Dice Mak: Much appreciated family. I’m good, steady building nahmean?
Baamogetswe: No doubt, this interview has been put on ice for a minute tho, For those of you who didn't know, Dice and I basically grew up together but for the purpose of the followers and fans, can you tell us a little bit about your upbringing, where you're from and where you grew up and how it had an influence on you being a musician as current
Dice Mak: Word my nigga. Southside all day, Xavier all day, you know what it is! As a youth, I grew up in the inner-city of Johannesburg (Yeoville and Berea) around cats like Snazz D, Gemini, Criminal and X-Amount of Cashless Society. Tumi is also from the Berea area and I used to see him missioning around. I was much younger than the heads in my hood but I drew a lot of inspiration from them. In the early 2000’s I moved to the South of Johannesburg where I officially began putting material together as a solo artist.
Baamogetswe: So did you always envision being a Rapper by profession growing up or was your mind set on a different career path?
Dice Mak: As long as I can remember, all I wanted to do was perform. Once I found hip-hop around the age of 7 I started writing my own shit and there was no turning back.
Baamogetswe: Don’t know if the fans and followers are aware but Dice used to go by the name
Slege Lee and was part of one of the hardest street rap crews to reside from the South of Johannesburg alongside partners in rhyme L-Dub, Gage and Bonezitto, The four of them formed Metropolitan kings, anyways.. What i'm eager to know is how did you guys find each other? can you tell us a little about your journey with the cats as well as a brief breakdown of M.K (Metropolitan Kingz) division of labor.
DICE: When I moved to the South I attended Damelin Sound School where I met Gage who is also an MC and also from the South. We ended up being tight homies and he told me about his boys that he raps with in the South. Shit was like destiny. Once I met the homies L-Dub and Bonezitto we formed the crew Metropolitan Kingz also known as MK Souljahz. I had built up a lot of respect as a solo spitter and the homies had a lot of respect in the South hoods. We were basically combining to form Voltron. It was a dope time. We dropped like three mixtapes and a couple of videos while we were still a team.
Baamogetswe: Lets take it back to when it all started. How did Slege Lee Come to Life? What is it that sparked for you to decide to do this as a career also explain how you transitioned from Slege Lee of Metropolitan Kingz to Dice Mak?
Dice Mak: I started rapping with my older cousin who gave me the name SLEGE. I added LEE to the name later, influenced by teachings of THE ASIATIC BLACK MAN as touched on by Nas and Wu-Tang. The crazy part I found out years later is that my real name Selematsela is actually the Tswana name for a bale sledge. Crazy! Also the totem of my tribe Barolong is a hammer and we’ve all heard of sledgehammer. Crazy! That name was destined for me but now it’s time for a new destiny, a new era. The era of DICE MAK. DICE is a name my homies gave me cause I stay hitting pops and MAK comes from my surname Makgothi paying homage to my Tswana roots
Baamogetswe: You've put in a large body of work over the past couple of years including one of my favorite projects with DJ Hamma but all those projects were dropped under the Slege Lee brand,has your sound changed or has the same authentic Slege Lee sound stuck through the name transition? Do you not question whether the transition will keep the fan base you have acquired over the years?
Dice Mak: I wouldn’t say the sound has changed. I would say the sound has evolved. I still have boom bap in my music. The evolution is that the material is more musical. My focus as Slege Lee was always grimy, hardcore, lyrical, conscious, street shit. The grime and the streets are still inside Dice but he speaks from an older perspective. The perspective of an MC who’s rapping has taken him around the world. A nigga who’s seen the boardrooms and seen the streets and is here to tell you his story with music rather than only focus on spitting hard bars. As for those that have been following Slege Lee I am not worried at all. Family always have your back, and if they don’t then they not family nahmean?
Baamogetswe: No doubt. Aside from you being a close personal friend of mine, i'm also a huge fan of the substance in your material ever since 1808 Sessions you've been one of the few people in and around Johannesburg who are still keeping the culture alive. What motivates you to carry on putting in work and also, tell us about the hardship and ills that come with being a fully independent artist in South Africa.
Dice Mak: Word life fam. Since day 1 you’ve had my back and I salute you for that. 1808 Sessions were the shit,from the days they were held in Pimville (Soweto) to the days they moved to Africa Unites behind Southgate Mall. We built a lot of love in the South through those sessions. As an artist I’m motivated by my love for music and the hustle to get it out there. I think some artists are more hustlers than creatives and others are more creatives than hustlers. With me I’m both a hustler and a creative. I’m the nigga with the vision of how we gonna hit the score and then I’m the same nigga with the will to bring the vision to life.
In terms of being independent it’s a grind but it’s genuine. All the love that a nigga gets shown is genuine. Everything that I put out is authentic. There isn’t a machine in the back to create love and there isn’t a machine to tell me how to make my art so everything is real. And the day we blow up with this shit nobody will be able to tell a nigga how to move. The game is the game but long-term wins is where my mind is at.
Baamogetswe: You're know all over the globe for being in numerous battle leagues and circuits including Scrambles for Money, Art of War that i Co-Hosted alongside Safari-I of Articulate Artist and Chron Burgundy of Titus Track and you were blessed with the opportunity to participate in the End Of The Weak Competition that took place in Uganda, Tell us about your experience traveling abroad doing what you love. Representing your country must have been a life changing experience
Dice Mak: Most definitely dawg. It’s very few rappers that can claim to be MC’s which is the complete package and most unfuckwittable incarnation of a cat who spits on the mic. This means you can freestyle off the top of the head, battle freestyle or written, move crowds, be lyrical, be musical and write songs that can end up on some radio shit. That’s the complete package and I think I’ve proved myself on all levels.
Travelling to Uganda in 2014 and then Canada in 2015 for the END OF THE WEAK
INTERNATIONAL MC CHALLENGE was definitely a life-changing moment. And winning the World Champion Title in 2014 was sick! I got a chance to see what hip-hop means to communities outside South Africa and meet a bunch of ill people. One of the most amazing things I saw was the strength of hip-hop culture (b-boys, graph writers, DJ’s and MC’s) in Montréal and Kampala. Real hip-hop is actually feeding cats out there and the hip-hop community is well-established on the ground and in the streets. They have their own monthly/weekly events where real shit is showcased and you find young heads working in mainstream media who interview and publicise the true culture and its artists.
It just reminded me about how much hip-hop is a culture from the streets and for the streets. Corporates don’t have power. Their power is in the hands of the people and the culture. The weaker the culture is, the stronger the corporates will be.
Baamogetswe: From Metropolitan Kingz to City of Gold, correct? How did you guys meet, can you highlight who the band consists of as well as every bodies individual role within the band
Dice Mak: Not exactly. DICE MAK is the main brand that I’m pushing. City of Gold is a production/live band duo consisting of Joel Keys on keys and Boni Bass on bass. We featured vocalists Roger Soulstar and Siziwe Ngema on some of the songs. How it happened is that we decided to collaborate in order to make the Dice evolution moment special. The collaboration involved a 5-track live video performance offering accompanied by a studio presentation of the 5 songs. The project hasn’t dropped yet due to complications. I’ll most likely drop it in October as well as officially drop the video project.
Baamogetswe: So what can we expect from Dice Mak the solo artist in 2017? Can we expect a
Solo Project this year or are u looking to drop something with city of gold?
Dice Mak: As a solo artist I have a couple of things under my sleeve. In particular a project I started recording in 2014 executive produced by the older god Tsakane Maubane. The project is legendary and features production from Nyambz, Mizi, Beatology and Cush Solomon. And artists that feature on the project include Snazz D, Mizchif, N’veigh and Korianda. It will be titled, T.E.S.L.A – The Evolution of Slege Lee to Alpha. It will be released in two parts. Part 1 is scheduled to drop this coming July.
Baamogetswe: So in your honest opinion, which cats you fux with this internationally and locally whether underground or commercial? Do you aspire to work with the mentioned artists at some point or are these just artist you draw inspiration from?
Dice Mak: To be real with you, I haven’t been keeping my eyes on the local scene so I’m not sure what’s what. From an international perspective it was great to see the Griselda niggaz from Buffalo, New York crack a major deal. I fux with a few of the cats coming out of grimy New York right now. It’s dope to see real shit taking up its rightful place again.
Baamogetswe: This next questioned id like you to answer in two parts, as Slege Lee of Metropolitan Kingz as well as Dice Mak.. How would you describe your sound in two words?
Dice Mak: Slege Lee = Lyrical Monster
Dice Mak = World Champion
Baamogetswe: I personally fux with your on stage performances, i'm a huge fan of what you've currently been putting out with City of Gold, I've witnessed you perform as Dice Mak as well as Slege Lee and the energy remains the same! For all those who haven't witnessed you rock, give us a quick rundown where those in and around your area can witness you perform live on stage...
Dice Mak: Bless fam. I’ve been quiet on the performance front concentrating on building the DICE MAK brand and finalizing the new music. I’m targeting performances for later in the year so that I can give fans the official look, sound & feel of the DICE MAK experience. I’ll definitely keep you posted.
Baamogetswe: So on a normal day when your not Dice Mak the rapper what happens on a typical day as an average civilian?
Dice Mak: On a typical day I work in advertising as a strategist. It’s a great side career for an artist because you get to understand what makes brands tick and how target audiences think. Although 9-5 is not the dream, I’m glad that the shit adds to my hustle as an artist.
Baamogetswe: Infinite Hip-Hop would like to give you the fattest shout out for the effort of this interview, hope that it helped you expand and broaden your fan base locally and abroad. Would you like to send any shout outs to the fans and friends you've acquired over the years as a recording artist?
Dice Mak: It's too many individuals to name but shout out to all my niggaz from Yeoville (The Yo),
Berea (Beirut), Xavier Reef, Southdale (The Deli), Naturena (Corner 45), Glenvista, Pimville
(Pimptown), Orlando and Diepkloof (DK). Shout out to all my international family from END OF THE WEAK. Shout out to my whole family. And a big shout out to my nigga Spook and the whole Fakulty Firm. One!!!
Slege Lee Music Videos
Bitch Niggaz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhbYfdGPcsw
Guess Who’s Back?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjybSMXRwro
Namba Namba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J92BYrqEyYI
Jozi Slang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kz9E8Wp6qI
Hold It Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXtVcLitCj0
Exercise Skill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs8aEr4nrDY
Slege Lee Mixtapes
Renaissance KingFreestyles (2014)
https://www.audiomack.com/album/slege-lee/renaissance-king-freestyles-2
Jozi Slang Re-issued (2014)
https://www.audiomack.com/album/slege-lee/jozi-slang-re-issued
Dusty Crate Tapes (2015)
https://www.audiomack.com/album/roger-that/dj-hamma-presents-dusty-crate-tapes-volume-2-ft-sl ege-lee
https://slegelee.bandcamp.com/album/dj-hamma-presents-dusty-crate-tapes-vol-2
Loosies
Limelight
https://www.audiomack.com/song/slege-lee/limelight
State of the Nation
https://slegelee.bandcamp.com/track/state-of-the-nation
Boom Bap Bastard
https://soundcloud.com/slegelee/boom-bap-bastard03
Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/slegelee
Website
http://slegelee.co.za/
