| Tumi Molekane | |
|---|---|
 Stogie T performing atHarare International Festival of the Arts 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Boitumelo Molekane |
| Also known as | The Poet MC Stogie T |
| Born | (1981-08-16)16 August 1981 (age 43) Tanzania |
| Origin | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Citizenship | |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2005-present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | tumipoetmc |
Tumi Molekane (born 16 August 1981) is aTanzanian-born South African rapper and poet. He was the lead vocalist ofTumi and the Volume, that was officially disbanded in 2012.[1] In 2016, Tumi relaunched himself asStogie T[2] and released an eponymous album, which featuredDa L.E.S, Lastee,Emtee,Nasty C,Nadia Nakai andYanga.[3] He has two singles from the album. The first single "Diamond Walk" features rapper Nadia Nakai in the video. His second single from the album, "By Any Means", features a hook and verses from Emtee and Yanga.[3]
Tumi and the Volume also comprises the members of the Mozambican band340ml.[4]
Molekane was born in Tanzania while his South African parents lived in exile there.[5] In 1992, he repatriated to South Africa and took up residence inSoweto.
In 2005, Tumi recorded the song "Trade Winds" withCincinnati-based rapperMain Flow. In 2006, he published his debut album,Music from My Good Eye, through his record label Motif Records. The album was later listed as one of the greatest South African albums of all time.[6]
In 2006, he was published in the Americanliterary journalThe Subterranean Quarterly.[7]
Tumi was involved in theDead Prez show around late in 2000 and also took part in the Black August tour to South Africa in 2001.[8]
He has performed with South African recording artistsBlk Sonshine,Keorapetse Kgositsile,Watkin Tudor Jones,Lesego Rampolokeng, as well as other internationally renowned names includingSaul Williams, Sarah Jones andMutabaruka. Tumi has also worked alongsideChinese Man, a French hip-hop crew, producing the albumThe Journey together in 2015.[9]
In his bookStealing Empire: P2P, Intellectual Property and Hip-hop Subversion (2008), Professor Adam Haupt of theUniversity of Cape Town analyzed the lyrics Molekane wrote for the Tumi and the Volume song "76", as well as others. Among Haupt's arguments are that contemporary hip-hop music provides critical insights into the inheritance of violence in post-apartheid South Africa.[10]
He contends that, despite commercial and often sexist imperatives in mainstream hip-hop music, South Africa has produced a number of socially conscious hip-hop artists, who are reluctant to compromise their art and political views. In 2016, Tumi was featured on Ghanaian rapperM.anifest's albumNowhere Cool.In 2018, Stogie releasedHoney and Pain, which is the follow-up to his eponymous 2016 album.[11] On 8 October 2021, he signed a record deal withDef Jam Africa,[12] and was confirmed by Def Jam Africa on 12 January 2022.[13]
In 2022, Tumi performed at aWorld Intellectual Property Day event at the headquarters of theWorld Intellectual Property Organization inGeneva, Switzerland. In an interview withWIPO Magazine, Tumi said: "I tell every 18-year-old who wants to rap that if they spend just one hour understanding what music publishing is, what IP is, what royalties are, and what their rights are, they will do more for their music than the three hours they spend onYouTube figuring out how to mix a new drum pattern. The entry barrier to music is virtually nonexistent now because of technology. That makes musicians vulnerable and means they need to be IP savvy."[14]
In sharing his views on how musicians can monetise their work, he said that "streaming is like a business card; it's a way to get people familiar with your music while you take advantage of other channels to make money."[14]
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
