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Artist
Phelimuncasi & Metal Preyers
5+ albums
nyege nyege tapes
about
A collaboration between the South African Gqom group Phelimuncasi and Metal Preyers. In 2024 they released the album Izigqinamba on Nyege Nyege Tapes. Revolving around core players Jesse Hackett and Mariano Chavez in the mix with input from their extended Ugandan family at Nyege Nyege Tapes, plus vital touches by London rogue Lord Tusk, Metal Preyers is a unique project that yields a queasily impressionistic jag deep into the nightlife of Uganda’s sprawling capital city, Kampala. Phelimuncasi formed in 2012 in the Mlaszi township of Durban, South Africa as a trio of Gqom vocalists, Khera, Malathon, and Makan Nana. Their music is imbued with a storytelling tradition that harks back to southern African toyi-toyi, a powerful dance of protest accompanied by rhythmic singing that was used during anti-apartheid demonstration to intimidate police and security forces. Driven by the urge to create music that “enchants or poisons the audience,” the trio partnered with producers DJ MP3 and DJ Scoturn. What establishes Phelimuncasi as notable artist of contemporary South African music is Phelimuncasi’s spontaneous, mantra-like chanting, vibrant Isizulu spoken word, and infectious statements that intensify a sense of revelation and liberation. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
why this is interesting
# Why This Album Deserves Your Attention This collaboration traces an uncommon sonic geography, connecting Durban's gqom tradition with Kampala's electronic underground through a genuinely curious approach to production. Rather than superficial fusion, the album investigates how these distinct musical cultures might inhabit shared space—gqom's percussive intensity meeting the impressionistic textures that define contemporary Kampala nightlife. The work benefits from serious craft: Hackett and Chavez construct densely layered arrangements that reward close listening, while the extended network of contributors ensures the music feels rooted in lived experience rather than conceptual exercise. It's the kind of record that suggests artistic collaboration can operate as a
