The Mother City has her hands full of talent, with some of the most gifted composers producing stunning bodies of music that shape the true spirit of Cape Town.

There’s a new project set to launch, crafted by the highly admired Simulationrxps, a poet who proudly represents the Langa realm and has been making waves for the past couple of years with tracks like “Phez’kwezinto” and “Ezay Zolo” all going down as Cape Town anthems.

With his new EP on the horizon, titled “BASED ON iWAAR”, we were fortunate enough to link with Simulation and have him expand on what we hungry fans can expect from the project, scheduled to release at midnight.

Can you break down what kind of story we can expect from the EP?

“The EP is called “BASED ON iWAAR” which is based on a true story or truth or whichever way you wanna swing it”

“I’m just speaking about my life as umjita wasekasi, so most of the songs basically speak on the point of view of a hood guy.”

What can we expect from the tracks?

“The first song is called “GAZ LAM” where it’s like a motivational song for my brother, my blood, my homie, whoever. It could be me speaking to myself, or the guy next to me and telling him if you want what you want, take it.”

“You can’t just sit down and wait. That happens a lot in the Townships where people just look at their surrounding and are not motivated at all. I’m hoping this song gives people the motivation to get up and go because we don’t have a lot of opportunities or chances as guys from the Townships. I’m hoping this song does something.”

“The second song after “GAZ LAM”, called “Sonke” with Ups (Lookatups) and K.Keed, is a song that shows that we all want to get this thing together as homies. If we keep on pushing each other, we’re all gonna get the same thing, everything we speak on, we gonna get it.”

“The third song is called “What If?” which asks what if this is the last time we dance? Or what if this is the last time you see your mom? Or what if you work so hard for a long time and end up not reaping your rewards and not getting the benefits from all your hard work.”

“The fourth song, called “Isitalato”, is yo, it doesn’t matter what you're doing or saying, the people in the hood are still going to love it. It could be my music, it could be what you do. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, as long as the people around you love it. It’s like saying love is at home first above everything, so whatever anyone outside your home thinks of what you’re doing doesn’t matter. As long as the people at home love it, they’re supporting and pushing you.”

What type of sound can we expect from the EP?

“It’s a mixture of Hip-Hop and Kwaito.”

“Kwaito is a very home-based sound, so I was trying to be home, and be real about the sound. So, it has a very Kwaito feel with a Hip-Hop twist, you know.”

Could you tell us more about the creation process behind the project?

“Making the EP took a long time. Everything had to be perfect, so I took a long time writing the lines, melodies, punchlines, and storytelling. I’m telling a lot of stories, so I take my time and put myself in certain situations to get me motivated or be inspired to finish a song, you know.”

“A song like “GAZ LAM” took me a very long time. It’s a two-parted song, with the first part having been done last year. I had the hook, then it took time for me to finish the verse which I wasn’t sure of, then this one guy shot the video for the song and he loved it, which made me want to actually expand on the song.”

“I then made another part, where I’m just rapping on that part because I wanted to tell a story and let every line hit.”

“The track “Sonke” was made with Lookatups and we were at his place having a very quick session. As soon as the beat Lookatups urged me to do something and we came up with that. After a while, I sent it to K.Keed and a couple of other people, and I received some verses back, but they didn’t understand the message of the song. K.Keed is our homie so she got it same time and sent back her verse.”

“The song “What If?”, which is like my favourite song, took the longest because I did the hook and the first four lines which I did last year, played it for someone the first time and they were like “Yoh this is the one!”. Because of that, it took longer to finish the verse because I wanted to make sure this was an anthem. When you play this song every line lands, every adlib, and every gap makes sense.”

“Then “Isitalato” had so many versions. The first version sounded like something else. There wasn’t much bounce, it was just a beautiful song that had a nice melody, with the same lyrics and everything but I wanted it to have a more bouncy feel to it. So I got my producer broer, who’s also an Amapiano producer, to add little bounces to it. This song is also one of my favourites because I took so much time with it, and I was so particular with it and wanted it to sound a specific way.”

“So yeah that was basically the process behind creating the EP.”

What emotion are you wanting the listener to experience while listening to the EP?

“It’s just beautiful music man, it’s something different. It’s very real, very honest, and authentic.”

“I hope people get what I was trying to do. The people I’ve played it to get it because they see me, and they know the broer I am, so they get it same time and most of them do the same thing I do.”

“I’m expecting myself to get a lot out of this project because I put in so much and it’s a very honest and beautiful project and I just hope everyone gets it and enjoys it the same way I enjoyed making it.”

What is the best way to listen to the EP?

“People need to listen to the project from top to bottom. Obviously, you’re gonna pick your favourite but you have to listen from the first song to the last.”

“Listen to it in your car while you’re moving with your people, girls, guys, your homies, when you’re in the car just going somewhere. You’re going to have fun and it’s a quick EP, about 10 or 13 minutes long. From point A to B, that should be enough. That’s the best way to listen to the project.”

“But yeah, I just hope people enjoy “BASED ON iWAAR”.”

It was an honour to get an inside look into what promises to be a highly enjoyable project from the Cape Town talent. The project releases midnight and we hope you check out the EP and show Simulationrxps some love.