Press release. For immediate release. 18th Sept 2007.
To help engage grass roots support for their first release Planetary Assault and future projects, Pioneer Unit launches a new marketing initiative, the ‘Street Pioneers’ street team.
Street Pioneers is a group of highly motivated individuals who represent the Pioneer Unit brand on the streets. Their job is to let everyone know about the latest music, events, and releases from the labels.
The ‘street team’ concept is common in the US and Europe but not widely used as a promotional tool in South Africa. Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways of generating buzz on the streets, which is after all where Hip Hop lives.
Big thanks to DJ Eazy for organising a nice little interview with Contro’Versy, the host of MK89’s Hip Hop show. The crew came through to the Planetary Assault launch party to see how we get down and talk to us about what we’re planning for the future. The interview aired last night on DSTV’s MK89.
They also showed the video for ‘How We Roll’ by KONFAB, featuring Jaak, which is the first single from Planetary Assault.
Don’t worry if you missed it - you can catch repeats of the show throughout the week…
We’re proud to announce that the premiere graffiti supply, streetwear & sneaker desination in South Africa, Shelflife, are now stocking Pioneer Unit merchandise and music.
Get down there to grab yourself the limited edition ‘Shield’, ‘How We Roll’ and ‘Kill Ya Sound’ t-shirts (as seen on TV). You can also get the hottest Hip Hop album in SA right now, Planetary Assault.
Check them out 119 Loop Street (1st floor). Call (021) 422 3931 or 082 293 5034 for more details.
Check out footage of the Planetary Assault launch party and artist interviews on the Hip Hop show on MK89, between 7.00pm-7.30pm on Saturday 15th September (that’s tomorrow).
MK89 is channel 89 on DSTV. If you don’t have DSTV, get yourself round to someone who does!
Once again, another Pioneer Unit first! This time it’s a Cuba / Cape Town connect.
After bumping into Ephniko at DJ Eazy’s show at UCT Radio, we had to get down with our second groundbreaking collabo. Having made history with ‘My People’, a collaboration between UK Grime artists Purple Simba and Shyam, and Cape Town Hip Hoppers Terror MC& Ben Sharpa, we had to continue the series by putting together Spanish-speaking Cuban rapper Ephniko and our very own Afrikaans-speaking Terror MC.
The track is called ‘Third World Citizens’. It addresses issues of racism and colonialism in both Cuba and South Africa. The beat uses samples of traditional Zimbabwean folk singing with djembas and marimbas. The effect is intentionally ambiguous as these instruments are common to both Latin America and South Africa.
I almost forgot to mention, the track is FIRE! Look at for it soon…
Driemanskap & Macho performing ‘Go and Ask’ to a packed club
KONFAB and Jaak - ‘How We Roll’, RRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrr!!!
DJ Eazy sporting his Pioneer Unit ‘How We Roll’ t-shirt
Jaak answers questions for MK89
What can I say? We killed it!
The night started with Nastie Ed spinning hard Hip Hop with an electronic edge to warm up the crowd as they arrived. The dancers from Hip Hop Connexion bust some nice moves to get the crowd hyper in readiness for the performances to begin. Eeshaam September and Sara Chitambo (from Goodhope FM and ETV respectively) were the hosts for the night, doing the job with style and grace.
All the performers gave 100% and the energy was intense inside the intimate surroundings of The Roosevelt. If I had to choose one highlight it would be all the artists coming on stage together at the end of the set and freestyling over the ‘Welcome to Jamrock’ dub. It was the perfect end to a massive performance.
South African beatbox champion Mr. Ray, who drove the crowd wild, had an impromptu battle with Kid Kleva from The Realists. Klinikal and DJ Hamma also put on an amazing display of live beat creation and scratching which was a uniquely inspired combination.
DJ Fletcher from African Dope and Nastie Ed kept the party going until the exhausted (but very happy) club manager finally shut us down at 3.30am - not bad for a Wednesday night.
All in all it was very satisfying to prove that Cape Town Hip Hop is very much alive and kicking. Watch out Joburg, you’re next!
What’s up people! Hope you all had a nice weekend!
We were busy as always. KONFAB came to the studio and started recording his new album joint, ‘Solar Eclipse’. It’s been a while since we recorded so it’s nice to get back to being creative after spending so much time on ‘business’, marketing and admin. ‘Solar Eclipse’ features a beat by none other than DJ Raiko. It’s definitely gonna be another KONFAB classic.
My man Ben Sharpa also came over and we shot a quick Youtube video for ‘Into the Black (Remix)’. Nothing fancy, we just got out on the roof of my apartment block with my Canon Ixus 65 and shot one take. Straight into iMovie, synced up the sound and BAM! 15 mins work. High production values and well-crafted videos are great, but not enough people just make quick low-budget videos for Youtube. Sometimes fans just want to see the artist and hear the song - think of it as an mp3 with some added visuals.
