Motherwell-born rapper Siyavuya “Automatic” Klaas, 26, is set to represent the Bay at the annual Back To The City Festival in Johannesburg on April 27 – and stand a chance to win a R10,000 cash prize.
The rapper came into the spotlight after auditioning in the festival’s Powerplay 10k Challenge, a platform for upcoming hip-hop artists from around the country to showcase their talent.
Klaas was selected when SA artists Zakwe, Driemanskap’s El Nino and DJ Kyotic visited Port Elizabeth in search of artists for the challenge.
The artists are travelling to different cities and provinces to hold auditions and pick deserving artists to perform at the festival.
The budding artists will compete at the festival, where the winner will take home R10,000.
Klaas’s good fortune comes on the heels of his debut EP, Billive, released on digital music platforms on February 18.
He said the 13-track EP was a dedication to his father, who died when he was just nine years old.
“My music is about my own experiences because I don’t like to judge things based on what other people tell me. “I rap about my family, relationships, crime and what happens around me,” he said.
The rapper kicked off his career while he was at Mfesane Senior Secondary School by often taking part in rap battles alongside other young artists at school and at Cypher battles in Motherwell.
The first recording of his music dates back to 2015, when he collaborated with former Shoelace member Bearz in the song Her, which was played on radio stations across the country.
He released his first solo offering, Login01 in 2017, and the song stayed at No1 on Bay FM’s chart for four weeks.
The rapper and producer said should he win, he would use the R10,000 to buy equipment for his studio, besides spoiling his family and himself.
Billive is available on digital music platforms.