Hailing all the way from the north of Pretoria, Imani Basquiat is our latest On The Rise artist that is making the rounds within the Alternative/Hip-Hop scene. Having released his first-ever EP called Hooptie Music back in 2022 (March) which was soon followed by his second EP called Internet Girl in August of that same year, these days Imani’s been getting love for his current single called ‘Groove Theory’.
Working with in-house producer, Baitu Manong and engineer Feziekk from Pretoria, Imani is being celebrated for bringing the groove back through the array of new sounds he is creating… His music marks the culmination of the artist’s breakthrough in the industry changing the landscape of what we know Pretorian Hip-Hop to be and South African music at large.
For a more detailed background, Imani was actually born in Johannesburg and raised in Pretoria South Africa. His love for music started in an environment where music was always being played in the house when he was younger. From the sounds of the 70s, 80s, and even 90s Jazz, Funk to Disco, R&B and many other types of sounds that influenced the type of sound he chooses to chase. Imani has always been a lover of music but it wasn’t up until late 2017 when he took an interest in trying to make his own. He never took it seriously until 2019 when he decided to work full time with Pretoria-based producer & engineer Feziekk…
Imani only ever worked on and released one collaboraive work in 2019 before he decided to focus on mastering a specific sound up until now. Only now does he feel ready to show the world what he has been working on.
And although it has only been Imani’s first year as a musician he has accumulated accolades such as features on prominent magazine platforms/publications, he got the #28 position on the Apple Music alternative charts, got invited to Stimorol’s 2023 FlowLab and became a 3rd place winner at Homecoming’s Artist On The Rise experience. He has now recently been a part of House Of Trace alongside Yolophonik as well as featured the new NBA Life lifestyle series that aired in January 2024.
Check out Imani Basquiat’s ‘Groove Theory’ single below:
