In a country plagued by so many problems, it is important to have at least one thing in your life that you can count on.
For Jan Rhaap, that “thing” is definitely his bakkie, because when he’s not on stage, he is also a farmer in the Northern Cape.
This singer-songwriter’s latest single was created after he had to drive his brother’s 2.4D bakkie for a while and was so impressed that he decided to pay a special tribute to what, according to him, is one of the best engines ever made.
2.4D, produced by Coolerbox Studios’ Tertius Human, can be described as a catchy country song that will speak to any farmer or bakkie enthusiast’s heart.
“Afrikaners love their bakkies, and there’s often competition between guys over whose bakkie is actually the best. That is what the song is about; a man who is proud of his bakkie,” he explains. “Like all my songs, this one also holds a special place in my heart. I am a farmer and my bakkie plays a very important role on the farm and my life.”
The music video, now available online, was built on the idea that a farmer uses his bakkie for everything.
“In the video, we see a man driving around in his bakkie,” the musician explains. “Along the way, he meets different characters, and they are all portrayed by me.”
Wian van der Walt produced the video, which was filmed on a farm outside Schmidsdrift in the Northern Cape.
Jan Rhaap, with his raspy voice and upbeat music, has been entertaining audiences for over a decade and is known for hits like Huisie in die Bos, which he wrote with Juan Boucher, and which has already had more than 4.6 million views on YouTube, Jan Ek Kan Nie Dans Nie with more than 2.1 million views and Ramskilpad, which has featured on several charts and has been seen by over 1.5 million people. The video for his previous release, Jagvat, has also been viewed over 500 000 times.
He comes from a very musical family and has had various career highlights over the years, including Ghoema nominations for Newcomer of the Year (2015) and Best Alternative Album of the Year (2017). He also recently joined other celebrities on the 2023 Bokboot boat cruise.
When he is not singing or farming, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, hanging out with friends and family, and he also recently started playing cricket again.
Jan, also known as Werner Burger, is proud of his culture and heritage and likes to sing about topics Afrikaners can relate to. With 2.4D, he once again shows that he understands exactly what that is.
This song is the second single off his EP (Jagvat) , which was released at the end of 2022.
Download it here: linktr.ee/janrhaap
