ORIIGINELLE BREAKS MORE BREAD WITH EXPENSIVE HUNGER EP

By Martin Chanza

As we transition from Women’s Month into Heritage Month, this time of year offers a powerful lens into how women and cultural heritage continue to shatter barriers in the entertainment industry The impact is especially evident in the music scene, where representation knows no limits Enter Makhosazana Thwala in this chat, known by her stage name Oriiginelle, a trailblazing hip-hop artist who's emerged as Eswatini’s hidden gem, setting the industry ablaze since her debut

Oriiginelle’s name itself carries a dual meaning, with "Elle" French for "she" symbolizing her admiration for the strength, beauty, and artistry of women But her pride in being Eswatini's own is equally profound, as her lyrics transport listeners into the heart of her homeland.

Fresh off the release of her latest project, the "Expensive Hunger EP," produced by Soduh Beats and featuring talents like Zulu Mecca, Novl , and Ntatao, Oriiginelle sat down with us to share her journey. As Eswatini's chosen one, she’s been breaking new ground in the hip-hop scene, especially as a woman, and she's only just begun

Q : What is the purest meaning of Expensive Hunger and how did Expensive Hunger turn from what could be described as an experience you had, to a full body project?

A : The purest meaning of Expensive Hunger for me are the sacrifices I’ve made leading up to where I am today. It’s a viscous sport and the path to follow; hip hop, and most of the time I myself wonder if I chose the right path because of all the emotional rollercoasters and breakdowns that come with it but then you realise that it’s like that with any dream. It’s not a pretty picture chasing a dream it’s expensive, mentally, spiritually and financially. 2023 had to be my worst year mentally and financially. Lost friends I thought I’d grow old with, the money wasn’t coming in, nothing really made sense I was really down The only thing that kept me afloat was hip hop So I had to share this hunger through the genre because it shared a huge part of itself with me during that time Which is also why it’s leaning towards the golden era of rap; boom bap I wanted to pay homeage in the most hip hop way possible

Q: On the project we get to hear you say, "I just got a great feeling" more than once. Does it still carry the same intent or message it had on "Change" or it's much more different when you say it the second time on "16s & Some" ft. NOVL. and Ntatao?

A : The second time I said it, it was so random When it was time to finish up the project I had 16s & Some left to tie up because originally that was how Change was going to sound but we had to shift verses and create the beat with the verses submitted already I was quite beat from pouring myself on the tape (which was more than 7 tracks) so I had no intentions of penning a verse for that song, I was just going to put a hook on it and call it a day But ironically something in me had “changed” I started to understand how important it is to pay the cost that come with chasing a dream I started to understand that things are broken to be built, which is also why in the verse there’s so much confidence, so much cockiness and assertiveness. Because I now understand this great feeling, why I am expecting change and how much more I need to believe in myself now more than ever. Because I have a God given talent and no matter the lows, I’ll be good. What’s the point anyways if it don’t cost ya?

Q : Talking about "16s & Some" which is a fan favorite because of the lyricists on there, how did you manage get Novl. & Ntatao on the same song?

A : I’ve always imagined Novl. and Ntatao on a song together actually. Both are extremely talented in their storytelling and educating the listener of real time hustling in such a poetic manner. I just didn’t think it would be on my song. After I recorded my verse on Change (because that’s what it was initially) I sent it to Novl. And asked if he’d be keen to jump on, he was very much aware of the mental state I was in, and as friends we really do try hold each other down in these moments by sharing the one thing that brings us joy- music I sent him the verse and he jumped on immediately, I couldn’t believe how amazing it sounded and I was like “oh my word, this is like a song song! This needs a special kind of texture vocally”, so I hit up Ntatao and he was more than happy to jump on too And just like that, we created a song

Q : You recently released visuals for "Change" featuring Zulu Mecca, and successfully got Zulu Mecca to be on the video which is crazy considering the fact that you manifested for this feature earlier this year. How has the relationship between you two been postrelease?

A : Man, I manifested for this feature in October 2023. We met at a festival in December and fast forward we are shooting visuals together. Life is FUNNY! The relationship has been good. She’s such a great person. I look at her as an older sister. I’ve been in some tricky situations here and there in the business and I feel very safe to ask her for advise because she understands it, especially as a woman she gets it. She always shows up for me and I appreciate that so much. For a long time, I’ve had to kind of figure things out myself and that’s cool but it can be overwhelming because majority of the time, it’s my first time experiencing certain things, so I’ve always wanted a woman to advice me in such scenarios and I got the best lyricist in the country Isn’t that crazy? Again, life is FUNNY!

Q: Another relationship that I'd like to highlight you & Soduh Beats, this is the first time you ' ve also presented them as a primary artist in a project. How was working on Expensive Hunger much different than other songs/projects?

A : It’s such a beautiful relationship I think the core foundation in our relationship is uplifting We respect each other very much, we appreciate each other and we constantly uplift each other Not even musically, but in general I’m no fan of spilling any of my tea to anyone in life because relationships get complex as we grow For instance one (generic) cannot complain about their partner to their family unless you are absolutely done because they will always see that person as the one who hurts their child right? This is true with close friends too because as humans we are bias. For me, the relationship I have with Soduh is different in that aspect because I can say anything to him and he calls me out on my wrongs too which I appreciate. And the calling out isn’t in a way that’s to put me down, but to do better so that I can just maneuver better. That’s also one of the main reasons of presenting him as a main artist because I want him to maneuver better not for my benefit but his own I’ve managed to become who I am musically because of him so I wouldn’t want to cling onto all possibilities alone Building a solid entity, empire or legacy also means sharing knowledge and tools with those you build with Working on Expensive Hunger was exciting! Giving him the creative freedom to narrate the project had to be one of the most beautiful things to witness because I got to understand his creativity on a deeper level How he articulates himself on production is beautiful It’s art This is one of the main reasons we made the first songs intro so long because in as much as I am not communicating for a minute, he is, if you thoroughly listen This is one of those projects that are deeper than making waves It’s about communicating through art Which is also why so much about it was so unconventional but we were very aware of this and taking this route Not everything has to be for sale Sometimes it’s important to create from a place of solely honoring the craft

Q : Celebrating Heritage Month, what has that meant for you in terms of identity and how important has it been to take pride in coming from Swaziland?

A : Obviously there’s still a lot of work to be done, but I like what I’m seeing, truly! I think we understand as we grow that being against each other won’t do anything for us I’m seeing amazing collaborations between women such as Tasha Hendrixx, Nyota Parker, Kay Faith, Hanna, whole CPT gang, etc it’s beautiful to see And the music being made is so so good! It’s gotten to a point whereby you aren’t listening just because it’s women, you ’ re listening because it’s good hip hop and I hope that continues and grows I’m not a fan of categorizing women in hip hop because you rarely hear the term male rapper It’s just rapper for them I’d like the same with women Let’s just enjoy the music and make it, go against each other bar for bar I’m down

Q : While we are on Heritage, what could be the best way an artist could represent where they are from because there's always conversations about how artists fail to represent where the come from, making it hard to be relatable to those close to home.

A : It’s a difficult topic that one on a hip hop scale because obviously it originated from America and media is essentially ran by them so we find inspiration from there right? But I think a really cool thing that’s happening is doing it in your language Speaking of your experiences at home Even though that too can be tricky because we aren’t all from eKasi So we may find that one writes better in English than in their native tongue because privileges exist Doesn’t mean someone isn’t original, it just means that’s the environment they grew up around and are comfy with It’s a tricky one, I’ll be honest But I guess trying to integrate your day to day life in the music because if I rap in English about taking my girl to get her nails done at Angels, my Swati people will understand it. Just like when someone raps in English about going to Andiccios at 3am in Jhb they will get it. It’s the little things. The day to day.

Q : It wouldn't be all Exclusive if we didn't atleast get some exclusives in the vault, you mentioned that there were a lot of features that couldn't make it to the project. How far are we from ticking all those features off the list before the end of year?

You know, if releasing music was affordable I promise you I would have released 3 projects by now. We are far my brother but I’d like to do it right. There were alot of things that were rushed this year, so I’d like to avoid that for now. I want to just try do things the way I have envisioned for once and see what that outcome looks like first. Then I can go back to rushing things - ORIIGINELLE