What seems to be a breakthrough moment that many upcoming artists would dream of is only the beginning for the Paris hitmakers.
A beginning of a dream that they’ve been working towards for over 10 years.
The trio — Q-Mark, Tpzee and Afriikan Papi — who hail from Soweto, are responsible for the banger song that has been on high rotation on most commercial radio stations and is charting at number one on Channel O, MTV Base and Trace TV for a couple of weeks now.
They say that Paris may have been their golden ticket into the game but they haven’t won the competition yet.
Upon arriving at their quaint apartment in Joburg North for an interview, Q-Mark, real name Thabelo Madiba, 29, Tpzee, who was born Thapelo Moyane, 29, and vocalist Afriikan Papi, real name Sipho Lekganyane, 28, were hard at work recording more songs.
“It is so important that we keep working. To win the game, you know,” says Afriikan Papi in high spirits.
Their recording process also featured the team’s ghost composer, Tshepo “Slick Widit” Mokoena, 30, who worked together with Q-Mark and Tpzee on the song.
Sitting and watching them in action, one would think that their method of work is jumbled, with everyone chirping in at any given moment, but to the squad, that is their winning formula.
They say that while Paris is still hot, they are gearing to drop a new single titled Nguwe at the end of the month, which is a continuation of this love story they are telling.
“It’s a continuation of what Paris is saying but emphasises more that no-one will separate us, whoever your loved one is,” explains Afriikan Papi, saying they are inspired by their own love stories.
“We are happily in love,” he says laughing.
Paris was not an instant hit and took almost two months for people to buy into it, says Slick Widit.
While trying to promote the song, they were rejected by many pubs and establishments, and that forced them to go the extra mile to get the song out there.
“After producing and perfecting the songs, Q-Mark and I would go to different places to promote it. And because we didn’t have money, we would walk long distances just to see it play at the IT spots around Soweto. That period of our lives was really testing because so many places rejected the song and some even told us that the song was trash,” he says laughing.
Slick Widit jumps in: “But because we believed in it, Q-Mark suggested that we go to every pub in Soweto to try and get an opportunity to play. We even capitalised on the fact that Q-Mark and Tpzee were full-time DJs, so they would play it non-stop. It annoyed so many people.
“I remember we even played the song for Heavy K in September last year, seeking his approval, and when he gave it the thumbs up, we knew we were onto something.”
So when the song started to gain momentum a week before Christmas and subsequently blowing up in January, no-one expected it.
“It still feels like a dream because the time when this song was blowing up, we were already working on Nguwe. Right now we have recorded close to 10 songs that are ready to be polished and released. That is the level of hunger that we have, to make our dreams come true. All the hard work that we have been putting in our individual spaces has culminated to this point,” says Q-Mark.
“Paris was born out of just another regular studio session during lockdown. The only thing we planned about the song was to centre it around love but everything else was organic. Love is a beautiful topic that resonates with anyone, young or old. And who doesn’t want to go to Paris though?”
The hard work he refers to, apart from relentlessly recording music, includes working different jobs to make ends meet while pursuing their dreams.
Q-Mark worked at a tshisa nyama in Soweto once, among many other odd jobs, but started with music as a DJ in Limpopo where he lived during high school.
Coming to Joburg , he would host street bashes in Tshiawelo and Protea Glen and that is when he started exploring with production for different genres.
No-one here was born with a silver spoon. Everything that we have, we had to work 10 times harder to achieve it
Tpzee started exploring music in 2010 as a hip-hop producer and would work a nine-to-five job in between to make ends meet. He quit his job in 2012 when the music calling became loud.
The boys, who were brought up by single mothers or grandparents, said they can’t afford to fail.
“No-one here was born with a silver spoon. Everything that we have, we had to work 10 times harder to achieve it. That is why we say this is the beginning. It’s just unfortunate that being seen on TV comes with so much pressure and expectations.
“But we would like everyone to know that this is the beginning. Whether they see us in a taxi or buying at a local shop, we are coming up. We are working towards a dream,” says a shy Tpzee.
Adding to the conversation, Afriikan Papi says: “What pushes me to keep going, to work as relentlessly as I am with the guys, is that I wouldn’t want life to go back to where it was before.
“A life of poverty, of not having or affording. I have been through a lot and seeing my life change like this has inspired me to keep going. I still have to go home and fix the house and make my family happy.”
His journey in the entertainment space started with dance in 2008 when he moved to Joburg from KwaZulu-Natal’s KwaMashu with his family.
He pursued rapping before singing and that bagged him a feature, together with his brother Just Bheki, on a Sun El Musician song titled Ngiwelele in 2020.
“We have given up a lot in the past for music, diving head first to chase the dream. And we will succeed, watch the space,” says Q-Mark.
The team has also released an eight-track EP titled Umlilo , right after Paris, and plan to ride the wave by dropping more songs the entire year.
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