People always ask me where the hell I find all these independent artists. Truth is, I owe a lot of it to my algorithm. To borrow the famous words of Snowfall’s Franklin Saint: “I built this shit brick by brick.”

Had it not been for that endless cycle of discovery, I probably would’ve never stumbled across the work of Kenz3i - one of South Africa’s most exciting and mysterious emerging voices in the Hip Hop scene.

Fresh off the release of his intoxicating self-titled 2025 project, I got the chance to sit down with Kenzi3 and his crew to explore his journey as a rapper, his perspective on the Cape Town and Johannesburg music scenes, the importance of the brotherhood that keeps him grounded, and everything in between.

When did your appreciation for music begin, and where do you think it came from?

“Since I was a kid, I loved creativity, I loved storytelling, and I loved music. I was born in Jozi, and my dad was a DJ, but eventually he had to start working a ‘proper’ job. My earliest memories when I was young, and shit is when my dad used to come home every Friday after his shift, and he would do these Friday dance nights where he’d bust out his DJ tricks, and as a family we would all dance together. My parents would eat and drink wine together, and we’d all just dance together.”

“Basically, music has always been a big part of my life and a big part of connecting with people and my family. I used to play with LEGO, I used to create stories, and I was always just a creative. I remember my first experience with music that I hold closely to this day is when my mom used to have a Mini Cooper, and she had this one CD that had a song from a Goldfish album. I can’t remember what it was called, but I described to my mom how this song felt to me, and I’d use colours. I’d call it that ‘pink ballerina song’. It wasn’t that, and it had nothing to do with that, but for me, I’d always think with colours and pictures.”

“So music always evoked images to me; it always painted a picture. One song I could see a fireplace, in another I could see a warzone, and maybe in another I could see a strip club, who knows? It could be whatever it might be. But, it’s always excited me because even though it’s just sounds, it covers all of the spectrums visually, it’s feeling, and it’s touch. Even though it's just sounds.”

At what moment were you ready to fully start creating music?

“As a teenager, I knew I wanted to be creative, and I knew I wanted to tell stories. I just didn’t know which direction to go in. When I was fourteen, is when it clicked for me that I needed to make music. I had a homie called Colour, and he started making music, and his name was Lil Mozart, for whom I helped make the cover art for that stuff. I remember being a part of that process. I knew I had to create. I loved it so much, and it was so great to see my friend having his music on Apple Music, and he made that. That was amazing for me to see.”

“At the time, though, my voice hadn’t broken, so I knew I wasn’t ready to rap yet. So I figured out a way to still be a part of the scene, and that’s when I started making beats. I cracked FL Studios, cracked all the plugins, and then COVID-19 came, so I just had a shit ton of time to play around and learn how to blend these sounds. Since then, it’s just been a crazy journey, being in the room with Ernimarr and others in the scene. That all happened through making beats. I was just reaching out, telling them that I had beats made for them, and it all happened serendipitously and spontaneously, know what I mean?”

“It was in my last two years of high school when my voice started breaking, and that’s when I started rapping. It just means everything to me, bro. I know people think, especially with the Trap genre that I’m in, that it’s bad for the soul, it’s bad for the spirit, and whatever. For me, the way I see how that sound affects the room and changes the dynamics between people and the way it brings a room alive, it’s always done that for me, and it’s why I love Trap so much. My group grew up loving The Migos, Lil Uzi Vert, JUICE WRLD, and all of those guys. I was always around people who loved Trap music.”

“For me, it was never about the lyrics. It was always about the sound, the feeling, and the energy of the music. It was the only music I could hear at a party that would make me jump and dance, you know what I’m saying?”

You speak so positively about your admiration for the Trap genre, which I also can relate to. For you, though, why do you think there’s such a negative stigma towards the genre?

“The lyrics obviously tend to be violent, and they obviously tend to be about drug use, sex, gangs, and all of that stuff. Sure enough, face value, it could be seen as harmful, and you could get the wrong idea from that.”

“But in Pop music, artists also speak on their painful experiences however, they articulate that in a different way, which is often in a retrospective poetical way. Whereas with rap music and specifically Trappers, they are the problem.”

“They’re rapping about being in it, and they embody it, which is still storytelling. It’s a different kind of storytelling and a different way of bringing light to these issues.”

What about the sonics behind Trap, though? I know a lot of people who are put off by the explosive 808’s and loud elements from the genre…

“It’s big, and it can get intense. But my dad grew up, and he experienced that Punk era. That was similar to what Trap music has done to this generation. Back then, when Punk was popping, the parents back then would ask what the fuck that loud music was. It was seen as demonic, and many parents wanted that shit out of their house.”

“But that sound resonated with the youth. It was alive, and it made the youth feel free in a dark world. The world is dark in a lot of ways, so people would see and hear that music as real. The energy of it is raw; people lose their voices, and it’s not pretty. But it works, and it sounds good.”

That jump from being a producer to now a rapper, how did that change happen for you?

“Funny story, I don’t have beef, and I’m not going to namedrop anyone but…rappers weren’t paying me, bro. I figured I might as well take this shit into my own hands, you know? And the more I did it, is when I realised nobody can ride your beat as good as you. It got to a point where I was finding my own sound, and I just stuck with that because I love it.”

“More than anything, I just find it fun. I love what it does for me, and I find it therapeutic. We made this song after school, and I have this line where I say, “I’m really rapping now, this is how I get my fucking anger out”.“

“I don’t write my lyrics either. I freestyle my shit, and I like to punch in what I like here and there. These days, I try to freestyle even more. At first, I started writing, but it just didn’t do what I wanted to do. The more time I spent with it, the better I got on the mic, and I got more comfortable on the mic. That was just the way for me because of the flow of consciousness.”

How would you describe your sound?

“I didn’t want to come into the space as the guy with bars, you know? I want to be the guy who sounds good. The guys like Yeat, Young Thug, and Playboi Carti always inspired me because it was always about the sounds and what they do to people.”

“At this point, I’d say my sound is Kenz3i’s sound. My beats are mine, my voice is mine, and my lyrics are mine. And that sound is definitely a descendant of those guys who have come before me, and now I’m pushing it to a higher level and a newer space. I’m taking it somewhere where only I can take it.”

“I can’t speak for other people when I’m rapping; I can only speak for myself.”

You were born and raised in Jozi. I’m aware you’re based in both Jozi and Cape Town, but why the move to Cape Town?

“You want me to be for real with you? My parents wanted me to get a degree, and I didn’t want to stay in Jozi for that. I came here, enrolled at AFDA to get my film degree, and to get more creative, so it ticked all the right boxes for me. It also gave me enough time to focus on my real passion, which is music.”

“Once I got here, I saw how amazing it was down here. To me, it’s less developed in terms of the music culture and the business behind it all compared to Jozi. A lot of people would say you need to go to Joburg to make it, but for me, Cape Town is a place ripe with opportunity. They still haven’t done all that stuff, so maybe we should.”

“I like the sun, I love the greenery, and I love the ocean. Everything is here, man.”

I’m sure your parents are aware of your music goals. How do they feel about you pursuing a career in the music world?

“Obviously, my dad was a DJ, but he was also a drama kid back in school. I was, too. My dad wanted to pursue acting, but at that time, it was harder to tell your parents that you wanted to act as your career choice. Back then, it was harder for your parents to let that slide. His dad didn’t let him, so he had to go into accounting, which he’s very good at, and he’s done well for himself, but I don’t think he’d let that same thing happen with his own kids.”

“So he’s obviously supportive of it. We all know how the moms are, so she’s a little protective. But she gets it, and she supports it too. And if they didn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered, but I’m grateful they do. I’m lucky for that.”

I see you brought your boys along for this chat…

“Yessir. I got my boy Brian; he shot the album cover and various other photos beforehand. I got Gucci here; he shot videos for me beforehand. My other boy Cheese, who made a cameo beforehand, but the song “JOHEISENBERG” which we made would’ve never happened without Cheese and the boys.”

“When we are all together, and we create, it's fun, bro. We just try and see if the shit works. We just throw shit at the wall. And because we’re all just friends first, it just makes the process so comfortable. We’re all different, and we have different sides that come together into my sound. All their different sounds bring something new to the table, and it’s just a matter of seeing how to fit that all into one sound.”

“That gave me new things, and it offered me a wider range of new sources. With us all together, it’s a constant giving back.”

Alright then, a quick question for the table, then. What have you guys learned the most about each other as a team?

Cheese: “I learned that these are really my niggas for life, bro. No matter the distance, bro. We’re always going to flow on a song with one another, and that’s all I’ll say.”

Gucci: “I’ve learned a few things, especially from everybody here. Just being patient and taking your time doesn't kill anything in the process. As long as you take your time with it and you meet the right people, it’s gonna come out nice. Kenz3i does this thing where he’ll always tell you to just take your time. With me, I was making music, and it wasn’t what I wanted it to be like, but I met these guys, and now we’re all focused on this thing. These guys all inspire me.”

Cheese: “Yeah, Kenz3i really makes the beats of this crew. I feel like we all push each other and every single one of us has different songs and when we’re with Kenz3i, he takes the time to make different beats just for us and for us three to all flow together.”

Brian: “I’m from Kenya, so it’s kind of a different world, but when I came here and met these guys, it’s been a really outgoing thing for me. I know you guys try to get me to get hyped sometimes (laughter around the table), but I’m the chill one; I don’t speak that much. When I did the shoot for Kenz3i’s album cover, I unlocked another whole creative side of me. When I was editing the images, I was more conservative. I still prefer keeping my images real, but these guys introduced me to a whole new level that I never used to work with in my editing skills.”

Kenz3i: “I’m so happy with my bros, that’s why I even brought them with me for this interview. And the fact that they showed up means a lot. They support me, and I support them too.”

To close off this chat, what’s your opinion on the Cape Town cultural landscape compared to Jozi, and where do you see it headed?

Kenz3i: “I’ll say this…compared to Cape Town, Joburg is a bit more quicker, it’s a bit more organised, and it’s a bit more established. It’s much more developed in Jozi, and that also comes with way more gatekeeping.”

“I’m not going to name-drop, but one time I walked into a studio and some big names were there, and I was with my homie Teddy. What happened is they kind of wrote me off as Teddy’s ‘White Boy,’ and at no point were they curious to hear what I could offer. I learned something about my career, but I also learned a lot about the space that day. Maybe I should’ve been a bit more vocal about making beats.”

“But that’s what I really had to learn. You literally have to learn how to force your way through those gates until you’re there. What I also learned, which I think is sad, is that a lot of people get big here in South Africa; they see the big streams, the big followers, and they feel big. But they’re not touching the global guys, and they feel complacent with that. They feel that if there’s nobody above them, they feel like they’re the guy. They feel like they don’t have to change, they don’t have to work with upcoming new producers or artists, and they just get blinded by their egos.”

Cheese: “That’s the difference between the new generation. We are actually trying to put niggas on bro. We are always listening to new niggas and underground niggas because as soon as we’re on, we’re gonna put other underground niggas that are also coming up. We've got to put South Africa on the map, and that’s the only way.”

Kenz3i: “And that’s facts. A big theme on my self-titled project is that it’s easy to make a good song and feel like you’re the shit. Even when you’re not big. Which is why having motion on something like TikTok is easy to get into your head. For someone to reach 50k followers, I can’t imagine how easy that must be to get into your head.”

“You have to find ways to stay grounded. Being with these guys keeps me grounded, you know what I’m saying?”

And just like that, our conversation came to a close. I genuinely had a special time sitting down with the crew, and it was inspiring to witness the team behind Kenz3i and the level of trust they place in one another as they chase their ambitions as young, hungry creatives in the city.

It’s this kind of connection and belief that the creative scene thrives on, and hearing them speak so passionately about their journey left me with a massive smile on my face. There’s something exciting about watching people build toward something bigger than themselves, and I can’t wait to see where that journey takes them in the near future.

For now, stream the work of Kenz3i - available across streaming platforms, and don’t be afraid to turn the volume all the way up. Trust me, it’s the best way to experience it.

Driven by a Dream - The Journey of Kenz3i

Stories & Solace With We’re Alright