Rising stars ‘Ishuu Industry’ has released their fast-chart-topping single, Yebo Keh featuring Spirit-Boys and Genetic 012. The duo made up of Katleho “Louckzz Mangena” Maloka and Mpho “Kiing Phost” Rakometsi are known for being the voices behind their debut banger, Chomiyaka which took Tik Tok by storm with the #ChomiyakaChallenge. They return with the single, Yebo Keh – an example of youth expressing themselves without limitations.
“The song celebrates the youth and how Africans have become the voice of the world through music. It is a celebration of life and the belief that anything is possible If you set your mind to it. As the song progresses, layers of percussion, bass, and melodic elements are introduced, creating a rich and textured and unique authentically South African sound,” Kiing Phost says.
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Hailing from the small town of Wesselsbron, in the Free State. The pair has been working tirelessly towards creating a new culture, pioneering the new sound called iwi, a sub-genre of Amapiano. The iwi sound is always illustrated by the beat selection and vocal progression.
“The sound is unique and easily identified, but also a sub-genre to Amapiano. We wanted to create something unique, a brand of our own that people could hear from anywhere in the world,” Louckzz Mangena added.
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Their story is one of inspiration and hard work. Katleho “Louckzz Mangena” Maloka (23) was inspired by his late sister to venture into music. Coming from a church-going family, he gained some music skills from church. As a young boy, he was very active and creative, and both his parents supported his dream once they noticed his creativity. “My father transferred me to a different School In Town (Hoerskool Sandveld) I then got involved in sports, until I got a scholarship for rugby At a High school called (Welkom Gim ) 30km away from Wesslsbron.” He started playing Professional Griffons and did my grade 8 and half of my Grade nine at Welkom Gimnasium High School. During the end of the Year, he got a scholarship at Jeppe High School for Boys In Johannesburg where he received many opportunities, and he found his musical voice. “I used to sing in boys’ assembly. I then started a group called, Jeppe Gwijo. We used to Sing Gwijo’s and post content mostly on YouTube and Instagram, we got attraction from a lot of people.” His passion for music started to grow more and he overtook his love for rugby. This time, he was also burdened with a knee injury that took him the entire season to recover, and he moved back to the Free State. With a growing love for music, he started searching studios to record himself without success, until he met five guys who were dancers. One of them was his current group member, Mpho “Kiing Phost” Rakometsi who had also been looking for a recording studio. Mpho “Kiing Phost” Rakometsi (18) grew up listening to a lot of RnB and SeSotho cultural music. A quiet kid, but with a love for music. He enjoyed exploring with different genres and discover new music and new sounds, until he chose to pursue a career in music while balancing school. While still struggling to find a studio in their small town, the two became creative and recorded their vocals using the app, InShotand shared the videos on social media. “We then naturally became a duo. People loved the content, and we used Busta 929’s mix tapes and built our style without a formal studio until Louckzz Mangena’s father bought them sound, equipment and they started making hits form their home studio. “The name” Ishuu Industry “Comes From the era of the late Mpura Mpura / Amaroto times when they used the word Ishuu a lot to describe something great, or something hot and amazing. We took the Ishuu and combined it with Industry to show appreciation for what they have done for the culture and now it’s our time to keep pushing the legacy and culture.”
Cece Smith 