It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the debut album of one of South Africa’s most influential and multi-faceted artists dropped. ‘Tsholofelo’ by Cassper Nyovest was the album that put the artist on the map, featuring his breakthrough hit Doc Shebeleza, Phumakimi and many more.
Cassper released the 19-track offering independently and defied any and all expectations and odds stacked against him. Although he came onto the scene as a rapper, he quickly adopted various sounds influenced by local and international cultures, making him the musical connoisseur we currently know and love.
The rapper shared a lengthy Instagram post reflecting on his journey, from releasing Tsholofelo to being a multi-award-winning artist with numerous accolades under his belt. He also expressed gratitude to everyone who played a role on the album, including his supporters
“I would like to thank all the producers, artists and writers who worked on the album. We have a lot of celebrations planned for this monumental moment. We shall meet soon. I would like to thank all the friends and colleagues who supported me from the get-go, till today they stand beside me and uplift me. I would like to thank my ever-so-loyal fans,” the rapper said.
He detailed how the album not only became a historic success but also changed the overall landscape of the music business in South Africa, encouraging young artists to pursue music independently without relying too heavily on record labels.
“It’s cause of this album that today kids know they can do it all in their bedroom and nobody is running to labels to be signed and enslaved. We changed the structure of corporate partnerships with artists and we started demanding what we are worth and not what they offered us.
“This is the album that set the foundation for me to become the first African Artist to sell out The Dome which was the most prestigious venue in Africa.”
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Fellow celebrities and his supporters took to the comments to walk down memory lane with the artist, sharing the nostalgic memories they have of the album, as well as the impact it had.
“This is actually the first album I ever bought in my life and I saved up for a few weeks to be able to go get it cause I was still in school and still have the hard copy of it until today,” one user reflects.
Also see: ‘Soon he will open his own church’- Internet users on Cassper Nyovest’s powerful testimony at church
