Lyricism has always been at the centre of hip hop and one name synonymous with this art form is Hymphatic Thabs. ‘Those who go through’, is practically a phrase that sets this hip hop legend apart from others as it evokes nostalgia and a memory of when he first appeared on our TV screens. It has been 12 years since Thabs released an album and I had to sit down with him and enquire about the long hiatus.
As we are seated in Newtown for our interview I waste no time in asking about his absence in hip hop. “I was busy and there were things happening in the midst of these 12 years. I had a kid and there was money to be made overseas so I sought more gigs”, he explains.
He goes on to tell me that it literally took him 12 whole years to complete this album and every individual yearresulted in him completing only one song. A prolonged writer’s block was my initial thought but the OG is quick to correct me by explaining that in the midst of this ‘lyrical pause’ he was still rapping. An unlikely sub-genre that Thabs is at odds with, Trap, actually helped to solve his problem.
“I don’t do Trap but it helped me to unlock my writer’s block”, he continues. Interestingly the simplicity of Trap music gave him the inspiration to write and restore the lyricism that hip hop is currently lacking. His latest offering Centre of the Universe comes after The Age of Horuswhich was his last album 12 years prior.
The album is available on online platforms and not at music stores but when I enquire about his I am blown away by the metaphor he uses to explain. “I am using the fact that I’ve got this power and so many followers that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Instead of being stainless steel like a fork or a knife I’d rather be gold or platinum meaning that you have to dig deep in order to find my album”, he says. Now that’s what you call underground!
The album also features Jamaican reggae artist SizzlaKalonji whom Thabs collaborated with early this year. He will be launching Centre of the Universe on 14 December at Urban Zulu and is ecstatic about his current offering. If true lyricism and intricate rhyme schemes are responsible for your undying love of hip hop then this album is definitely for you.
