VIPER is proud to premiere ‘Slide’, the new single from KGOSI…
Hailing from South Manchester, the South African-born rapper returns with a high impact track full of energy. Designed for dancing, the track displays KGOSI’s ability to master a variety of sounds. He explains the contrast, saying, “There’s a huge difference in sound between ‘Slide’ and my last single ‘Zoo Keeper’. This is totally intentional as I want to be recognised for my versatility and I want the people that listen to my music to know that from the offset.”
The creation of ‘Slide’ was effortless, as the magnetism of the instrumental led KGOSI to instantly attach a chorus. On the process of constructing his latest single, he describes, “Slide is the product of being up late at night full of creative energy. When I was sent the beat by the producer, within 30 seconds of listening to the beat I had the basic structure of the chorus. I wanted to create a high energy, fun track that everybody could vibe to and do some simple dance moves to. When writing the song I took some inspiration from Kendrick Lamar – ‘Humble’ for the energy in the delivery and Drake – ‘Toosie Slide’ in the way he instructs people to do the dance moves.” It’s fair to say that ‘Slide’ has such an impact, with a beat that would suit many US rappers flows. We might even start a petition to get DaBaby on the remix!
With such a catchy track on his hands, KGOSI is encouraging listeners to share videos of them dancing to ’Slide’. He details the inclusion of one lyric, adding “As I say in the song ‘This is for Triller and TikTok’, it is aimed at people that like to get involved in challenges. When the track is released, I’m looking to get the #SlideChallenge going and getting as many people involved. A lot of the time when writing a track I envision how it would be to perform the song live and I know this would be a mosh pit starter!”
Despite the song’s potential to go viral, there’s no compromise on lyricism for the sake of commerciality. “I’m big on lyrics, so despite the track being fun and energetic, I wanted to showcase my ability to rap witty lyrics with a skippy flow. Like all my tracks I mixed and mastered ‘Slide’, I always focus on how the track sounds overall and that starts from beat selection. So when I say, “I ain’t riding to your beat if it ain’t 10 out of 10,” I mean it! If I haven’t come up with a melody after listening to the beat after a minute or so, I’ll skip it ’cause I don’t want to force it.”
Aged just 24, he began experimenting with songwriting and music production at 16, thanks to the guidance of his older brother. His versatility as an artist comes from a range of inspirations, citing 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, J Hus and NSG as some of the artists that guided him to his sound. Pay close attention as KGOSI is definitely one to watch and ’Slide’ is sure to run up big numbers immediately.
