The song has been trending for a month, but the studio version is now finally available.
When Googling “Gupta” a few months ago, the first results would be about a deep corruption scandal between former South African president Jacob Zuma and the Gupta brothers, two businessmen with dark links with the state’s highest officials. But this changed when Focalistic recorded his track and changed the narrative around the case. Just like the Gupta brothers, “we all want to live the highest level of life, we want to leave the country anytime that we want, we want money and that’s where the inspiration comes from”, he tells us about his song. “Gupta is about inspiring kids to work harder. It’s also a juxtaposition, a nice play on the good and the bad. As much as we can read articles and see the bad in it, the Gupta state capture, we also look at it thinking I wish I could live like this, even if I’m going to do it the right way, I want to live this lifestyle, I want to be able to land at an airport in a private jet”.
The first extracts of the track, that Focalistic started diffusing on social media and during shows, immediately captured his public’s ear. “People went crazy”, the rapper laughs. “It’s been a month and a half people have been asking me for the song. But I like it when people choose songs. We’re always making music, we’re working hard, we’re always in the studio, but in the end the people are the one choosing. And they definitely chose this one”.
The song features Amapiano heavy weight Mr JazziQ, singer Lady Du and producers Mellow & Sleazy, riding high on South Africa’s currently most popular genre. But Focalistic wants to make sure that his music is not just about trends and going viral. “It’s never about making hits, it’s about connecting with the people, telling genuine story. We do it for the hood, we’ll always do it for our people. I’m just proud and excited that we have another song that relates to the people. They will now be inspired to be a little bit more like Gupta!”
« Gupta » available on all platforms.
Listen to Focalistic in our afro + club playlist on Spotify and Deezer.
