The initial concept of VERVE was to primarily focus on the creative landscape of Cape Town. However, the more we’ve progressed as an outlet, the more we realized VERVE was bigger than just Cape Town. The nation as a whole has too much talent for us to ignore.

Introducing Slezzy K. A gifted musician based in Johannesburg who impressed me last year with his “SEVENTEEN” project that dropped last year. Over time, we got to talking, and I just knew the bright mind had to be featured in our magazine.

And the timing was perfect after the release of his thrilling new project, “CRUX”, which recently dropped. Throughout our conversation, the talented mind opened up on his journey navigating Jozi as an artist, his tight brotherhood with his crew, the process behind his latest project, and much more.

Who is Slezzy k? Tell me about your background and how you decided to follow in a path in music?

“Formally known as Nkhumisang Karabo Mooketsi, I’m from a small town in the North West. My background on how my music journey started when my old man, my grandfather, had a tavern.”

“At this tavern, there would always be music playing from the jukebox. It’d be playing all sorts of music like Kwaito, House, Reggae, and Traditional music. So that’s how my love for music started. There was never really Hip Hop. It was always other genres of music. And my uncle was a DJ back in his time so that was my musical background.”

“I started writing music around Grade 6, but I never really had that confidence to say I was a rapper. I really lacked that confidence growing up. I was more of the academic type who always had their glasses on.”

“But with music, I always knew that I could write music. It wasn’t until Grade 7 when there was a talent show at school which we entered. Me and my homie entered the show and there was a song we wrote over a beat and we kinda performed it on the mic and we won that show.”

“That’s when I was like yeah, let me now try and do this. But then High School came and I kind of lost myself for a bit. It wasn’t until Grade 9 where I saw Cassper Nyovest fill up the FNB Dome back in 2017. He was on stage performing and I thought “yoh, this bro is from Mafikeng, North West!”. Literally 140km away from where I stay, and he has 68,000 people watching him…I can do this. Let me gain the confidence to do this.”

“Cassper is one of my earliest influences when it comes to South African music. I started tapping into South African Hip Hop because of Cassper.”

“Besides Cassper, I’d also say Future was an inspiration. I like his beats and his sound. It’s how he uses his normal voice to make his music sound crazy. Kanye West and Lil Wayne too. Those are my earliest influences into Hip Hop music.”

Dating back from the days you started with your earliest tracks like "Regular" back in 2020, how has your sound evolved to the point that you're at now?

“It was 2018 when I started recording. That year I made “Regular” which I released on Soundcloud and Audiomack just to see how it goes. It started going popular now and I was getting popular in school and everybody was knowing me. That’s when I knew I was really moving, and I could actually do this.”

“But then I noticed when I started listening to upcoming artists in South Africa that I wasn’t on the level that I wanted to be at. I wasn’t anywhere close to that. That’s why you can see a gap between 2021 and 2023 when I didn’t release at all. I was just honing into the craft, trying a way to flow better, find my voice, know how to use my voice which is really important, and I had to learn to not try and sound like anybody else but to sound like me while sounding good and developing my skill.”

“Although I wasn’t releasing music, I was still always making music. Now it’s at a point where I started working with BiggaBeatz that I realised I’m good. However, there was more room for me to develop and I kept working on it until I released “NEVER LEFT” with Sosa77.”

“After releasing a couple of singles, I released “SEVENTEEN” a year later. That’s when I felt like my sound really matured. In order for you to reach a wider audience, your sound has to be mature. That’s how I feel like my sound developed. Even the beats. My sound was always in the middle…not too Hip Hop but also not too mainstream.”

“Hence why whenever I drop a project, there’s something in there for everyone.”

What do you love the most about making music?

“I know it may sound a bit cliche, but the one thing I love about music is when you get into the studio with your producer or whether I’m going to be producing by myself is that it’s quiet. There’s nothing.”

“It’s like making a baby. You go in there and there’s nothing but when you leave there’s something. The beat is there, and you made that. I love the fact that we made nothing into a song that people can actually love…that’s what I love about music.”

“And the fact that it’s my safe place makes it better because I feel unbothered. I feel like the world outside can’t touch me and my problems go away. When I’m in the studio I can just zone in and focus on my craft and nothing else. That really makes me happy.”

“It’s really an exciting feeling when you’ve made a song, and everyone is jamming to it in the studio, and you know you made this.”

When releasing your music, are you more concerned about the public opinion or are you just comfortable with what you're satisfied with, and you just let the public decide for themselves?

“I’m not really concerned about the public's opinion. I feel like as artists, we’re teachers right…we express ourselves through the music.”

“Every time I release a project or song; I know that there will be people who don’t like it. I’m fine with that. But there’s going to be people who like it. You can name all the biggest artists in the world; they can divide an audience.”

“Everybody says yes to something but that something could not really be good. You get what I’m saying. Look at a Drake or a Kanye. How many people say that they don't like Kanye? But look how big his music is. You shouldn’t really be concerned when you release music because someone will relate, and someone will love your music.”

“As long as the product is good, put it out there and don’t stress.”

Congratulations on recently releasing your latest tape, titled “CRUX”. What was the creation process behind your new tape and what was the overall message you wanted to push through this project?

“Yeah so, I wanted to drop a little mixtape and my brother Tsaone Mooketsi, he’s a producer too, was like “You know how Future is one of your favourite artists, and back in the day he just continuously dropped mixtapes? You can do that and call it mixtape Sleezy.” I thought that was a great idea.”

“So I started making songs, but I couldn’t come up with a title. I continued making songs and I thought I’d grab inspiration from TV series, being outside more, and playing basketball. I’m a big basketball fan.”

“One time I questioned how this was an important turning point without saying it was important. Like just a word to just shorten something important. I went online and that’s where I found the word “CRUX”.”

“The crux is the most important and decisive point which is what I wanted people to see. To me, this is the most important tape right now. This is my most important work out right now. This is the work I want people to focus on. It’s the crux of the issue.”

“I also feel like it’s a turning point for me because I’ve been at it and now, I’m at a point where I feel like if I was to blow up and break the industry, I have all the tools necessary. So, I feel like “CRUX” is the most important issue right now.”

On your tape, the track "MAMACITA" took on a more Afro pop approach. It shows versatility. Is being versatile an important thing for you as an artist?

Yes! Being versatile as an artist is very important.

The track “Don’t Rush” on my “SEVENTEEN” project was produced by the same broer Sosa. I always ask him to send me Afrobeats because I don’t want to make the same sounds.

You ever notice when you keep making Trap over and over, it really hinders your growth and you won’t ever attract a new audience. You’re just shortening your reach.

Versatility is very important. Never try and box yourself in as an artist. Always know that you can do this and you can do that. And when you get featured, you don’t want people to think you can’t be put on another genre or style.

I want people to be comfortable with sending me anything. Now artists are comfortable with sending me songs that are not Trap. It’s good that people know that I make music, not just Trap, and that’s how I want to be seen as.Versatility is very important to me.

I see you frequently collaborate with Bigga Beatz and Doog Reppar, and I think Young Kid O. Could I assume that's your circle in Jozi, and what's it like working with them?

“Those are my brothers…those are my brothers. BiggaBeatz, Doog Reppar, and Young Kid O are my brothers.”

“I’ve been working with them since 2023. The song “Let’s Get It” is our first song. So yeah, there are my circle. I live with BiggaBeatz and we out here doing the hustle.”

“How we got together was at the UNDERGROUND event hosted by NOTBENJAMIN. I performed at the open mic where I came second place and even got some Puma kicks. Interesting fact, the person who won it is Blue Pappi.”

“That’s when Bigga complimented my performance, and he got my number, and I found out he was Tshwana too just like me. I found out that he was from Mafikeng just like my father and we knew we had to be boys from there.”

Shot By @de.kok.media & @sir_inno.mp4 / Instagram

“Last year I finished my studies, and I told him to stay with me and we could figure this out together and see where it goes from there. He came up and that’s how I met Doog, he’s Bigga’s best friend. We all started working and met Kid O that day and we made “Let’s Get It” when Kid O pulled up for the weekend.”

“That’s how I started working with the boys. And it’s really nice working with the boys because we correct each other. It’s not like we’re Yes-men.”

“If I’m in the studio recording, Doog will ask me to say this line and I’ll tell him the same thing, or he’d tell me to reference other things instead of basketball or to try this.”

“When we’re in the studio, all of our creative minds are working and it’s not like when I record, we’re chilling, or when one of them records we’re just chilling. We talk to each other, we make the process fun, and we make the process easy for everyone so that the quality of the music comes out nicely.”

“That’s why I love working with them. I might not be on the song, but I know I had a hand in Kid O’s song, Bigga’s song, and in Doog’s song. We’re always together and that’s how we make our music…together.”

What's the creative environment like in Jozi? And how has your journey been like trying to navigate the rap game in the city?

“The nice part about this creative environment is all the creative minds you get to meet. It’s Joburg, all the creatives come here.”

“You meet photographers, and you meet other producers. I’m a very social person and with the right crowd, I know how to approach people. When I approach someone, it’s never on some “how much for a beat?” I tell them how much I like their work and try tap them onto mine and see what we can do. I feel like I just generally know how to talk to people.”

“Being around this environment really helped my career. Sometimes it’ll be pressure because you’ll know a broer on a personal level and then two weeks later they’re booming and you’re just waiting on your time. Navigating through the Rap game is just knowing who to talk to, which events to go to, who are the right people to put you in the right spots, and knowing you can’t be working with everyone at the same time. And always make sure you’re navigating the right way and not stepping on other people’s toes.”

“I feel like I’m navigating the Rap game really n’ca because of BiggaBeatz. A lot of the upcoming guys like the Qwellers, Dusse Wavy, TallRickyWorldwide, and more come here to record with him and everytime I’m here and they’re also here, they’ll hear my song, and they’ll want to hop on.”

“It’s fun because I live with the resource, and I am the resource. It’s barely rare when I hit up an artist to join them in the studio. They always come to us. So navigating the Rap game is really easy.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say easy…but you have to know how to move. Don’t be too friendly with everyone too. People tend to take advantage of that. Be polite with everyone, know who to talk to, and when to talk to whoever. That’s always going to work out for you.”

I guess my final question is, what's the long-term career plan for Slezzy K? What do you hope to achieve and how do you plan on reaching those heights?

“To reach my heights, I guess I just don’t want to change what has been working for me. I can improve it, but I don’t want to change what’s working.”

“Doing me all this time got me here. It got me having this interview with you, it got me working with who and who. I’m reaching my heights slowly but surely.”

“But for the long term, I don’t plan on having a lot of albums under my name. I want my career to be 3 albums long and that’s it. I don’t care how many mixtapes and EPs it could be, but I don’t wanna drop albums till forever.”

“I’m a mechanical engineer at the end of the day. Maybe at 35, I could call it a day. But what I want to achieve is a lot. I want to win awards. I wanna win your SAMA, your Metro’s, and your Hip Hop awards. To me, it’s like a stamp of validation to show that whatever you’ve been doing has paid off at the highest level.”

“My ultimate, ultimate goal, is to be the first South African Hip Hop artist to win a Grammy. And I plan on reaching that by maintaining the motion I’m going with, keeping the people I have around me, and to just keep working with them.”

“Once you’ve changed what’s been working, you might hinder the progress you’re making. So that’s my hope for the future.”

Slezzy truly is one of a kind, maintaining composure while also keeping his eye on the prize. It’s this type of mentality that I love to see in a passionate artist.

This was clear in his latest “CRUX” offering, gifting music lovers a body of art that sent chills down our spines. I loved how every track on this project continued to excite me, with every song utilizing different instrumental elements and having the likes of Tallrickyworldwide, Doog Reppar, Sosa77, Melo<3, WRLDS.PLANET, Flowaboii, and Young Kid O put in impressive cameos.

Sleezy still has a long way to go, but I can assure you that with the team he’s surrounded himself with, he’s in the safest hands possible.

Peep “CRUX”, now available on multiple streaming platforms.

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