Hot new HIPHOP talent – YOUNG NATIONS…respect!
Don’t forget we told you about him in June already – but we thought we’d remind you.
So he’s all over the TV, he’s on radio and he’s playing live all over da place… this young South African that grew up in LA is back and he ain’t going anywhere… Welcome home Young Nations. We have our hands on his new album… Any hiphopheads or muso’s want to review it for us…? You get to keep th…
e cd! You know what to do. Drop the editorista an email.
Here’s Young’s story:
The most anticipated recording artist from Unreleased Records, Young Nations, has finally been released. The South African music scene was initially introduced to this dynamic young artist in June 2003 on the classic “Win” track which exploded on stations across the country and was featured on CNN worldwide for its heavy lyrical content. Young Nations was inspired by his father, acclaimed author and poet Professor Mazisi Kunene who returned to South Africa after 36 years in political exile and recently received the first ever South African Poet Laureate Award as well as the 2005 M-Net Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature.
Young Nations has continued to pursue his dream of bridging his music to the African continent, with songs like “Africa Prey”, a tribute to the child soldiers of northern Africa and acoustic based, “Rock On” highlighting the plight of homeless children suffering from HIV and AIDS here in South Africa.
Other tracks like “Mr. Hustla”, showcase Young Nations classic hip hop B-boy style, which has been featured on collaborations with overseas artists like Sean Price of Boot Camp Clique.
The Young Nations album is produced primarily by Grammy Nominated super-producer Megahertz, who has produced hits for Puffy, Jay-Z, Nas, R. Kelly, Busta-Rymes, and most recently 50 Cent and G-Unit. The remainder of the tracks on the album are produced by Draztik, producer for such artists as Orakle, Snazz D, Cuba, Flabba, Imbube, Killarney Rich (California), SydMoney, Apollo and Nomadic, Prokid and Proverb. The album itself is a collection of Young Nations’ experiences growing up in the United States, Europe and South Africa and the reflections of his experiences from Soweto to South Central.
The debut album, “Nations Uprising” is a culmination of all of Nations’ works and collaborations thus far.
Young Nations has recently been appointed as one of UN-HABITAT’s Messengers of Truth. This is a global initiative by the United Nations whose main purpose is to bring together socially committed Hip-Hop artists, youth organisations, NGO’s, governments, the media and the private sector to help raise awareness of the Millenium Development Goals and to reach out to more than 300 million youth living in slums and help raise funds in support of youth development initiatives.
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17 June 2005
REPRESENT got a preview of a hot young HipHop head coming our way in Spetember – YOUNG NATION’s – he’s probably gonna kill us but think Tupak with a whole dose of Mzansi soul. It’s the first African HipHop album that’s entirely internationally produced. The man rocks and we bring him to ya first! Come on September!
Born in exile at the height of South Africa’s struggle against apartheid, Young Nations’ music is a culmination of the incredible experiences of having grown up as the son of a liberation activist. As a South African of Zulu descent growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Young Nations became actively involved in numerous organizations in which social and political agendas focused on global youth empowerment. Nations was involved in the organization of the largest protest against apartheid in Los Angeles, including one the youngest members of Children of War, a non-profit organization of young refugees from war torn countries around the world.
In 1989 Nations travelled to South Africa for the second time, a privilege not afforded to his father, who remained banned from returning to his country for over 32 years. Nations’ experience living in the heart of Guguletu Township would later influence the development of the artist upon his return to Los Angeles.
Young Nations travelled to Los Angeles in 1991 and by 1994 had recorded his first professional compositions under the artist name “K.A.S.H.”(Kept in Africa’s Subliminal Hold), which gained immediate attention on the West Coast of California. Nations went on to perform before thousands, opening for Ice Cube, Coolio, Zap & Roger, Rappin4Tay and the Lynch Mob in 1995.
In June of 2003 Young Nations exploded onto the South African music scene with the ground breaking hit song, “Win”, a collaboration with performer and recording artist Chester of Sarafina and Yizo Yizo fame. Nations followed up “Win” with another collaboration entitled “Live My Life”, touching on the realities of life growing in the townships.
Toward the end of 2002, Young Nations returned to the U.S. to begin recording his debut album, “Young Nations Rise” with Grammy Nominated super-producer Megahertz. Having produced “Bad Boy For Life” for Puffy, “Got Ya’ Self a Gun” for Nas, “Best of Both Worlds” for Jay-Z and R. Kelly and several multi-platinum hits for Busta Rymes amongst others, Megahertz powerful production style was a perfect match for Nations’ heavy vocal tone.
The first release, titled “Mr. Hustla”, is pure B-Boy hip-hip at its absolute finest. Released as part of YFM’s “Life” compilation distributed by Universal Music, “Mr. Hustla” has moved quickly up the radio station’s charts and remains one of the hottest releases of the year so far. The full debut album, “Young Nations Rise”, is currently in final production. The Young Nations album has become one of the most anticipated albums of 2005.
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