Spoek Mathambo: Mzansi Beat Code review – lightening up for the dance floor

(Teka Records)

Littered with crude synths, vulgar lyrics and migraine-inducing basslines, Spoek Mathambo‘s music is known for being dark, twisted and often brilliant. On his latest record, however, the Soweto-born producer opts for glossier, club-friendly house beats better suited to the dancefloor than to attentive, repeated listens. Incorporating everything from Zulu folk to caffeine-jittery township tech, Mzansi Beat Code offers a varied, vibrant selection of South African styles, but Mathambo’s productions sound less raw and adventurous than on his previous albums. He’s kept his parental-advisory label with X-rated tracks such as Want Ur Love and Landed, and there are glimpses of his weird ingenuity on the trance-flavoured No Congo No Cellphone, but the album lacks his usual edge.

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Tupac’s Nose Stud From All Eyez on Me Album Cover Up for Auction

Since Tupac Shakur‘s death, many pieces of memorabilia and artifacts from his life and career have found their way to the auction block, from handwritten lyrics to the car that he was shot and killed in. Now, the Black Heritage Auction has announced a new round of Tupac collectibles for sale to the general public, including his first publishing contract, his California license plates, his personal copy of the Qur’an, and more. Most notably, the auction is selling Tupac’s diamond nose stud, which he wore on the cover of All Eyez on Me (seen below), with bidding expected to start around $15,000-20,000.

As TMZ reports, the auction is facing lawsuits from the estate of Tupac’s late mother, Afeni Shakur, which alleges that the Black Heritage Auction did not come by all of the items on the auction block legally. The estate has taken legal action against other auctioneers in the past. Bidding on the Black Heritage Auction’s Tupac lots will begin April 7, the day the rapper is set to be inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame.