It’s not often that a rapper can make social commentary sound serious and funny at the same time, but that’s exactly what Earl Swartz, aka Early B, has achieved.
The 29-year-old Afrikaans motormouth shot to fame with his funny single, "Lekker Djy" in 2015, but he’s actually been around for the past nine years, he says.
He is best known for his hit, "Cerebellum", for which he won a Ghoema Music Award for Best Hip Hop Song in 2017.
He has now finally released his long-awaited debut album, aptly called Aangename Kennis, and already the first track, Ben Ten, has created a buzz.
“It’s my first album, so I saw it fit to name it Aangename Kennis, because it’s an introduction to my music,” he says.
The Port Elizabeth-based rapper is known for his witty lyrics and wicked sense of humour and has been called the “coloured Eminem” because of his fast-paced rhyming.
The "Ben Ten" music video was released this week, and as with "Lekker Djy", it has become a hit on social media.
“I wrote the song myself and wanted to create something that would make fans smile and sing along to,” says Early B.
“It is about a guy visiting his girlfriend, and he realises her mother is making a pass at him and what happens next is revealed in the song and will definitely make you laugh.”
He raps: “ Sy soek ‘* Ben Ten, ‘* jong outjie, haar oudste dogter se size. Sy sê‘* young man, with energy is what she needs in her life.”
He says: “I rap about things that give me shockers, we (men) always klop aan by females but when it’s the other way round, it’s funny, so it’s worth writing about.”
Early B says he got his stage name from his aunts, who nicknamed him “Early Bird” and “KleinBoet”, after his dad, whose nickname is Boet.
“I combined the two names and came up with Early B,” he laughs.
The rapper matriculated from Bethelsdorp High School in PE and immediately launched his music career.
The motormouth says he would love to move to Joburg for more music opportunities.
But his heart belongs in Cape Town.
“To me Cape Town is like PE on steroids. I would love to expand myself in Johannesburg but I’d rather move to Cape Town if the opportunity arises, Johannesburg doesn’t have a beach.”
Early B has worked with big names like Grammy award-winning music producer Darryl Torr, and local talent such as Emo Adams, HemelBesem and Pierre Rossouw.
“If there was one artist I wish I could perform with internationally, then it’s Eminem,” he admits.
Aangename Kennis is available on iTunes.