Motor Mouth Afrikaans rapper Early B’s hit song Ben Ten has achieved gold status after selling more than 10 000 units.
Earl Swartz, 29, made waves in August last year with his quirky song, about an outjie who is visiting his girlfriend, who is out of town, but gets invited into the house by her cougar mom with hilarious consequences.
Early B shot to fame in 2015 with his first big hit, called Lekker Djy.
After nine years on the music scene, he finally released his debut album Aangename Kennis in August 2018.
Last week, Earl received fantastic news from his label Universal Records.
“Gold status, 10 000 units sold! This is crazy, I didn’t know my song would go that big,” he said.
“Afrikaans hip hop music is not that big in South Africa and I didn’t think my song would reach gold status. When I heard about it, I just thanked God for the achievement.
“I expected to make a difference in the Afrikaans hip hop scene, but not this big.”
Earl says his fans are the force behind his music and achievements.
“Without my fans, this wouldn’t be possible, I want to thank those who bought my music, whether it’s online or at Musica you did this for me.”
He also reveals that he’s left PE behind and is now calling Cape Town his home.
According to the rapper, he is currently shacked up in a cosy possie in Tamboerskloof, but doesn’t want any stalkers because he’s in a “lekker healthy” relationship.
“My girlfriend and I are together for six years, we are heavy cool, we’re duidelik,” he laughs.