Slege Lee > The Metropolitan Kingz Emcee

Slege Lee is a Metropolitan Kingz emcee based in J-Sec. Born by struggle stalwarts. According to Slege Lee, his father was one of the Treason Trialists of 1956, but he prefers not to reveal his name as his parents prefer to be out of the public eye. His parents were forced into exile by the racist apartheid government and consequently, he was born in Zambia in the eighties and came to South Africa in 1990.

Growing up in a politically inclined family, he was politicized from a young age. He was introduced to hip hop in 1990 and fell in love with it instantly. He said: “From the crazy outfits; the streetwise slang; the attitude, to the funky beats and the youthful expression it offered kids from the ghetto. As a young cat, I was not very loud. I was the type of kid who played the corner and analysed situations from a distance. Rhyming gave me a voice. Writing rhymes allowed me to release whatever shit I was bottling inside.”

He named himself Slege Lee when he was ten years old after watching a cartoon. Sledge was the name of one of the villains in that cartoon. He then spelled Sledge without alphabet “D.” According to Slege Lee, the philosophy behind how he decided to spell “Sledge” as “Slege” is that there can exist no (D)evils but only (G)od. He then added Lee as he had enormous respect for a martial arts actor Bruce Lee when he was very young.

 I asked him about what hip hop means to him and what inspired him to write his song ‘I am Hip Hop’ and this is what he had to say: “Hip Hop means home. Growing up, my parents were rarely around, so I learnt about life from the streets and rap music was a soundtrack to that life. Hip Hop to me is culture. The track ‘I am Hip hop’ basically explains my introduction to hip hop and how it eventually took over my whole life to a point where I’ll protect the art form, however I can with the might I possess. It speaks to my dedication to hip hop and the fact that I represent the art form to the fullest, making me the personification of hip hop in the flesh.”

He recently dropped a Renaissance King Freestyle Mixtape. This is what he had to say about the mixtape: “I chose old school beats that I always wanted to spit on growing up. It’s basically a showcase of my lyrical ability before I drop my solo project called ‘Knowledge is Power.’ On the Renaissance King Freestyle Project, it’s all Slege. I worked quite a lot with my boy Tresor on couple of videos.” You can download the mixtape on this link: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/a5lzkr1lmqlog/slege_lee_-_renaissance_king_freestyles_(2014)

According to Slege Lee, his next project ‘Knowledge is Power’ would be more diverse. It will feature Bonezitto of SMC, 12 Gage of Metropolitan Kingz and a young talented rapper called Replica. Some of the producers that he had worked with on Knowledge is Power are: DJ Cuebur from Soulcandi, R.O.X, Prince and 12 Gage. He will release the project independently under the Metropolitan Kingz imprint. It will be available as free digital download. Only hard copies would be sold.

I asked him if there is any future for rap music in South Africa and he said: “Hip Hop is an unstoppable force because it was born in the ghettos of this planet where the people are oppressed and have no place to get their voices heard. As long as there is injustice and inequality in the world, there will be a place for hip hop. Corporates and multinationals are doing their best to hijack hip hop, so that they determine the content of what we speak on. That is why all we see is hip hop that speaks about sex, partying, clothes, cars, money and drugs.”

I then asked him whether can rappers make money out of rap music and this is what he had to say: “Knowledge is Power. Unless rappers educate themselves about how to register their songs with all the correct institutions and educate themselves about how this industry works, they will not be able to make a living out of their own music. There is a lot of money in the music industry and it is possible to make a living off rap.”

He has done collaborations with the likes of Cush Solomon, Mizchif, P-Flow Ngulube and Roger Soulstar. His message to ghetto youth goes: “Your ancestors were great scientists, astrologists, mathematicians, artists, investors and children of the most high. Never forget that. Always strive to follow in the footsteps of the greatness that brought you to this world. The ghetto was created to kill your spirit… don’t let it.”

You can follow, watch videos and listen to audio of Slege Lee and his crew Metropolitan Kingz on the following links:

https://soundcloud.com/slegelee

https://soundcloud.com/metropolitankingz

https://www.youtube.com/user/SlegeLee/videos

https://www.youtube.com/user/mkmovement/videos

http://www.reverbnation.com/slegelee

www.slegelee.com

www.metropolitankingz.co.za

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slege-Lee/114083201145

https://twitter.com/slegelee


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Amalahle Ashushu

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