Some describe them as the SA version of Slum Village, but this Joburg hip-hop  entity has a sound that stays true to their influences and carries the banner from the hip-hop lovers to the poets, with a sense of pride. With a list of accolades the length of my arm, Quietude has been rocking the airwaves, featuring on compilations and mix tapes and now they are branching into live performances, taking over the game with their sultry sounds. I got a chance to speak to this down-to-earth talent and this is the censored version of our conversation…

The rapport between you and Domino gives off a comfortable vibe, as though you have known each other for long…

We have. From childhood days. We stayed in the same neighbourhood, same street, we grew up together and funny enough, now we work for the same company too. He was on a poetry tip and I was doing more of the hip-hop thing in the nineties. We decided to fuse the sounds in 2008 and our distinctive sound came of it.

Speaking of childhoods, growing up, who did you listen to that influenced your grind towards where you are now?

The invaders! Yeah, there were a lot of influential American cats blowing up at that time, but our influence came from home in Thembisa. The invaders were a part of the underground movement, East Rand era. In the game, being so close to them helped us better our skills.

What type of energy can people expect from your performances?

Our sound is underground. We consider ourselves very melodic and jazzy. We wanted to showcase a fusion of sounds in our delivery; some jazz, some poetry and then the neo-soul influence that comes from our church backgrounds.

Quietude – Let Me Luv Ya(ft Lully, R.Kelly and Leon Timbo) by Quietude

With the church background you grew up in, how hard was it for your families to adjust to your passion for a genre that is ridden with what might not necessarily be considered as “church-like”?

At the time that we started, Biggie and Tupac were beefing, swearing and stuff so the image was only a violent one to them. Then there was the baggy pants that also made them question things, but as things progressed the support grew and when our first album dropped, our first copies were bought by family members so that was cool.

You have heard of the term “starving artist”… How do you feel about the current hip-hop climate and the fact that it hasn’t reached a respectable level in terms of sales and demand in general?

Ey man, it’s hard to get an album out as a hip-hop group. I have spoken to record labels and sales keep dropping so we are relying on money from performances and stuff. We build the hype on social networks and perform. It doesn’t seem fair, but it works.

What do you identify as a constant obstacle that you still face as a group?

Time. We are juggling 9to5’s and pushing passion after hours so it gets hectic, but we make it work. I am more focused on the administration of the group while Domino’s forte lies in marketing and online advertising. We also have personal lives that tend to get neglected because of this, but everybody has a role in the group and we balance as much as we can.

I personally think that the role of groupies at performances is underrated…how do you feel about the love they send back to you guys?

I think it’s the little things they do, when we jump off stage and they want autographs and pictures, we are humbled by that stuff. And we have some intelligent fans/groupies out there who give us pointers. They are our backbone.

Someone once said “Write what you would want to perform over and over again”. With that in mind, which song do you listen to and think “damn, I wish I wrote that track?”

Internationally, it has to be J. Cole’s “Love me not”. He talks about insecurities in love and feelings and I love the way he wrote it.

So that was based on personal references clearly…

Yes yes… I use emotion a lot in my own work and I try to dig deep and feel before I write so this song is definitely my kind. I relate to the words on a personal level.

Locally?

It has to be the cut from Morafe- “Here we stand”, dedicated to all the fans. It’s a real track, you can feel the appreciation in it. It’s one of those that will always be relevant.

What could have been a twenty-minute interview ended up flowing for an hour. From debates about groupie motives to discussing current plans to include a live band in performances; we flowed. We laughed. We clicked. Quietude is not only inspired and talented; they are down to earth real cats pushing passion and life at the same time.

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INTERVIEW: Star Khulu