Iโve been a fan of Anathi Mnyango since the first time I ever heard a song produced by him, that was back in grade 8 or 9, before it became cool to listen to hip-hop.
Back when people accused you of trying to be American just because you loved and subscribed to the culture as a whole.
Although we were only introduced to Anathiโs production talent when he was 15, he made his first beat in grade four! That means he was only nine years old.
Speaking to blogger and stylist, Siya Beyile on his Cliff Central show, The Threaded Exchange, the rapper shared details of his first foray into music and his earliest experience with fashion which has come to play a major role in both his personal and professional life.
Even though Anatii started making music quite early, his father maintained that school was always a priority so Anatii had to put music on the back burner for a while. That was back when the family still lived in the Eastern Cape (where heโs originally from), where his parents owned a boutique among many other businesses.
It was a very proud moment for the rapper who held onto that little sliver of light during that dark time and turned it into something lucrative. He believed so much in his dream that he saved up to buy his own laptop so that he could work more on music.
โAt that time, a lot of the influences came from like Jozi and those type of guys because for my generation they had like that sound and they were really killing it.โ
During his interview, Anatii remarked that not many people know who he is due to the name changes he has undergone over the years, starting with his very first moniker, โThundacat,โ which was given to him by Da L.E.S back before he became Da L E S.
Anatii later changed his name to Anathi Royale before eventually settling on just Anatii.
According to South African lyric website Bimba, Grammy Award-winning composer Lebo M commissioned Anatii to work on four songs for the 2009 Coca-Cola โโSummer Yama Summahhโโ compilation album. He was also given the opportunity to co-produce one of the title tracks used during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup opening ceremony at the tender age of 16!
When asked what his first big hit is, Anatii said he doesnโt have one.ย โIโm not even close to peaking,โย said the rapper.
Geez! Humble much?
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