The homey, nostalgic feeling of KAYA CAFE meets the bouncy, rhythmic stylings of some of the best acts Cape Town and Joburg have to offer; that’s what the good people of StayHomme and Verve Magazine brought to Cape Town with the first leg of their StayHomme and Friends Tour, ‘KAYA Kulture’ on last Saturday night. The event, meant to serve as a marriage of 2 of South Africa’s central hubs for creativity, presented an air of collaboration that is much needed in these spaces where a strong community is paramount. An event born from discussions had with Verve co-founder Jeriah and a member of the StayHomme collective, Shimii, both of whom had a goal in mind to “Unify the two cities.”

The StayHomme and Friends Tour works as a platform, as Jeriah stated, to “open spaces” and to allow artists from all avenues to understand that there may be space for them within the music industry.

From the sound check, the energy in KAYA CAFE was electric; nothing but support was showcased for the artists. The joy in the room was infectious, with performances from the Joburg and Cape Town acts making me optimistic for what the rest of the night had in store.

I had a mini interview with Jarry Pitboi, before the performances, which started a continuous theme for the night, the influence Jazz has on these hip-hop artists. Pitboi stated that the sounds of Robbie Jensen make him feel at home. With subsequent conversations I had with artists that were performing, such as Pumas+Roses and VICEQUIAT, stated that jazz influences are prevalent in their current music and will feature in their later projects, and that was strongly felt when the performances had officially begun. A strong red light had bathed the room in a powerful atmosphere that had the audience’s attention glued on the performances. The room was largely quiet outside of the cheers and repetition of the artists’ lyrics. A lot of respect was paid to the craft that had been honed by these artists.

The show was opened by the bubbly energy given by Shimii, whose confidence was infectious, and was later accompanied by VICEQUIAT, who teased his bar-heavy, punchy delivery. The second performance of the night was by Pumas+Roses, who delivered a deeply personal but powerful performance, with more additions from VICEQUIAT further teasing the audience. The more intimate nature of Pumas first 3 songs was sharply juxtaposed to his final song, which had more emphasis on delivering sharp, punchy bars as opposed to deep, introspective soliloquy. The much-anticipated VICEQUIAT delivered a very self-assured, polished, in your face performance where he asserted himself as a force to be reckoned with, as he repeated in performance of his song ‘SAMO’, “You can’t fuck with me”. So came close to the first half of the night. 

The second half of the session started with a more lively and warmed-up audience, which was necessary for the next performance. MasterKiii, who came out of the gate with an energy that captured everyone’s attention and also had the crowd engage with almost every song. He had the audience raise their hands almost in prayer. The vibe of the performance evoked a very spiritual feeling, I felt as if I was looking in on something sacred. MasterKiii later said in a little interview I had with him, “You have to make them feel like it’s a sermon”. He was then followed up by Jarry Pitboi, who I note as an artist who has a very authentic feeling, where every word feels like a believable, real experience. The vulnerability on display in his lyrics made the audience feel every single bar, with stankfaces all over the room. 

And a contrast to every performance we had thus far were Meccamind and Passionpanther, which showcase a yin-yang-esque synergy. A bouncy, energetic performance was given by both of these artists, turning up the whole crowd by the end of the night. Overall had served its purpose and led to some in Cape Town who may not have been aware of the Johannesburg acts, such as Shimii, Pumas+Roses, and VICEQUIAT, to add them to their playlist. The energy in the room was electric and made me optimistic as a Joburg native who moved to Cape Town, to see where the future lies in terms of stronger artistic relationships between our two great cities.