Flabba’s SAMA Award-winning Debut Album Finally Available On DSPs
Flabba’s SAMA Award-winning Debut Album Finally Available On DSPs. September of 2021 marked six years since the untimely and tragic passing of the hip hop pioneering voice, Skwatta Kamp alumni, Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi. Six years after his untimely death, Flabba’s solitary solo album finally gets a release on digital platforms. Gomora’s prodigal son, as the Alexandra-native is affectionately referred to, helmed a South African hip hop classic that still holds its weight fifteen years after its release. In honour of his legacy and commemorating what would have been his 44th birthday on 17 October 2021, Flabba’s debut album, Nkuli vs Flabba, has been made available across all digital streaming platforms (DSP).
The album was released as a hardcopy CD back in 2006. The 24-track album is still one of the most iconic hip-hop albums of the mid-2000s. As suggested by the title, the album was a conceptual body of work aimed at juxtaposing the man versus the media persona who went by the alter ego, Flabbadacious. The conceptual Nkuli vs Flabba saw the rapper juxtapose the family man Nkululeko Habedi against his beer-guzzling, rapper alter ego Flabadacious. The album was lauded as it told the SAMA award-winning musician’s personal experiences of township life as the basis of the album.
Year defining hit singles like Is’bhamu Somdoko and Bho Fatshe, were just the lead singles that were released and epitomized the stylistic choices by Flabba. The Leave My Beers Alone hitmaker created a lane of his own through fusing comedic relief, sexual innuendos and an abrasive approach to sensitive issues, to assert his unique voice in the music industry. Using his personal experiences and township life as points of departure, the Skwatta Kamp member would live up to the origins of his name; flabbergasting his audience with comedic relief, sexual innuendo and an abrasive approach to sensitive issues.
The album boasts features and collaborations with iconic and legendary contemporary artists including Kabomo, Lira, Infa, DZ, MaxHoba, HHP, Shugasmakx and Relo. Additionally, the album was one of the first local hip hop albums to use skits as transitions and a storytelling device between tracks. The hilarious skits included mixes produced by leading producer-DJs, Black Coffee and Kentphonik, as a nod to the ever-present sounds on the streets.
