Die Taal sounds far more natural, far more genuine, spewing from Parow's lips than it ever will in the manufactured fairytale that is Sewende Laan.
The preutse poppies out there think Jack Parow is cute. They’ve heard a clean version of “Cooler As Ekke” on the radio, and this safe version of Bellville’s self-proclaimed “romantiese superstar rapper” is polished enough, and white enough, to make them Facebook fans, for the time being.
Stadig oor die klippe, Annabeth. Parow doesn’t rap for wet wipes.
His debut at Oppikoppi went down like this:
Rock & Roll bunnies, indie kids everywhere. They’ve heard “Die Vraagstuk” on the new Heuwels album and thought it was pretty fly. Maybe even the best track on the album. But Jack’s still an unknown quantity. They don’t know what to expect.
The beats begin to klop. Parow, sporting his trademark snor, begins to spit:
“Mense opgehang, met my skooldas,
Toe ek nog op skool was,
Die lyke geberê in my skooltas,
Muis is baas, die skoolbank betasser,
Meisies vasgemaak, en vinger met ‘n passer.”
It would be many people’s introduction to real, raw & dirty hip hop.
The hip hop “scene” in South Africa is a complicated one and Parow is bound to get greater mileage by operating completely outside it, at least for now, but his bona fides as a live-in-the-flesh rapper are clear. Luister his early demo “Onder Draai Die Duiwel Joints” and you’ll hear a Cypress Hill fan thrilled to be making his own mark on the microphone. Like Cypress Hill, Parow’s social commentary is only incidental to his prime directive of keeping things ill to a delicious beat.
Also included on the Jack Parow EP is a newly recorded version of “Die Vraagstuk”, a slowed down acoustic take on Parow’s personal party manifesto. Like “Cooler As Ekke”, the chilled out arrangement ups his rock cred while allowing a very natural lyricist to put some flow together. It won’t cut up the dancefloor anymore, but it will carve out a little spot on your “Chill Tjoonz” playlist.
The snert rap of Jack Parow is the last thing Afrikaans thinks it needs after being forced into the new century by an atheist punk quintet in Fokofpolisiekar. But that’s exactly what it gets, and none too soon. Die Taal sounds far more natural, far more genuine, spewing from Parow’s lips than it ever will in the manufactured fairytale that is Sewende Laan.