From the Wes Kaap With Love YoungstaCPT

Where he comes from is not a puzzle nor a riddle – four fingers up, two twisted in the middle.

I first heard Riyadh Roberts, better known on stage as YoungstaCPT, on ‘Y?’ alongside Yoma. His lyrical prowess and authentic ‘Kaapstad’ influence can be heard throughout and is unquestionably captivating.

Like other rappers such as Hemelbesem, Linkris The Genius and Ixa, YoungstaCPT uses the Coloured community’s narrative as a medium to spread his message in his music and uses it as a catalyst for social change.

The hip-hop artist hails from the Cape Town suburb of Wittebome in Wynberg and at a young age decided he would channel his affinity for music productively.

“Music was always around me so all I had to do was pick it up and use it correctly,” the emcee said.

Many others have been influenced by music, and YoungstaCPT is no exception. “Hip-hop music changed the way I see the world and allowed me to imagine how it could be,” he said.

“I believe it could do the same for other people if they used it as a creative tool instead of just seeing it as a song. If you look behind a beat, there’s always a message in the lyrics. Sometimes it’s hidden so you have to listen deeply but that’s the beauty of music,” he elaborated.

A ‘straat predikant’ (street preacher), YoungstaCPT aims to promote the Cape Town culture and impart knowledge onto those who are ignorant of the history of his city and country.

“The Coloured culture hasn’t been explored properly so it’s also important for me to always incorporate that in my audio and visual,” he said. He not only paints a realistic portrait of his community, but also a positive one. This can be experienced on YoungstaCPT and Ganja Beatz’ ‘Wes Kaap’, where they remix the classical tune of ‘The Next Episode’ to fit in with the Cape Town Coloured culture.

“Culture gives my music a sense of history and makes my story more interesting,” YoungstaCPT said. He added that without culture, music lacks soul, especially in hip-hop.

“Being that it’s a youth culture, it is very important to speak about the issues and situations that people of our landscape and culture face on a daily basis,” the rapper said.

In collaboration with the Namkid’s Social Splash event, YoungstaCPT will be touching Namibian soil for the first time when he visits the capital from 20 October until 22 October.

Taking place at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) on 20 October from 15h00 to 18h00, Social Splash will see men come together to discuss social ills such as gender-based violence, baby dumping and tribalism, amongst other topics.

However, this doesn’t mean that he hasn’t worked with Namibians before.

“I always promote collaboration so I think it’s definitely important for Namibian and South African artists to work together,” YoungstaCPT said.

“I created a good relationship with Swiss producer Maloon TheBoom through working with Black Vulcanite from Namibia. It even led to me touring Europe twice so one never knows what can come from working outside of your community. Musically, it is great!”

YoungstaCPT has numerous projects under his belt including 27 mixtapes, numerous EPs and various accolades. Having performed alongside Lil Wayne and Talib Kweli, this emcee is no little fish.

In his bio on youngstacpt.com, he mentioned that he is an unofficial tour guide. He doesn’t only showcase the roses and diamonds of Cape Town, but takes you on a journey and shows you his world from his own perspective.

“To have so much content around you all the time while growing up in Cape Town, as a result my style is different, my tone is different because the slang that we use is different… I don’t sound like any other rapper.”

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