The Importance Of Touring As An Artist

The music industry is quite a tough one to navigate in especially when you do not have a strong team with various expertise and people who are eager to learn and explore around you. This has somehow impacted many artists negatively and some positively as they found their feet quite quickly than others. There are many South African artists that can attest to the challenges that one has to succumb to build a solid brand and it does not come to you overnight. Many have had to fall short meaning that they were operating on heavy losses or debt just to create something special for their fans. This does not go unnoticed as some of these acts have managed to succeed outside of their circumstantial barriers as they now not only weigh a strong support system but a stable management right by their side.

In over the past decade, the South African Hip-Hop space has witnessed pioneers like Cassper Nyovest, Nasty C, Shane Eagle, Blxckie, AKA, A-Reece and many more build their own tours and experiences for their fans which for some became an annual gathering and for others unfortunately a once off. Today we will be exploring these various artists and what they have been able to build for themselves as well as how important or rather lucrative a tour is to an artist’s growth from a fanbase perspective to a listenership and discovery perspective.

Hosting a tour or an intimate concert centred around a particular release or season is never easy as it can be very costly to a point where you do not receive any financial gain at the end but rather financial strains but even in the midst of a loss, there are other great benefits in which we will be highlighting per artist, per experience.

1. Nasty C – The Ivyson Tour

Nasty C has become a household name for South African Hip-Hop as he paved the way for fellow younger rappers in the era of 2014 and above through his optimistic decisions and top-grade music which has landed him on various charts and major features with globally recognised acts such as Davido, French Montana, Benny The Butcher and many more. His breakthrough single “Juice Back” made it all possible for the multi-talented rapper as he got his opportunity to shine, in which he shared that light with many others around him such as Rowlene, Tellaman, Audiomarc, Crowned Yung and many more. This opportunity led to the establishment of “The Ivyson Tour” which was an intimate experience for his fans across Africa from Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa dedicated to his late mother “Ivy”.

The tour was established in 2017 in which fans got to experience Nasty C perform hit singles from his debut album “Bad Hair” and later on singles from “Strings and Bling” as he continued to extend it until the sudden interruptions of Covid-19. Nasty C and his team have done an outstanding job with building this experience as it served as the best marketing platform not only for his latest music but also merchandise and other surrounding opportunities. The fellow award-winning superstar has since utilised the fanbase that the tour has been able to garner to showcase new acts within the various cities. It has become an iconic event for the fellow rapper as it contributed to his stellar success and wise financial decisions in life. His older brother, Ayanda Ngcobo has played quite a significant role in managing him and maintaining the brand alongside ‘African Creative Agency‘.

2. Blxckie – B4NOW Tour

Blxckie’s stellar rise to fame is one for the books as he steadily became a core representation to what consistency and dedication can do for you if you really want to achieve your goals. His journey to recognition was first ignited in the year 2020 through a collaboration with LucasRaps “Big Time Shlappa” where we all experienced heavy lockdown due to Covid-19, but the fellow artist did not let that limit him if anything, he allowed that to fuel his hunger and drive to release brand new music and content. Whilst balancing University studies, he focused on making quality music that many could not even avoid but listen which eventually led to his first major feature with Nasty C on “Ye x4” and furthermore with other artist as the year went by. 2021 was quite a good year for Blxckie as fans got to experience his first tour “B4NOW tour“.

The tour was aimed at promoting Blxckie’s debut studio album “B4NOW” which saw him perform in cities/towns such as Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, Gaborone and many more. This allowed fans to experience him perform his single for the very first time, live post covid-19 restrictions. Fans got to be familiar with Blxckie’s key brand colour (neon green) which he had as a hair colour at the time. The tour played a vital role towards the sales of album as well as the solidification of Blxckie’s fanbase, which has since allowed him to travel and perform on global stages. M4 Entertainment understood the assignment when it came to marketing Blxckie and building a solid brand for him through this particular tour.

3. Shane Eagle – Yellow Tour

Shane Eagle first rose to recognition over his appearance in TV competition “The Hustle” which was centred around a group of selected individuals within the rap space who believed that they had what it took to reach the number one position and win the grand prize. Unfortunately, Shane Eagle finished at the 4th position at the end of the TV show. He did not allow this to define his destiny as an artist as he went on to collaborate with season one winner of “The Hustle”, ‘Big Star Johnson’ in which they created “Way Up“. The single was accompanied with Visuals which were on rotation for quite sometime. Shane Eagle then focused on curating music that he resonates with which eventually led to the release of his debut album “Yellow” in 2017.

The album is a genuine masterpiece as the production and storytelling speaks for itself. The release of “Yellow” led to a vast number of opportunities for the fellow rapper including a collaboration with global brand, ‘Ellesse‘ and the ignition to his first ever tour. Through the tour, the rapper was able to celebrate certain milestones in his career from opening for J. Cole in 2016 to reaching over one million streams on Apple Music within 3 months of release. The tour allowed for Shane Eagle’s brand to grow as fans got to be part of a live experience of their favourite album in Hip-Hop. Shane Eagle was truly invested in growing his fanbase as he utilised the tour to bond with his fans and sell merchandise which some still have to date. The tour was quite crucial to the marketing of the album as it led to numerous award nominations.

4. Cassper Nyovest – ‘Fill Up’

Cassper Nyovest’s journey to Fill Up is one for the books. It all began with the release of his debut album “Tsholofelo” in 2014 which consisted of hit singles “Gusheshe“, “Doc Shebeleza“, “Phumakim” and many more. The album opened up a lot of doors for Cassper Nyovest and his manager as they took one of the biggest risks in South African Hip-Hop history. They spent the whole of 2014 running promo for the album and this included a release of multiple visuals and later, features with various artists and producers for the “Platinum Version”. Cassper Nyovest moved in quite a strategic manner in which he received guidance from the legendary HHP. All came to fruition when the multi-award winning rapper released the ‘Platinum Version’ to his top charting album “Tsholofelo” in which he followed with the announcement to his first ever independently held arena show titled, “Fill Up”.

The ‘Fill Up’ idea first rooted from him wanting to break records and truly test the limits to his core fanbase. This was when the historic “Fill Up The Dome” event was birthed as Cassper became the first ever South African rapper to fill up what was known as one of the biggest event venues in the country and prospectively continent. The event had an estimate of 68 000 attendees. This eventually set the bar for the rapper and SA music space but no artist would dare to challenge the reach and achievement as it is not only expensive but very risky. Cassper Nyovest has since built an annual event property around it as he utilised the event to not only promote his latest work but also share the stage with many great acts within the various cities that he hosted the event in.

5. AKA – Orchestra On The Square

AKA has been in the game for quite sometime with a repertoire that stretched out over to 2002 where his musical journey first began. The multi-award winning rapper built a streamlined career journey which allowed him to accumulate a variety of achievements including working with one of South Africa’s finest acts in the early stages of his career and further. AKA will always be remembered for taking risks and believing in his craft as each project or single released represented a particular phase in his life in which many can utilise to study his growth as an artist. With the experience of performing at South Africa’s prestigious events in over the years as well as across the continent, AKA took a major chance on himself as he had just released a multi-platinum selling album “Touch My Blood” to host a first of its kind for SA Hip-Hop.

The event showcased AKA live with a 30 piece orchestra which was a humongous accolade for the rapper. Fans got to experience various hit singles from AKA’s catalogue in live format but this time around with an actual band. This amplified his career at the time and served as a stamp of certification, making him one of the best live performers in SA Hip-Hop.

6. The Wrecking Crew – Less Friends, More Bandz Tour

The Wrecking Crew was one of SA Hip-Hop’s biggest groups to come out of 2017. The group consisted of A-Reece, Mashbeatz, Flvme, BenchmarQ Ecco, Wordz, IMP Tha Don, Ex Global, Louw, Krish, Mellow, Tyga Banks and many more. They took the internet by storm as they built a brand and a name over consistency and collaboration amongst each other. The crew grew to a point where they were booked left, right, centre whilst releasing brand new music close to every month if not two. With hard work and heavy support, the crew was able to facilitate a country wide tour which further expanded out of the country to Bostwana and Lesotho. This opened up a lot of doors for each act as they got to groom their own individual fanbase through highly engaging performances.

Each act from this group has since created their very own path as the group split up in between 2018 and 2019. This was a moment for SA Hip-Hop as there went much groups existing at the time with that level of impact that they possessed independently.

7. A-Reece – The Reece Effect

Since his departure from “The Wrecking Crew”, A-Reece went on to further groom his own event property namely known as “The Reece Effect”. A-Reece first established this event in 2018 in celebration to his birthday whilst still in “TWC”. He has since grown the event into his own tour where fans experience A-Reece in full live effect. The first tour kicked off in 2023 where he got to perform exclusives as well as some hit singles off his then newly released project “Deadlines: FREE P2“. The tour was ignited with a 2022 event titled “Road To Reece Effect” which was hosted at Altitude Beach.

The rapper has since maximised his platform with the 2023 tour selling numerous tickets where he got to have various artists to open up for him in various cities. He utilised the opportunity to also market his exclusive music as well as classics that fans can sing along and engage with his fans from taking pictures to having conversations with them. As we hopefully gear up for another return to the tour this year, let us reminisce on how impactful this property has been for the fellow rapper and Pretoria as a whole.

8. Riky Rick – CottonFest

Riky Rick alongside his wife, Bianca and Alain Ferrier identified a gap for many independent artists as it became harder and even more expensive for an artist to host their own show let alone a tour. So with high confidence and belief in the youth, Riky Rick established a youth-based festival titled, “CottonFest“. The festival was first established in 2019 with a stellar roll-out from the prominent rapper and entrepreneur across his socials. CottonFest kicked off with a line up of about 80 acts live on stage from the likes of Kwesta, Nasty C, AKA, Anatii, Frank Casino, A-Reece, The Big Hash and many more.

This became a platform for many acts across the country as it grew by the year with multiple stages and brand partnerships and now multiple days. The event has since spotlighted the likes of Ason, Windows2000, Gator, PatrickxxLee, Zingah, Dee Xclusiv and many more. In commemoration to the late rapper, CottonFest still lives and is set to return in 2024 with a stellar star-studded line-up and multiple stages aimed at showcasing new acts and pushing the culture forward.

9. Nasty C & Cassper Nyovest – African Throne Tour

It was just last year when Nasty C and Cassper Nyovest announced their joint tour “African Throne” which saw two brands unite to build one impactful event property across Africa. The two artists blew the minds of many when they hosted the first half of their tour which saw them travel and perform across Africa with various artists opening up for them in those various countries. The tour pushed from the month of September to October from Eswatini to South Africa. Although they faced numerous challenges, the two prominent acts made it work out as they figured out a way to push their forthcoming music.

Whilst on tour they released brand new music in which they promoted across the shows where they also ended up releasing their highly anticipated studio albums on the same day. They have since utilised the tour to not only collaborate with brands but also local and abroad artists in which they shared their spotlights with. The tour is set to return this year with the 2nd leg of it scheduled for European and American countries and we cannot wait to see how it all goes down.

Each event mentioned above has played a vital role to certain careers mainly the one of the highlighted artist as it did not only contribute to their growth but also assisted with strengthening their fanbase. I understand that tours and merchandise are expensive to put together but the end result is always worth it. You as the artist can always start at a small scale where you host intimate parties like Uncle Partytime‘s phenomenal “Party Playroom” or Dee Koala‘s “4THEKHALTSHA” event. Each initiative serves as a marketing tool to further empower those around you and promote your latest work.

Take the above artists into consideration, if it weren’t for them taking the initiative to create their own event properties, where would they be. In life, you shouldn’t wait for the right moment, all you need is to believe in yourself and your craft and build that right moment for yourself and many others just as the likes of Blxckie, Nasty C, AKA, Riky Rick, Cassper Nyovest, A-Reece and many more. You will then reap the rewards to your hard labour as you start to witness various opportunities open up for you so believe and execute.