The post Benza Responds To Cassper’s Claim That AKA’s “Sim Dope” Took Its Concept From “Tito Mboweni” appeared first on SA Hip Hop Mag.
Benza Responds To Cassper’s Claim That AKA’s “Sim Dope” Took Its Concept From “Tito Mboweni” Cassper Nyovest has stirred a lively hip hop debate after sharing a behind-the-scenes story about how AKA’s fan-favourite “Sim Dope” once felt uncannily close to an early idea of his own.
Speaking on the L-Tido Podcast, Cassper reflected on the formative stretch ahead of his debut, when he was in talks with music executive Raphael Benza.
“I feel like, uh, man, and Kiernan is not here to correct me if I’m wrong. I always felt like ‘Sim Dope’ was like a bite of a song that I almost released on my first album, and then somehow the camp got my album,” Cassper said.
“I was almost signed to Benza, and then ‘Sim Dope’ sounded exactly like a record I was doing. I chopped the song from the album. The funny thing is that the song was ‘Tito Mboweni.’ So there was another version of Tito Mboweni… I always felt like ‘Sim Dope’ was like a concept from like a person like Tito Mboweni. And he had the same drum beat. It was at that time when Lex Luger was doing that sound… but I never got any confirmation.”
Cassper’s recollection leans on a very specific moment in sonics, when hard-hitting trap drums and Lex Luger’s influence were running through the genre. He suggests that an earlier take of “Tito Mboweni” occupied a similar conceptual lane, enough for him to remove that version from his first album’s lineup once he heard “Sim Dope.”
Raphael Benza, the Vth Season executive who helped steer some of the era’s key releases, publicly responded to Cassper’s story and drew a clear boundary around the claim.
“Okay, I will correct you. You are wrong… The only thing I can confirm is that you were almost signed by BENZA… You guys are two different types of artists… SA did best by having you two around at the Same Damn Time. We all benefited… Don’t think that era will ever happen again in the South African Music Industry… But God knows we need it again… #RIPAKA… Keep your movement moving @casspernyovest..”
Benza’s message both challenges Cassper’s memory and celebrates the competitive spark that defined a golden stretch for SA hip hop. Cassper himself acknowledged that he never received “confirmation,” framing his account as a feeling rather than a settled fact.
The post Benza Responds To Cassper’s Claim That AKA’s “Sim Dope” Took Its Concept From “Tito Mboweni” appeared first on SA Hip Hop Mag.
The post Benza Responds To Cassper’s Claim That AKA’s “Sim Dope” Took Its Concept From “Tito Mboweni” appeared first on SA Hip Hop Mag.
Benza Responds To Cassper’s Claim That AKA’s “Sim Dope” Took Its Concept From “Tito Mboweni” Cassper Nyovest has stirred a lively hip hop debate after sharing a behind-the-scenes story about how AKA’s fan-favourite “Sim Dope” once felt uncannily close to an early idea of his own. Benza Responds To Cassper’s Claim That AKA’s “Sim Dope” …
The post Benza Responds To Cassper’s Claim That AKA’s “Sim Dope” Took Its Concept From “Tito Mboweni” appeared first on SA Hip Hop Mag. Read More
