These 2 guys have been quietly causing a storm in the South African music industry with their unmistakable Gqom sound and distinct productions. Such is their reservedness that you hardly ever hear about them in the tabloids but don’t be fooled. This duo is well-known and respected.
The title of their album says it all ‘Gqom is the Future’ (GITF). I had a good idea what to expect and I can proudly say I got it. GITF opens up with a true Mzansi gqom fused house track that sets the pace called ‘My Guitar’. The guitar lead is infectiously rhythmic and I found myself mimicking the sound with my mouth with an imaginary guitar in my hands. As if that wasn’t enough, Track 2 on this album is the smash hit, official Ke Dezemba Boss anthem, ‘Omunye’ featuring Benny Maverick and Dladla Mshunqisi. I cannot praise this track enough. It’s an undisputed party anthem and so easy to follow that doing your ABCs is probably more challenging. The beat doesn’t reinvent the Gqom wheel in anyway yet it complements the repetitive lyrics in spectacular fashion. Go anywhere in Southern Africa and this song is your dancefloor filler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npw4M2XLZK0
This album does two things very well: showcases the production prowess of Distruction Boyz and unearths the dancers among us. Bhenga, Vosho, Gwara Gwara… this is the right album for this. ‘Shut Up and Groove’ is the other runaway hit on this album which helped catapult the viral Tholokuthi Hey craze in 2017. Distruction Boyz did that. Taxis, clubs, parties… Shut Up and Groove was played all over. It shows how much their sound is arguably one of the best in Mzansi right now. The album version is the instrumental version without Babes Wodumo or Mampintsha but tune still bangs hard.
To add balance to this album, songs such as Ingidi, Heavy Hitter gave much needed variety and broke the monotony. I noticed something very interesting in the flow of GITF. If you are familiar with drum patterns you’ll be quickly able to tell that there was an order in which the songs sounded similar at the core. This was genius in that there was a well-hidden build up especially for a gqom album. Most people wouldn’t notice but it makes the listening easier.
GITF is largely instrumentals and very rarely do I like such albums but can confidently exclude this project from that thought. Consider this: it is very hard to sell instrumental albums, just as hard as it is to appreciate them. The way we consume music makes instrumentals seem like only half the job done. That is why GITF is a very special album. You also have to understand that gqom is a genre that does not rely much on lyrics or a particular flow to be what it is. It’s a genre for the dancefloor. Did I mention that GITF has already gone gold in SA?
Very few artists ever live up to their names but Distruction Boyz absolutely tear up dancefloors wherever they go. They have countless hits to their name that they have contributed for other artists and are likely to be serious contenders for the producer of the year accolade in South Africa for 2017/2018.
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