We catch up with up-and-coming rapper Ben Caesar who was instrumental in the making of ‘Follow Us Home’, a campaign to create more unity in the Mzansi rap industry.
‘Follow Us Home’ is not just a song with a really cool music video. Please tell us why you call it a campaign and what that entails.
We wanted the people of CPT to see their artists in different capacities and see us link and chill together. So we did interviews with the artists, shoots at the studio session and music video sets. I figure if people see their artists hanging and supporting each other, they’ll be more likely to support them themselves. But there is a bigger vision to Follow Us Home with collaboration at the heart of it all.
Why the need to make a concerted effort to bring CPT musicians together specifically? Is this happening less in CPT than, say, in Jozi in your opinion?
We started it in CPT so we wanted to rep it. There’s actually a lot of collaboration in CPT, I think you hear about more Jozi collabos because that’s where the media hub is, so whatever happens is more likely to get broadcasted. But I wouldn’t say Jozi does more.
For me a part of this campaign was about taking our culture and media in our own hands, CPT music struggles to get TV and radio so we wanted to take it and push it on our own terms without relying on tv/radio.
Tell us how the project came together.
Initially Azuhl approached me, Youngsta and Ill Skillz to do a song. I thought why not take it further, get a bigger diverse mix and shoot the whole process. I spoke to Diego, my manager, and we fleshed it out more. We went back to Azuhl and he was down with it, we pooled our resources and connections. I brought Stanley John Films on board, they composed the beat and shot the interviews and music video. Azuhl got us a session at SAE and Metalloid Studio and organised the video screening at Classics, we got Ross Gabriel to edit and master the song and it was on. There was a lot of thought and strategy actually.
SJ Films, Azuhl and myself selected artists that have made a name for themselves and who could show some of the diversity of CPT. Shout out to all of them for seeing the vision, they rocked it.
Do you think the project may kickstart something that get local cats to collaborate more? What are some of the reasons for hip hop artists not wanting to reach out or sticking to their own cliques?
Hopefully yes! That’s a big part of the project- to inspire more collabos. To show what can be done when we ‘gather’ (S/O Youngsta). We didn’t have a budget for this but we pooled our resources and made it happen in 3 months, that says a lot about the power of unity. I think fear and a scarcity mentality is what prevents people reaching beyond their own cliques, its just sad.
How important do you think collaboration is for the growth of the Mzansi hip hop industry?
It’s essential. I personally have learnt through this that if you work with like minded, inspired people, together you can achieve what you couldn’t alone.
You’re well-travelled. Tell us where you’ve been and if any of the places you’ve been to have made an impact on your music.
I’m blessed to have travelled so much. It’s been my best education. From New York, Paris, St Lucia, Holland and all the other places I’ve been to, I learnt how diverse and alike we all are. That has fed my music, music has the power to bring people from two different worlds together.
To be specific, I love the London music scene. Being there when I was young kinda sewed it into the fabric of my artistry, I guess it figures as a lot of music in the UK has been influenced by the Caribbean so dubstep, garage, bass music I understand on a level. But the SA music scene is incredible as is the Caribbean……Ah there’s too much to even start on.
Tell us about your love affair with CPT.
My mother being an activist moved down here to work so I finished my schooling here, and pretty much started my music career here. Cape Town is my Godmother she has sheltered and challenged me. I have many homes but CPT is one that fate has brought me to start my music career in. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Where did it all start out for you? Tell us how you laid the foundation in the industry before making a name for yourself.
Lol, I don’t know if I’ve made a name for myself yet, man. I learnt early that good music markets itself. So you don’t need a label or a rich family to get out there. Make music that people will talk about and connect with. That’s been my strategy from the start.
With popular tracks like Yummy Yummy and Sunday Times, it seems like a strong visual component to your tracks is always very important to you. Are you working on any new video material at the moment?
Visual has always been important for me, it’s a form of communication. The visuals add to the experience of the music they’re an extension of it. I see it as a part of the storytelling. I often work with Stanley John Films because they understand this. Dale Fortune of Stanley John Films, he’s my boy, we came up together, he produced beats on my first album! We saw it as mutually beneficial to work together so we did.
Recently we’ve been editing a lot of footage from gigs and doing interviews so more interactive visual content to come.
You’ve expressed a love for cooking in your track Yummy Yummy, what are other interests you have outside of rap that people may not know?
Honestly I love talking and engaging with people, people are amazing. I love producing actually, I’m that cat that will sit in studio all night picking out the snare. I love going outdoors, I draw, I meditate.
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