Pretoria’s finest Buzzi Lee is a rap goddess who’s planning to take on the SA hip-hop industry by storm.
Real name Bontle Makhwelo, Buzzi Lee was born and raised in Atteridgeville, aka Pheli, which is home to some of the country’s biggest rappers; 25K and Thato Saul.
While Makhwelo broke into the industry a few years ago, her big come-up only happened this year as she’s recognised as one of five musicians who are nominated for an Emerging Artists of the Year award at the Basadi Music Awards taking place next week Saturday at Joburg Theatre.
“Rapping is a talent I didn’t know I had. I got into the music space by hanging out with producers in the studio after school when I was in varsity. I would see different rappers come in and out of the studio to make music and I’d always watch in awe of the music process,” she told Sowetan SMag.
“Composing a song from start to finish has always fascinated me. The production of the beat to the artist finding a flow and writing lyrics to the beat and the end product where the song would be complete and got mixed and mastered.
“I then got convinced by several producer friends to try rapping out as they believed I would be good in the music space judging from my taste in music. So I tried it out and the rest is history.”
The 25-year-old is known for her captivating Spitori raps and how she is able to hold her own alongside the likes of Blxckie, AKA, Costa Titch, Riky Rick and other SA hip-hop stars.
“I was 20 years old when I discovered my talent in music. I didn’t mentally prepare myself for what comes with being in the music space, as I didn’t know I’d blow up and actually become successful in this field,” Makhwelo said about her addition to the hip-hop fraternity. “I honestly just rolled with it and took everything day by day. I also studied media studies so I was sort of already always around the lights and cameras but more so behind the scenes.
“When I was in high school, I was a huge Nicki Minaj fan, I knew all her lyrics better than my school work. In more recent years, I’ve been heavily inspired by Sho Madjozi who has her own unique style of approaching music and the fact that she also uses her own language as her medium of choice to speak to her supporters and still that music that is driven by being African is getting her to all different parts of the world and she is conquering her dreams by being herself and true to her culture and upbringing.”
Although she was exposed to the ins and outs of the entertainment industry as a production crew assistant, the Enjoyment singer said that being an artist was an easy adjustment as she knew how it was working with talent and what was expected of her as an artist.
“I would enquire about being an artist to those who came before me about how to deal with anything I didn’t know. I’d ask their opinion and advice on how to not let the negativity get me down and how to keep my head up high with the reminder of why I started this journey in the first place,” she said.
“Being born and raised in Pheli, Atteridgeville, Pretoria, has shaped my music in the sense that the subjects I speak of reflect my experience of my hood. From what I witnessed growing up to our lingo which I use with pride in my songs... Se Pitori is a language that’s derived from the very streets that made me who I am today.”
Makhwelo started honing her rapping skills while studying in 2018 and 2019. She then worked her way up the rap ladder with songs such as Koloi, Pheli via Church and Sho Boy. “I would describe my sound as ‘trapiano’ so to say. It’s a fusion of trap/hip-hop beats that are consisting of amapiano elements here and there just to give a South African touch to it because as much as hip-hop derives from overseas, I need to still represent where I am from by always putting in a South African touch to my sound,” she said.
Makhwelo’s future plans are to keep experimenting with different sounds and reach a wider audience of people from different age groups who wouldn’t normally gravitate towards new-age hip-hop.
“I plan to release more singles, hopefully an EP too, and to travel the world. I want to meet and make new supporters all over the globe and get inspired by the world and put all that inspiration into my music to be able to connect on a global scale as music is a universal language.”
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