Born and bred in the Mother City, Andile ‘cApitol A‘ Isaacs, is on a lifelong journey to become the mouthpiece of the forgotten, the down-trodden, the ‘OG-certified’ originator of keeping it real.
The year 2022 marks a restart for the rapper and producer, whose music catalogue includes accreditation on works by Manu Worldstar, The Kulture and former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi, among others.
GET TO KNOW cApitol A
It was a different era in the Cape Town music scene back in 2013 when the industry first caught wind of the rapper who hails from Oliver Tambo, a settlement nestled between the raucous Gugulethu township and crime-ridden Manenberg.
At the time, cApitol A was not synonymous with the jarring, third-eye-awakening lyricism he has come to be known for. His earliest credits can be traced back to KYD Underground’s (a popular rap posse from Gugulethu) 2013 self-titled mixtape, where his contributions were more so on production, albeit appearing with guest verses on Are You Ready and Devil.
He and his blood brother Unathi ‘U.N.A’ Isaacs would carry the conscious sound of that era, a time when Cape Town music was bent towards 808-led percussions and commercialism. In 2014, the duo moulded the sound of Hype Team’s Ill Regime mixtape, where, once again, cAp provided his creative contributions as a producer with a single guest verse on Rhyme Scheming.
“Cape Town still has a long way to go if we intend on creating an industry that can sustain its artists.”
cApitol A was and still is, on a journey of self-discovery. His production was crisp. His drumkits of choice held powerful percussion sounds, an indication of the influence Reggae had on his upbringing.
“[I am] a bar-for-bar rapper that grew up listening to Reggae and Jazz and then later fell in love with Hip-Hop.“
cApitol A didn’t necessarily abandon production. His urge to burst the bubble of superficiality in the city’s flailing industry is partly the reason behind his decision to pursue a rap career. The allure of discovering oneself through art became addictive and, as a result, culminated into critically-acclaimed lyrical contributions on the radio-charting Pandora by Drums By Sandy, his 2015 debut EP outcAst and My Own Path, his magnum opus.
“I’ve learned that there’s no industry in the Cape and that we have to trek to Johannesburg to get any sort of recognition. While there are initiatives that help grow and push the Hip-Hop culture forward, Cape Town still has a long way to go if we intend on creating an industry that can sustain its artists.”
Nine years and 10 000+ hours invested in his ascension as one of the most underrated homegrown talents of the Mother City, cApitol A is still centred around his philosophy of making music for the soul.
His creative output is everchanging and, at every opportunity, cApitol A looks to transform his music but the manufacturing process remains the same.
“I enjoy making music when I’m inspired, not to sound corny or anything, but I believe that life inspires music. With that being said, I normally first play a beat to brainstorm and patiently wait for the inspiration to hit, then start formulating sentences AKA bars while the beat is on loop. I then tweak certain lines and words to make sure that I have a well-structured 16-bar verse. I repeat the same process for the chorus, second and third verse until I have a complete song”
A Q&A with cApitol A
The new year presents cApitol A an opportunity to reintroduce himself as a man who, for the most part, manifested his goal of becoming the master of his destiny.
In 2022, the rapper is not only a custodian of ‘real’ music, but he owns a stake in the entertainment business as co-founder of Cape Town record label SPORT Music Group.
We fielded a few questions to cApitol A about his plans for 2022, and dug deeper into his thoughts about how he sees himself today.
What do you have in store for your fans in 2022?
As cliche as it might sound, I’m honestly on a journey of self-discovery. As an artist, I believe one has to evolve and not be boxed in a certain style or genre. With that being said, people can expect something new and fresh. There’s no formula and there are no limits.
Knowing what you know about the music business, what advice would you give cApitol A from your past?
I would tell the young prodigy to open up his own label, sign himself, make sure that the business side of things [are] solid before putting out music. I would tell him that most of the people you start out with will not be there in the end. You will meet genuine people along the way and those are the people you need to hold onto and make magic with and if it does not serve a purpose to the vision, let it go (we move).
