Letsopa la Rucca who’s birth name is Tshepo Makhanda is a Free- State-born hip-hop artist raised in the small town of Rouxville, Roleleathunya. He grew up listening to music his uncle played, from RnB to Kwaito. He took a liking to kwaito music, as soon as he discovered that he can write his own lyrics, him and a friend took time writing their raps. And throughout high school he would find time to sit and write his own lyrics at the comfort of his personal space, only up until he got caught reciting his lyrics by a classmate who suggested he perform at one of the school events, that he again learnt about the performance part of the music and from he engaged more with performing.

While visiting relatives in Cape Town in 2008 he got drawn into Cape Town’s hip-hop scene, but faced with challenges of fitting into Cape Town’s predominantly Spaza (Xhosa rap), Afrikaap rap (Cape Town afrikaans rap) and Boombap hip-hop circles, he retreated from the scene and re-emerged with a sound that represented where he came from and who he is. He started infusing Sotho lyrics in his music as part of his now realised style and sound. Letsopa la Rucca is known for his edgy compact lyrical style fused with seSotho word play, which has led him to attract the attention of peers from different genres for collaborations on songs. His style brought him recognition in new circles, and saw him perform at the Cape Town hip-hop’s finest event amongst Cape Town’s emerging Hip-hop acts.

He released his first mixtape project entitled “Qalong Reloaded” in 2015, a compilation of 14 tracks recorded over the period of 2010 and 2014 setting the beginning of his journey as a solo hip-hop artist. In the same year of 2015 he was invited to perform at the Dyme Hip-hop Experience held in Kimberly on the 18th of April at the Mayibuye Multipurpose Center. His highlight moment was when he got selected to perform at the Youth Unplugged concert held throughout the month of June 2015 at the Joburg Theatre, the concert was directed by Nothende, Guru from Guru Logic Band and media covered by 76 media. His consistency and hard work landed him a feature on HYPE magazine’s New Comers Delight in the Nov/Dec 2015 issue plus his mixtape landed on the “one of the mixtapes to look out for in 2015” slot of the magazine.

Currently he is working on an E.P project titled Tswelopele [a Sotho word meaning, Progress and even moving on], the EP embodies some of his experiences, aspirations and influences. The project re-introduces and expands more on his flexibility as a rapper, songwriter. The Tswelopele E.P, as a way to introduce the EP he released track titled “Pressure” which is available on his online music platforms, the tack “Pressure” is from his upcoming EP, Tswelopele.

 


 

Links to music material:

https://audiomack.com/artist/letsopa-la-rucca
https://soundcloud.com/letsopa-la-rucca

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