{"id":76009,"date":"2021-03-26T12:21:25","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T11:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=76009"},"modified":"2021-03-26T17:44:01","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T16:44:01","slug":"scorpion-kings-tresor-rumble-in-the-jungle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/scorpion-kings-tresor-rumble-in-the-jungle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Scorpion Kings invite TRESOR for a Rumble In The Jungle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amapiano artists DJ Maphorisa<\/a> and Kabza De Small<\/a>, aka Scorpion Kings, teamed up with Congolese vocalist TRESOR for 14-tracks of South Africa\u2019s best amapiano fusions. The collaboration is something of a victory lap for artists who have more than established themselves in their respective lanes. DJ Maphorisa has been pumping out hits for just under a decade, including Uhuru\u2019s \u201cY-tjukutja\u201d and gqom anthems like \u201cOncamnce\u201d. Kabza, on the other hand, holds the crown for King of amapiano, <\/em>a self given title from his debut album I Am The King of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust<\/em> which was instrumental in bringing amapiano to the mainstream today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the chart topping release of Scorpion Kings<\/em> and The Return Of The Scorpion Kings<\/em>, the duo has returned, this time bringing TRESOR into the mix. TRESOR is no stranger to musical royalty as a three-time award winner of Best Pop Album at the South African Music Awards. On the upcoming album Rumble In The Jungle<\/em>, set to release April 9th, TRESOR will have the high task of blending his distinct vocals with the heavy and mighty sounds of The Scorpion Kings.\u00a0Funu, the trio\u2019s first single released in January 2021 is a good start. The track is soulful and uplifting, matching the rhythmic dance of amapiano with the touching emotion of TRESOR\u2019s unmistakable vocals. “Folasade”, out March 26th, is another convincing notch on the kings\u2019 belt, blending the snappy percussion with a slow build of soulful, amapiano energy.\u00a0After making a few calls and sending a couple of emails we ended up getting the notoriously-hard-to-reach duo of DJ Maphorisa and Kabza de Small, along with TRESOR, to respond to some questions we sent their way. The conversation below happened over two rounds of interviews, and has been edited for both clarity and brevity. DJ Maphorisa speaks about finding a workflow with TRESOR; while TRESOR sheds light on what inspired some of the songs on the album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why the name Scorpion Kings?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maphorisa:<\/strong> It\u2019s the title of our first album, and one of the first songs we produced together. We titled it \u2018Scorpion Kings\u2019 because the sound reminded us of the desert in Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Can you recall the first few production sessions you had? Any special stories from those?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

M:<\/strong> The first few sessions for us was really understanding each other’s sound and trying to fuse ideas to create a sound that would be distinct, without realising that we were creating Scorpion Kings. It was about the music, it was about collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Aart Verrips<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Is there a difference in approach when producing work with other artist, versus when you produce work for yourselves? If so, what is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M:<\/strong> Each artist is different, everybody has a unique sound and when you\u2019re working on production, you have to make sure that the instruments gel together with the artist. But the most important part of production is making sure that you and whoever you\u2019re working with, have synergy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How did y’all meet, and what made you want to start working together?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M:<\/strong> We obviously had heard of each other prior to meeting up, but I had booked Kabza for one of my shows, and soon after that we linked up, hit the studio and created magic. We then decided to make loads of music and that was really the birth of the partnership between the two of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TRESOR:<\/strong> I have known Maphorisa for over 5 years and we\u2019ve done some unfinished work together, but this is the time we\u2019ve completed a project. I met Kabza through Maphorisa about 2 years back.This will be our first ever release.Right timing was important for us to make the music we\u2019ll all be proud of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When do you know that a song is a hit?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M:<\/strong> There\u2019s no secret recipe to making hits but we\u2019d say, it\u2019s a hit when you can\u2019t get the lyrics or beat out of your head. It\u2019s hard to explain!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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