Rattex: Labour of Love & Hard Entertainment

While we were recording Rattex’s forthcoming EP, Streets, Raps & Us, our friend Mikko Kapenen joined us to take some photos, watch the recording process and conduct a couple of interviews for an article he was writing.

Originally from Finland, Mikko lectures in film, media studies and various radio-related topics. He has a broad background in radio, ranging from commercial, public sector and community. Lastly, but definitely not least, he is also a hip hop head who promotes South African hip hop whenever he gets the chance.

Mikko (left) with the legendary Chuck D of Public Enemy.

After what seemed like no time at all, Mikko wrote a fantastic article on Rattex called, Rattex: Labour of Love & Hard Entertainment. It’s not your typical vanity piece bigging up an artist and regurgitating their press releases, it actually gives you a real view of what being a musician in South Africa is all about.

I attended a Red Bull workshop with Wordsworth where he said that rappers are guilty of perpetuating industry myths because they only ever talk in clichés about everything being ‘all good’, or ‘you know how we do’, ‘we ballin” etc. No one ever talks about the realities of being a musician, so aspiring artists have no guidance to help them navigate the industry.

So, with that in mind, I highly recommend that you read Mikko’s article!

Read and download Rattex: Labour of Love & Hard Entertainment at Scribd

Check out Mikko’s blog, Welfare State of Mind

That’s how we rrrrrrrroll!!