By Lindelwa Nxumalo
HYPE MAGAZINE is delighted to announce a decade of being South Africa’s number one hip hop magazine. Published by Panorama Media Corp, HYPE was created as a tool to uplift the culture and grow the local industry. Consistently at the forefront of emerging talent, the notorious HYPE SESSIONS mixtape has helped launch the careers of some of the biggest artists in our industry.
To kick off HYPE’s 10-year celebration, a limited collector’s edition issue debuts on shelves nationwide today 1 October and will be available over the October-November period or until it are sold out, we chat to Editor of the magazine, Simone Harris about the journey.
What’s a day in the life of Simone Harris, using 7 words?
Busy, insightful, stressful, rewarding, challenging, engaging, fulfilling.
So your twitter account. Staying true to your handle @SimmaOne, with only ONE tweet since ’09? How is a queen in the hip hop world so absent from the twitter streets?
[Laughs] That was actually a test account. I’m active on twitter through our official handle @HypeMagazineSA.
Hip Hop is a male-dominated industry. In Hype Magazine’s decade of existence, how would you say the hip-hop industry has evolved in respect to women’s involvement?
In my opinion the number of women in hip hop has always been high if you look at ladies who are doing things in the name of hip hop behind the scenes. Just look at the number of women doing PR, publicity, presenting, photography, journalism, music compiling, management and business. It’s huge and they’re calling the shots in creating big brands out of hip hop artists. I think it has become even bigger in numbers in recent times. When it comes to the actual number of women in the forefront from an emceeing perspective, the lack thereof is a global phenomenon and not unique to SA. Hip hop has always been dominated by men in the forefront and I don’t think it’s going to change any time soon.
Hip Hop, in fact, any occupation in the entertainment industry is more than a job – it’s a lifestyle. How did you absorb hype magazine and everything that comes with it into your life, was it a big adjustment?
HYPE took over my life from the onset. It wasn’t a job I could walk away from at 5pm every evening. It becomes your life – your overtime, your overdrive. It’s not a big adjustment if your job is something you love and are passionate about. If you do something you love you never see it as a job and that’s been the best thing about working at HYPE over the last decade. I had to learn recently how to shut off and be present with my family – but you’d still hear a hip hop jam in the background somewhere…
How has Hype been able to stay afloat while other publications drown in the digital age?
While our biggest unique selling point is our HYPE mixtape which is free with every issue, I think that from day one, HYPE established itself as the most credible source of hip hop journalism which had the first exclusives, predicted the trends and applied the tools of proper journalistic ethics. We also aided in bridging gaps between communities and exposed hidden talent across southern Africa. The fact that we’re also distributed in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland also put our brand in the forefront of hip hop communication from a print perspective. There are also many variables that one could consider such as our creative layout and quality, but HYPE’s main focus has been to serve the hip hop community which I think we’ve done well over the years. We also don’t have a high staff count so our overheads are not as necessarily high as a VIBE Magazine, for example, which had to lay off 19 employees when they shut down this year. I think it’s safe to say our business model works for us.
Can you summarize Hype magazine’s contribution to SA’s urban culture, for anyone who thinks a magazine is just a magazine and nothing more?
HYPE was the first print publication to document South Africa’s hip hop culture, in an era during which there was no social media platforms. Being the only print format, it helped to birth the careers of artists who went on to become great. The CD that is distributed for free with the magazine has always been the most widely distributed hip hop project in Southern Africa, and has thus aided in building the careers and reach. It’s fair to say that HYPE has been instrumental in helping to develop, promote and preserve the culture of hip hop in Southern Africa.
Which is currently your favourite issue? The one which made you so proud and has been the benchmark for every issue after it.
Wow that’s a hard question. I love every issue we work on obviously, because my life goes into every edition. I would say that the Freedom Day issue cover that featured Slikour & Kwesta on the front and the late Madiba on the back is one that stands out for me from a conceptual, historical and social consciousness point of view. I also loved our first flip issue that had Kendrick Lamar on the one cover and Die Antwoord on the flip side. It was a great conceptual issue which explored real MCs versus gimmicks which has always been a big elephant in the room.
So what should your readers look forward to in the next decade?
More great content, exclusives, dope events, continual national tours – and the ambition to go continental in terms of distribution! And – I hope to see the HYPE Awards make a huge comeback!
Finally, tell us a little bit about the #TURNUP with Hype Sessions & Xtreme.
We partnered up with Hunters Extreme to create unforgettable experiences that fitted into their #TURNUP trademark. In light of our 10 year anniversary we decided to do a national tour in CT, PTA, JHB and KZN as a way to celebrate with a wider audience for always supporting the brand and the movement. At each event we have a #TURNUP Captain that is our main act, i.e Khuli Chana, Riky Rick, Cassper, AKA and Reason. We have supporting old school acts on the line up as well as a solid DJ presence from the biggest names in the country. The objective for us is to expand on our brand presence, drive copy sales and be more interactive with our audience. We’re also giving them an experience to remember.
