traditional Zulu maskandi music, shangaan electro, hiphop, punk, house and more.
[50] Piotr Orlov from NPR called the album the product of Mathambo's "lifelong pursuit of a pan-Mzansi aesthetic while also widening the garden of SA's delights to incorporate global vibes.
[55] The EP was followed by a debut album Musica da Terra, also released in 2016, which was recorded in South Africa, Mozambique and Uganda, comprising collaborations with artists from all three countries.