\u201cAt first I didn’t know what it was, but I\u2019ve come to understand what I am fully: anxious<\/em>\u201d. These are the first words that Zoocci Coke Dope tells us, live from his studio in Johannesburg. Over the years, the producer has worked with the most triumphant and flamboyant rappers of the country. Nasty C<\/a>, Blxckie, A-Reece<\/a>, YoungstaCPT and many more have performed over his beats, while his platinum records and his awards have solidified him as the man behind South African trap music. If rap producers, especially in South Africa, have always struggled with getting the respect they deserved, this is not the case for Zoocci, who is fully and widely recognized as a proper artist. Yet, he doesn\u2019t seem to care about looking particularly successful or victorious. He\u2019s an anxious person, and is fine with it. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a pretty quiet dude, so a lot of my time was spent looking around and just keeping to myself<\/em>\u201d, he continues. \u201cA lot of thinking happens because you barely have your mouth open. If you spend too much time doing that, round and round in circles, it equates to some anxiety<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, following Morning Star <\/em>(2017) and Do Not Disturb<\/em> (2018), Zoocci had dedicated an entire album to the feeling of anxiety. Alongside rap heavyweights such as Priddy Ugly, Nasty C, FLVME, 25K or Kwesi Arthur from Ghana, he had delivered thirteen tracks whose titles set the tone: \u201cInsecure\u201d, \u201cNarcissism\u201d, \u201cParanoia Interlude\u201d… As from his beginnings, when he didn\u2019t know enough artists to give his beats to, he had rapped about pressure, stress, money or drugs over his own instrumentals, sonically signed by dark layers, trap rhythms and a tight, gloomy atmosphere. Yet, it was all written in the hope of getting better. \u201cThe stuff that I think about is not stuff to talk about to people, I\u2019d rather make songs about it<\/em>\u201d, he explains. \u201cThese are too complex issues to talk to my friends about. I can\u2019t get into the studio and record a song about anything or any random day, I have to have something that\u2019s been bothering me for the past weeks, or an overthought in my mind<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n