BLXCKIE has made his mark in mzansi and his profile keeps growing everyday.
Born Sihle Sithole, from Durban, he gave a resounding performance at the annual Sprite Limelight- Season Three hip-hop block party, at Consitution Hill, Braamfontein, this past weekend.
Packed to rafters, as all and sundry danced to his hit songs including, new single ‘South’, he recently signed to Def Jam.
Blxckie made a grand entrance, driving through the crowd in a luxury SUV, to mark his role as the official South African collaborator for the Sprite Limelight music campaign.
The 2024 season also features amongst other Grammy nominated producers, from Puerto Rico’s Young Miko, Nigeria’s Fireboy DML, Brazil’s XAMÃ, China’s Lay Zhang, America’s Doechii, and Britain’s Mahalia.
These artists will connect with their fans by sharing their personal stories of overcoming heat through their music, serving up that much needed cool-down for when the tension rises.
Franscoe Bouwer, Senior Marketing Director for South Africa at Coca-Cola Africa says: “Sprite Limelight connects artists and audiences by sharing relatable stories of heat. By going behind the scenes, we uncover what challenges put artists under pressure. We feature artists like well-known South African rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer Blxckie, demonstrating how they handle life’s heat through their music.”
The third season of Sprite Limelight promises to deliver new music and heartfelt, relatable storytelling that resonates with a global audience.
The original tracks for Sprite Limelight are built around a central “hook” created by Take A Daytrip, the musical creative directors for this season. Each artist has the freedom to reinterpret the hook in their unique artistic vision—through sampling, re-singing, or altering lyrics and melodies—to infuse it with their personal stories of heat and resilience.
The resulting tracks showcase a blend of genres, featuring Nigeria’s Afrobeat rhythms, British R&B’s soulful melodies, and rap sounds from America, China, Brazil, and South Africa.
“Making music is a privilege and one that I work hard to enjoy and craft every day, so having dope opportunities to be in this space with other artists and producers who bring different cultures, ideas and creative points of view is so inspiring – thank you for bringing me into Sprite Limelight Season 3, being part of this is really exciting,” adds Blxckie, who did entertain interviews except with specific channels. Not a good move at all…
For the past two years’ the initiative, in collaboration with Universal Music Group, rotates artists as part of the marketing campaign such as Caspper Nyovest, etc.
Hip hop is a big genre in SA, and the likes of Blxckie’s, drive that message that we seek to put out to the public, with that authentic voice, added Bouwer, who said it was natural to work with him and admire his work.
“Every year we look for that artist whom we can work with, and the likes of Cassper, who has earned his flowers, shows the kind of a brand and an organization we stand for.”
On the contentious issue of food poisoning, Bouwer said, its unfortunate the country is facing this social issue were children are dying, and as a company are calling for serious measures to mitigate such instances.
Sprite Limelight Season 3 will be supported and amplified through a multi-channel marketing campaign in South Africa.
This includes the release of “South,” along with exclusive social-first artist video and music content, engaging competitions, and limited-edition Sprite packaging featuring Blxckie. Fans are encouraged to turn their personal heat into creative beats using Sprite’s new music remix tool, ‘Soundlabs,’ powered by AI. This tool allows users to select a hook, generate a base track, and transform their frustration into inspiration by creating and remixing shareable tracks.
To access ‘Soundlabs’ and additional Limelight content and merchandise, fans can visit the Sprite Limelight online hub or scan the limited-edition Sprite packaging featuring Blxckie, designed by Zimbabwean artist Sindiso Nyoni (aka R!OT).
Share your tracks on social media and join the global conversation using the hashtag #HeatHappens to connect with a community overcoming life’s pressure.
Image (Blxckie made a grand entrance in a latest SUV at the Sprite Block Party, held at ConHill last weekend).
