Nasty C

Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo[1] (born 11 February 1997), known professionally as Nasty C, is a South African rapper, songwriter and record producer.

Nasty C
Nasty C in 2018
Background information
Birth nameNsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo
Also known as
  • Ivyson
  • The Coolest Kid In Africa[1]
Born (1997-02-11) 11 February 1997
Diepkloof, Soweto, Johannesburg
OriginDurban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • producer
  • Singer
  • Songwriter
Instruments
Years active2013–present
LabelsTall Racks Records
RedBull Music Group
Def Jam Records
Universal Music Africa
Associated acts
Websitewww.ivyson.co.za

After releasing two mixtapes and two EP, Ngcobo released his critically acclaimed debut album Bad Hair (2016), and Strings and Bling (2018) which was associated and supported by his first tour, The Ivyson Tour.[2][3]

He was the youngest recipient for an award at the 2015 South African Hip Hop Awards, namely the Best Freshman Award.[4][5]

In March 2020, Nasty C signed a joint venture deal with Def Jam Records, releasing the single "There They Go" as his debut single in the United States.[6]

Life and career

1997–2015: Early life and initial mixtapes

Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo was born on 11 February 1997 in Diepkloof, a borough of Soweto, Johannesburg. After the passing of his mother who was involved in a fatal car crash while he was 11 months, he relocated to Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal to be raised by his father, David Maviyo Ngcobo, who is a human resources manager.[7] He has an older brother, Siyabonga Ngcobo, who influenced him to rap as he learnt the basics of producing music from him while he was nine. Ngcobo attended Strelitzia Secondary School in Lotus Park, Durban where he completed his 12th grade.[8]

At the age of fifteen, Ngcobo released his debut mixtape One Kid, a Thousand Coffins on 14 May 2012.[9] He then released his debut EP L.A.M.E (Levitating Above My Enemies) on 4 April 2014.[10] The following year on 10 February, he released his second mixtape Price City which produced the successful single "Juice Back" that raised his prominence.[11] "Juice Back" later spawned a Gemini Major-produced remix featuring singer Davido and rapper Cassper Nyovest on 20 November 2015.[12]

2016–2017: Bad Hair
Main article: Bad Hair (album)

On 11 February 2016. Ngcobo released "Hell Naw" which was later revealed to be the lead single from his upcoming debut album.[13] On 23 September, Ngcobo then released his debut album, Bad Hair under Mabala Noise Entertainment. For the album's artwork, he got his fans on Twitter to email him their portraits showing their bad hair periods, he then combined all the portraits in an artistic manner assembling his face.[14] Bad Hair reached number-one on the iTunes local charts and was the most streamed album in South Africa within its 24 hours.[15] Ngcobo released a 14-minute film featuring three songs from Bad Hair directed by Kyle Lewis. The short-film which included tracks "Don't Do It'", "Good Girls and Snapchat Hoes" and "Phases" featuring Rowlene, was commercially featured in several countries including France, Germany, UK and the US, which was infrequent for an African video.[16]

On 2 December 2016, Ngcobo released the extended version for Bad Hair named Bad Hair Extensions.[17] Bad Hair Extension featured new four songs including the lead single Allow featuring American rapper French Montana. In winning many accolades for both 2016 and 2017, Ngcobo received his biggest nomination which was for the 2017 BET Award for Best International Act: Africa where he lost to Wizkid.[18] He was also nominated for the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards.[19] Ngcobo was ranked number-three on the 2017 MTV Base: SA's Hottest MCs.[20]

2018: UMG deals and Strings and Bling
Main article: Strings and Bling

On 16 February, Ngcobo signed a distribution deal with Universal Music Africa[21] in partnership with Universal Music South Africa and a talent booking deal with UMG Live Africa.[22] On 1 June, during his visit to Nigeria, he signed a distribution deal with Universal Music Group Nigeria,[23] before the pre-release of his singles, "Jungle" and "King" featuring American rapper A$AP Ferg, from his second album, Strings and Bling.[24] In June 2018, during a press release with Premium Times,[23] the general manager of Universal Music Group Nigeria, Ezegozie Eze said "Strings and Bling is a testament to skill, craft and passion that he brings to his game every single time, and we are thrilled to bring this excellent body of work to the market". Strings and Bling was then released on 6 July 2018 in both digital and physical formats.[25][26] TimesLIVE named Strings and Bling one of the best hip hop albums in South Africa, and it was also included in the list of hip hop albums on Tina magazine.[27][28] The album's other singles include "SMA" featuring Rowlene, and the promotional single "Gravy".

In 20 August 2018, Ngcobo established his own record label, Tall Racks Records.[29] His long-term associated singer Rowlene was the first act to sign under the label, alongside himself. Ngcobo began the Ivyson Tour on 6 October 2018, at the Melrose Arch in Durban. The tour with five consecutive shows (four in South Africa and one in Namibia) was a success with filled up attendance.[30] As for 2019, Ngcobo was named the ambassador of the male grooming company, Axe South Africa.[31]

2019–present: Def Jam Africa and Zulu Man with Some Power

Ngcobo made the third installment of his concert tour, The Ivyson Tour, which kicked-off on 20 September 2019, in Cape Town, Western Cape.[32][33] On 27 September 2019, he released "God Flow" featuring rapper crownedYung, the lead single of his upcoming third studio album, Zulu Man with Some Power. It has been reported that there are international artists who are going to appear on the album.[34][35]

In March 2020, Billboard reported that Nasty C signed a joint venture deal with Def Jam Records, with the release of single "There They Go" as his debut under the label.[36]

In April 2020, Nasty C released the visual EP Lost Files, with the songs presented in performance clips on YouTube. He explained the EP's concept stating: "They're songs that didn't make it onto certain projects, songs that ended up as just ideas". On 14 May, the EP was uploaded on Apple Music.[37]

On 5 May, Nasty C teamed up with American rapper T.I. for the protest song "They Don't". Proceeds from the song benefit the non-profit organizations Until Freedom and Solidarity Fund, with lyrics  referencing the death of George Floyd.[38] On 20 May 2020, Nasty C made his acting debut with a cameo role in the six-part Netflix African original young adult series Blood & Water, playing the role of music producer KB.[39] On 28 May 2020, Nasty C signed with Universal Music Group flagship Def Jam Africa.[40] On 25 June, he released a collaborative mixtape with DJ Whoo Kid, titled Zulu.[41]

After several postponements, on 6th of August, Nasty C took to his social media and announced that his most anticipated album Zulu Man With Some Power is going to be released within the month of August. He dropped the track list of 20 songs featuring international and local artists including Big Sean, 6LACK, kwesta, Shane Eagle, Tellaman, Runtown, Young Thug, Swae Lee, Rowlene and Tshego.[42]

Discography
Main article: Nasty C discography

Studio albums

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Note Ref.
2020 Blood & Water Zero [39]

Tours

Headlining tours
  • The Ivyson Tour (2017–present)

Awards and nominations

[43]

Year Award Ceremony Prize Work/Recipient Result
2015
South African Hip Hop Awards 2015 Best Freshman[44] Himself Won
2016
South African Hip Hop Awards 2016 Lyricist Of The Year[45] Himself Nominated
2017
16th Metro FM Music Awards Best New Artist[46] Bad Hair Extensions Won
Best Male Album[46] Bad Hair Extensions Won
Best Hip Hop Album[46] Bad Hair Extensions Won
Song of the Year[46] Hell Naw Won
BET Awards Best International Act: Africa[47] Himself Nominated
gollark: Isn't inter-VM networking... not massively hard?
gollark: Also, screenshots.
gollark: But it's kind of bad.
gollark: I mean, if you want the code *now* for some reason, I'll give you it?
gollark: Yes, Lua exists and I could embed it somehow, but there are !!FUN!! challenges with that:- the API is kind of unsafe so the Rust wrappers are not great- I would also have to write a bunch of glue code to allow interacting with pages and whatever, which is especially hard as my code is asynchronous- I'd *also* have to work out a nice way to integrate scripting into the interfæce still.

See also

References
  1. Methil, Renuka (8 June 2020). "The Def Jam Star And Trend-Setter In African Music: 'I Come From A Place Where Dreaming Is Not A Thing'". Forbes Africa. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  2. "Nasty C's Bad Hair turns out good - the review". TRUE Africa.
  3. "Album Review – Nasty C's "Strings & Bling"". The Plug.
  4. "2015 SOUTH AFRICAN HIP HOP AWARD WINNERS". MTV Base. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  5. Klein, Alyssa. "And The 2015 South African Hip-Hop Awards Winners Are..." OkayAfrica. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  6. "South Africa's Star Rapper Nasty C Signs with Def Jam Recordings: Exclusive". Billboard. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  7. "This is how Nasty C got his name". Channel24.
  8. "Nasty C goes big at 20". Roodepoort Northsider.
  9. "One Kid a Thousand Coffins by Nasty_C on Apple Music". Apple Music.
  10. "Nasty_C, Nasty_C New Releases: C L.A.M.E EP (Extended Play Version) on Beatport". pro.beatport.com. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  11. "Nasty C drops hot video". East Coast Radio.
  12. "Davido & Cassper Nyovest Remix 18-Year-Old Rapper Nasty C's 'Juice Back'". Okayafrica. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  13. "Jam of the Day: Nasty C – Hell Naw". People Magazine.
  14. "Nasty C Debuts The "Bad Hair" Album Cover". SA Hip Hop Mag.
  15. "Nasty C's Bad Hair Tops iTunes Album Chart, Despite Being Free". Quench SA.
  16. "Apple Music praises Nasty C's 'epic' Bad Hair video". EastCoastRadio.
  17. "Nasty C - Bad Hair Extensions (File, AAC, Album)". Discogs.
  18. "BABES, AKA AND NASTY C NOMINATED FOR BET AWARDS!". Daily Sun.
  19. "Babes Wodumo, Nasty C nominated for #MTVEMA". DStv.
  20. "MTV Base drops off South Africa's #HottestMCs list". The South African.
  21. "Nasty C confirms exclusive deal with Universal Music". Independent Online. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  22. "rapper nasty c signs exclusive deal with universal music and umg live". UMG Live Africa. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  23. "Nasty C shares two new singles, 'King', 'Jungle' | Premium Times Nigeria". Premium Times. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  24. "Nasty C is back with new music featuring A$AP Ferg". Destiny Man.
  25. KEKANA, CHRIZELDA. "Strings and Bling is here & we're obsessed! Here are 5 reasons why!". TimesLive. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  26. "Nasty C's 'Strings And Bling' Is Out And People Love It". TheHuffingtonPost. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  27. "Strings and Blings is here & we're obsessed! Here are 5 reasons why!". TimesLIVE.
  28. "Best Rapper In South Africa Now: Top 10 South African Rappers 2018". TINA Magazine. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  29. "Nasty C Announces His New 'Tall Racks Records' Label & First Artist Signed". Hype Magazine.
  30. "Nasty C announces Ivyson Tour dates". Political Analysis South Africa.
  31. "Nasty C On His Axe Ambassadorship". People Magazine.
  32. "Nasty C Announces Dates for Third Installment of Ivyson Tour". OkayAfrica.
  33. "Nasty C 'The Ivyson Tour' - Cape Town". Shelflife.
  34. "God Flow featuring Crowned Yung by Nasty C". Apple Music.
  35. "Everything We Know About Nasty C's New Album". ZAlebs.
  36. "South Africa's Star Rapper Nasty C Signs with Def Jam Recordings: Exclusive". Billboard. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  37. Mkhabela, Sabelo (14 May 2020). "You Can Now Stream Nasty C's 'Lost Files' EP". Okay Africa. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  38. Strauss, Matthew (8 June 2020). "T.I. and Nasty C Share New Song "They Don't": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  39. Ngwadla, Nkosazana (14 May 2020). "Rapper Nasty C makes his acting debut in Netflix's 'Blood & Water'". Channel 24. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  40. Adegoke, Yinka. "The legendary hip hop label Def Jam has been launched in Africa". Quartz Africa. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  41. Strauss, Hiphopza (25 June 2020). "Nasty C Shares New Mixtape With Dj Whoo Kid"Zulu": Listen". Hiphopza. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  42. Trend, Scoop (6 August 2020). "Nasty C to drop Zulu Man With Some Power This Month. - Scooptrend". South African Music Download - Fakaza MP3 | Scooptrend. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  43. "2018 HitNaija Updates". Nasty C Becomes Record Label Owner, Signs Rowlene. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  44. "2015 SAHHA WINNERS". SA Hip Hop Awards. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  45. "Sahha 3 nominated 2016". SA Hip Hop Awards. Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  46. "FULL LIST: Metro FM Award winners 2017". Channel 24. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  47. "BET Awards 2017 | Best International Act – Africa | Nominees". BET.com. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
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