Prince Kaybee ready to drop The 4th Republic after two-and-a half years in the making
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The multi-award-winning musician and DJ, Prince Kaybee, is getting ready to release his album The 4th Republic. Picture: Instagram
Johannesburg - The multi-award-winning musician and DJ, Prince Kaybee, is getting ready to release his album The 4th Republic.
The producer features several upcoming artists on the album, giving music lovers a chance to experience new voices.
The first single release from the album is a collaboration with vocalist Nokwazi titled Ebabayo.
“Nokwazi adds so much colour to the music. The song wasn’t originally meant to be as vibey. If you listen to the instrumentation sonically, she comes in and adds so much energy to the song. That’s exactly how I imagined it to be,” said the DJ, whose real name is Kabelo Motsamai.
The album has taken two-and-a half years to produce, with the hitmaker working between the studio, travelling and other work he does for his income stream.
With the new talent he had to work with, the process of making the album became easier with all the time they had, he said.
“Narrowing down wasn’t really a problem because I was taking long breaks in between, working with people that had the same energy as me.
“There are some people who didn’t make it on to the album, but it’s part of the logistics of the art. At the end of the day we have a product and it was a beautiful time to compile it with the talent that is on there. To those that didn’t make it, there’s always a next time,” he said.
The 22-track album also features heavyweights in the industry, including Kaylow, Lady Zamar, King Monada and Chymamusique.
Prince Kaybee’s hit track Uwrongo, featuring Ami Faku, Shimza and Black Motion, made it on to Barack Obama’s music list of favourite songs for 2020.
“The one thing a song needs to make it strong is a narrative that suits the market that you are trying to present. That is very important. You can’t cater for a certain group and then make sound for something opposite to that. Holistically, the product needs to meet the standard of the target market.”
With Ebabayo, Prince Kaybee leans towards exploring his own voice in the Amapiano music genre. When it comes to new recordings, Prince Kaybee always listens out for the build-up of the song.
“I like storytelling in a song; not only the vocalist must tell the story, but the song altogether. I like to say the song and the vocalist must make love; it is an intimate thing between the two parties. The build-up to climax is very important to the song.”
There is one particular song that the producer really loves on the album, Umenitosha, featuring Kenyan singer Pauline Wendo, known as Polaris Pauline.
Wendo was one of the new artists who auditioned via Twitter over a beat Prince Kaybee released last year. She loved the beat so much she wrote lyrics for it, and the producer liked it so much she is featured on the upcoming album.
The album has a lot of songs that focus on love.
“For me, especially during this Covid-19, I have learnt so much about love. It has affected how I do things in my life. Just the calmness that comes with love ... I feel like everyone is (in a state) going everywhere without any direction (sometimes). There are a lot of mistakes when you’re in a rush, but when you try to calculate things, you’ll be in a better place. It is not a calm album, but I would like people to draw some calmness and sensitivity from it to their journey, and how they decide on things.”
The 4th Republic
The Star