Youngsta CPT breaks down Dreams Don’t Pay Bills, collaboration with Shaney Jay and why he worked with Cape Town artists
Dreams Don’t Pay Bills (DDPB) is a 16 track collaboration album project with Cape Town based producer Shaney Jay. The album follows Youngsta CPT’s award winning debut album, 3T. He chats about the recording process of the album, what people will love about it as well as why he worked wirth Cape Town artists.
Dreams Don’t Pay Bills is a 16 track offering that sees Youngsta CPT unsurprisingly rap about his hustle. He also touches on his motivation, how far he went to get money as well as what the things that inspire him to work harder.
“People are gonna be dancing & bobbing to Shaney Jay’s sonically modern production from the start. If you listen in deeper to the lyrics, every one of the songs relates to the album title theme…” Youngsta explains. Adding that the album is designed to inspire people to work harder, a soundtrack to the hustle so to speak.“After all, dreams are just dreams, until you action them and put them into practice,” he says.
Dreams Don’t Pay Bills has a commercial sound that is relatable
Shaney Jay describes the tape as “definitely having a more commercial sound, like most of the beats have that modern day style but with YoungstaCPT coming through with the hard raps… people are going to relate to DDPB.”
It was a defined choice of YoungstaCPT to be able to feature artists from Cape Town (and one Australian) to collaborate on tracks for this album project. He expresses that it was important to work with these artists because of the platform he has.
“It was important… I have a platform that people are starting to become aware of internationally, and I want to showcase the talent in Cape Town. Getting Ready D & Emile on one song hasn’t been done since forever! That’s Black Noise & POC on the same joint! Nashiefah & QueenPinCPT are superstars in the making, they’ve got to be front running female artists in the Cape. The Big Hash, KashCPT & Tembi Powers are all leaders & voices of the new school in their own right, and Jannah Beth has the voice of an angel dove… I’d say everyone is top of their class,” he explains.
According to Youngsta CPT, recording Dreams Don’t Pay the Bills was significantly different to 3T
The recording process on DDPB differed from 3T says YoungstaCPT. “3T was more thought out and planned carefully, touching on a range of themes & subjects. DDPB was made during the pandemic, the looting in SA and the whole corruption scandal so there’s a different kind of hunger and survival I speak to. It’s the struggle updated,” he clarifies.
The mishmash of Shaney Jay’s beats and Youngsta undeniable charisma is what makes DDPB special. Youngsta commends Shaney Jay’s boundless energy and talents. “Shaney is unlimited. He has variety and respects the process of making music. He takes inspiration from everything and is influenced by all genres of music, people who respect their craft like that should be taken seriously. Working with him, I felt lit up. I am the bulb, Shaney is the plug,” he exclaims.
Shaney Jay loved the experience of working with YoungstaCPT “I really still can’t believe it…it feels like just the other day I was watching YoungstaCPT from the crowd. Working in the studio with Young is really just effortless…nothing about this project felt like it was forced.”
Stream and purchase Dreams Don’t Pay Bills on all major digital stores.
