The post MashBeatz & Cotton Fest Creative Programme Team Up For Class Of 2026 Mixtape Featuring Rising Talents appeared first on SA Hip Hop Mag.
MashBeatz & Cotton Fest Creative Programme Team Up For Class Of 2026 Mixtape Featuring Rising Talents. The beat never stops in the City of Gold. Just as the curtains closed on the physical stages of Cotton Fest in 2025, its spirit has multiplied in the most fitting way possible.
Through the University of Cotton Fest Creative Programme comes the Class of 2026 Mixtape, a sonic graduation ceremony produced by multi-platinum heavyweight MashBeatz.
Announced earlier this month and set to drop across all digital platforms at midnight tonight (Friday, 27 March 2026), the project is no ordinary compilation. It is the culmination of a week-long bootcamp held in June 2025.
Ten Open Mic alumni from Cotton Fest editions between 2022 and 2025 gathered, many meeting for the first time, to craft what organisers call the hip hop South Africa needs right now. The result is a bold, boundary-pushing collection that blends raw hip hop, pulsating amapiano, smooth R&B, infectious Afropop, gritty trap, and alternative textures into a unified soundtrack of youthful ambition, resilience, and unfiltered storytelling.
At the helm is MashBeatz, whose real name is Nhlawulo Shipambuli Mashimbyi. He is the Limpopo-raised, Soweto-bred producer, composer, engineer, and DJ who has been shaping South African hip hop since he picked up his first beat.
With a resume that includes landmark work alongside A Reece, Maglera Doe Boy, Wordz, Ami Faku, Riky Rick, and Thato Saul, MashBeatz brings his signature precision and cultural depth to the project. Early teases from participating artists hint at additional production flourishes from Zackey and BZM, adding even more layers to the sonic feast
The lineup reads like a who’s who of the next wave. Ten voices from Durban to Cape Town, Mpumalanga to the Free State, each carrying the distinct flavours of their hometowns into a national conversation:
PEGG, the 23-year-old Durban experimentalist and self-proclaimed Supamlungu, whose sharp bars and fearless stage energy have already turned heads.
Risky T RSA, the 19-year-old Ntuzuma firebrand fusing isiZulu and English trap with King Von-level street realism.
Billy G SA, Cape Town prolific drill trap R and B veteran who has been grinding since 2012 and boasts over 700 recorded tracks.
Polly T, Kraaifontein lyricist supreme and 2024 Cotton Fest Open Mic champion.
Orchid MusiQ, Durban trailblazing singer-songwriter, the first woman to win the Durban Open Mic, who weaves Afrobeats, amapiano, and pop with soulful command.
Bizzy Acwesh, the Eastern Cape to Jozi storyteller blending isiXhosa hip hop and Afropop with raw tales of hustle and home.
Tallrickyworldwide, Khayelitsha Loxion Hype ambassador, merging township narratives with global hip hop swagger.
Tr3.lxgy, Emalahleni melodic trap rap geek turning everyday life into anthems.
Nino Fresko, Bethlehem multi-hyphenate Fresko Sound architect, drawing from Kendrick, Khuli Chana, and Pharrell while moonlighting in fashion and animation.
LUUKHANYO, Cape Town genre-defying R&B, hip hop, jazz vocalist with millions of streams and festival credits from Cotton Fest to MTN Bushfire.
This is not just a mixtape. It is a masterclass in the University of Cotton Fest ethos. Launched in 2022 under visionary leader Bianca Naidoo, the Creative Programme was designed as a symbolic campus where creativity is the curriculum and culture is the classroom. Inspired by the late Riky Rick’s unwavering belief in youth empowerment, it has mentored emerging artists, designers, and cultural entrepreneurs long after the festival lights dimmed.
As Naidoo put it, the UCF Creative Programme was born from a vision to create real opportunities for young creatives across South Africa. It is about continuing the dream that Riky Rick believed in, empowering young people, investing in creativity, and reminding them that their voices, their stories, and their art matter.
The mantra echoing through every track and every post is We never die. We multiply. Cotton Fest may have wrapped its main event era in Newtown and The Station, but through initiatives like this, the culture refuses to fade. Instead, it evolves, louder, fresher, and more interconnected than ever.
The post MashBeatz & Cotton Fest Creative Programme Team Up For Class Of 2026 Mixtape Featuring Rising Talents appeared first on SA Hip Hop Mag.
The post MashBeatz & Cotton Fest Creative Programme Team Up For Class Of 2026 Mixtape Featuring Rising Talents appeared first on SA Hip Hop Mag.
MashBeatz & Cotton Fest Creative Programme Team Up For Class Of 2026 Mixtape Featuring Rising Talents. The beat never stops in the City of Gold. Just as the curtains closed on the physical stages of Cotton Fest in 2025, its spirit has multiplied in the most fitting way possible. MashBeatz & Cotton Fest Creative Programme …
The post MashBeatz & Cotton Fest Creative Programme Team Up For Class Of 2026 Mixtape Featuring Rising Talents appeared first on SA Hip Hop Mag. Read More
