25K Drops Highly Anticipated Debut Album “Pheli Makaveli”

Curated by Zoocci Coke Dope

Today, Atteridgeville born rapper, 25k ‘The Plug’ finally drops his debut album ‘Pheli Makaveli’ arguably the most anticipated hip hop release of 2021. ‘Pheli Makaveli’ tells the gripping tale of a young hustler on the come-up. “The project is about my upbringing, my story and my journey before the music and when I fell in love with the music. It sums up a bit of everything about me from back when I was in the streets, hustling, when I used to stand on the corner, hoping to make a little sale.”

The story of the album begins with him meeting Zoocci Coke Dope, who produced and curated the project. “I met Zoocci when I had just shot the ‘Culture Vulture’ video. He told me it’s one of his favourite songs and that’s why he hit me up for a studio session.  We knocked a beat out immediately, and after a few sessions with him, he said that I should release the songs we’re recording as an album.”  It was also Zoocci who suggested that he should name the album ‘Pheli Makaveli’. Zoocci sent me a random text saying I should name the album ‘Pheli Makaveli’ because I’m from Pheli and influenced a lot by 2Pac and the West Coast. Every song we recorded after we put a title to the project, started making sense.”

The album opens with the now popular intro ‘Pheli Makaveli(Intro) that encompasses the rappers then current state of mind and that of the hip hop scene. “As Zoocci was making the beat in studio, the melody hit me, and then I took out my phone and wrote three or four lines. I did the verse in one take, and we added the “Pheli Makaveli” chant after those raps. It sounded like my current state of mind at the time, in terms of how I felt the industry is going, my accomplishments and people having me misunderstood because of being on so many features.” The outro skit is a news report from Atteridgeville that showcases the daily lives in the hood. Watch the video here. Continuing with the West Coast inspiration, ‘Blarofonia’ pays homage with the 2Pac and Dr Dre sample of their hit song, ‘California’. An avid lover of gangster movies and series like The Sopranos, Goodfellas and The Godfather Trilogy, Omerta is the oath you make when being initiated into the mafia. “Firstly, it is an oath to brotherhood with his homies, secondly to never let his mother down and ultimately himself and his contribution to the game. It is about holding each other down and never succumbing to culture vultures.”

A-Reece features on the fourth track and smash hit, ‘Hustlers Prayer’ that resonated with a lot of people who were affected by Covid 19. “Reece and I had agreed in 2018 that we would work on a song together and I sent him a song. When Covid hit, I was unable to reach him until I dropped ‘Ghetto Angels’ in 2020—that’s when he hit me up to say, ‘Yo, bro, apologies for that, I was going through some stuff, but I’m better right now.’ When he eventually sent the verse, it made sense why I couldn’t reach him at that time- the death of his father in 2020. I could relate to that, because I also lost my dad when I was young, so it was a deep song for me to listen to at the time. That’s how he explained what he was going through during that time—he actually put it in the song.”

‘Trap Jumpin’, track four, feels like you are  hanging out with 25k at the trap having a good time and features an outro skit of the infamous gangster, Maleven. “For the skit, Zoocci was like, ‘Yo, who’s the craziest guy you ever heard in SA talking that real talk?’ We watched that Maleven’s video and we laughed at it. The next time Zoocci played me the song, that was the clip he had put on the song. Watch 25K’s performance of ‘Trap Jumpin’on Riky Rick’s ‘THE YARD’ here. The second half of the album opens with a guest appearance by Emtee the Hustler, one of 25k’s biggest influences, on ‘Self Made’ a track about making it from the bottom and not switching up when you get to the top. Dagwood’ follows and discusses true events of coming up in the industry and having all these different women showing love and you never really knowing who’s genuine. “Then you also get dudes who get touched that you might’ve been involved with a woman that they know.” ‘Project Baby’ is an interlude is all about being a baby growing up in the hood (projects) and how he used his street knowledge to get out of the hood.

On ‘Apple Soda/ Record Deal’ 25K shows off his versatility. The first part of the song, ‘Apple Soda’, is the first episode and connects to the second episode, Record Deal, with a 2Pac interview discussing people’s misconceptions about him after being released from jail. “What he says has sentimental value to me; he would do anything to feed and protect his family and I am the same.” On Record Deal’25K speaks about his fans saying that he sold out because he signed a record deal, “but they don’t understand that I’m actually smarter than they think I am, my legal team is A1. FLVME appears on track 10, ‘Dusk till Dawn’, the only song that isn’t produced by Zoocci on the album. “I called the song ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ because we were really up all night putting in work. FLVME did the production and came through with the fire vocals.”

Pheli Makaveli has a full circle moment on ‘Kings Gambit Bag Man’ where he features Killer X, a former member of their high school duo. ”He helped me pioneer my sound in terms of me rapping in vernac and mixing it up with English from time to time. For me to do this thing on a national scale or even an international scale, it’d only be fair for me to put Killa-X on the song.” Lastly, 25K ends the album on a high note with Maglera Doe Boy on ‘Quarter To 6’. After recording the song at a hotel in Pretoria, 25K played the song for Zooci who officially hailed him the future of street rap in South Africa.

Already deemed a classic, listen to 25K’s debut album ‘ Pheli Makaveli’ here.

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By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb