Johnny Filter is a Proudly South African, Producer and Beatboxer recognised as one of South Africa’s homegrown hip-hop talents – of an international calibre – and has graced the airwaves of GoodHope FM (SA), Bush Radio (SA), NTS Radio (UK), P3 Din Gata (SWE), Worldwide FM (UK) and Afri Tribe (USA). Johnny Filter first entered the scene through ETC Crew, a group of fellow Emcees, Beatmakers and Sound Engineers. Today his BoomBap hip-hop sound is instantly recognisable and can be felt across his many releases. He released his first EP, Smiling In The Dark in 2015 and has since released Beats 4 BreakFast in 2016. He has also released collaborations with Akil The Mc from Jurassic 5 (USA), Zaki Ibrahim (CAN), John Robinson (USA), Def Eff (SA), Postman L (SA), Black Vulcanite (NAM), Miss A Soul (UK), Joel (SWE), EGO 380 (SWE), Kaleevi (SWE) to name a few.
Y O R D – name derived from the alternate spelling of the word ‘Earth’ in Swedish – is a LoFi loving Swedish born Producer, recognised for tracks such as Smthrsht, Muhrman and Sovande Odjur. He draws inspiration from rappers and beatmakers,
such as Madlib, bsd.u and J. Dilla. Y O R D achieved some mainstream success with appearance on BLESS Vol.1 in 2017.
After a brief introduction in Sweden, it was clear that both artists shared the same vaab (vibe) and a collaboration of souls and the sounds of BoomBap and LoFi was inevitable. Together they crafted ‘I CAN SEE’, due to be released 31 August 2018 via Spotify and all major streaming platforms. The train of thought behind this collaboration was simple – to create and share good music – a welcomed alternative to society’s distorted ‘hip-hop’ sound. Johnny Filter and Y O R D are hot on the trails of smashing another track together – stay tuned! Both artists are continually growing towards cultivating their unique sound as well as broadening their instrument use and collaboration list. Together they produced ‘I CAN SEE’ – a smooth, upbeat track – a perfect representation of both artist’s styles and personalities. Masterfully crafted inside 2.49 minutes, listeners get the best of two unique sounds, over a range of beats that will leave you mellowed out and rejuvenate your hope in 2018’s hip-hop selection!
written by Natasha Prime-Stagler