About
Born on March 13th, 1977 in Cape Town, South Africa, Snazz The Dictator is an authority figure when it comes to hip-hop in South Africa.
Growing up in Guguletu on the Cape Flats during the height of the Apartheid Era, Snazz moved to Mitchell's Plein in the late eighties, another hood on the Flats where hip-hop was beginning to boom, with such crews as P.O.C and Black Noise emerging on the scene, a then young 'Snazzy D' could be found stealing the spotlight wherever and whenever rhymes were being tossed around. Making a name for himself at a very young age.
Relocating to Johannesburg in the early nineties, Snaz took that same approach and energy to hoods such as Hillbrow and Yeoville, teaming up with Kaptin and Krook'd tha Warmonga, two like-minded MC's, to form the now cult crew Audio Visual. Coining the word "J-Sec" or "J-Section", a nickname for the City and it's surrounding areas, his crew garnered notoriety holding it down in champion form, making his first appearance in 1996 on "The Muthaload" a compilation on Tusk Music, on the stand-out track 'Mic Device' with his other crew Dark Seed, a group with Fee and Iko.
Snazz D would become the host for the now legendary Saturday matinee sessions at 'Le Club' downtown Johannesburg with DJ Blaze and DJ Bionic, holding down the mic at the very heart of Johazardousburg's hungry rhyme scene, while furthering his horizons in his spare time, reading many books, and changing his writing style to his own form of calligraphy to avoid biters, making socially conscious tracks with a touch of humor and irony his goal.
In 1999, he left to visit Cologne, Germany, doing shows and recording several tracks with some of the local hip-hop crews, some which found their way on albums and mixtapes, teaming up with X-Amount and other MC's upon his return to South Africa, to form the group Cashless Society, which saw the Fondle 'Em release of their single "Blazetha Breaks" on a split 12" with Mizchif's "Place For A Wife in 2000, as a result of opening for Bobbito, Mr. Len and Jean Grae at the Metropolis club in downtown Johannesburg.
2002 saw the release of "Demolition: The MeStory" an album by another crew Snaz is a part of called Groundworks, which includes Audio Visual, and other underground word manglers from the Johannesburg and Cape Town scenes, featuring on several songs on the album, the CD included his self-produced 'copaesthetic phenomenology' as well as the acclaimed 'Dungeon Keepers'.
The following year Cashless Society followed up their "Blaze Tha Breaks" debut with the release of "African Raw Material Vol. 1", gaining high accolades, the album featured successful singles 'Hottentot Hop Bantu 1,2' and 'Taxi Wars', which had the group winning three SAMA's in 2004, and four awards at the South African "Hiphop Indaba Awards".
In 2007 Snazz tha Dictator won the "Sprite Emcee Africa" freestyle battle, defeating J-Town from Ghana in the final of this continent wide competition, which included challenges in Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, earning him $10,000,- in prize money, and a track with Wordsworth, one of the judges in the competition.
Snazz has recorded with the likes of Shaheen, Metaphysics, Jonzi D, Tumi, Wordsworth, Masauko, Ramesh, Tha Hymphatic Thabs, Gini Grindith, Remarkable, Clueso, Modenine, Killani Rich, Zubz, Qba and Professor J amongst many others.
Growing up in Guguletu on the Cape Flats during the height of the Apartheid Era, Snazz moved to Mitchell's Plein in the late eighties, another hood on the Flats where hip-hop was beginning to boom, with such crews as P.O.C and Black Noise emerging on the scene, a then young 'Snazzy D' could be found stealing the spotlight wherever and whenever rhymes were being tossed around. Making a name for himself at a very young age.
Relocating to Johannesburg in the early nineties, Snaz took that same approach and energy to hoods such as Hillbrow and Yeoville, teaming up with Kaptin and Krook'd tha Warmonga, two like-minded MC's, to form the now cult crew Audio Visual. Coining the word "J-Sec" or "J-Section", a nickname for the City and it's surrounding areas, his crew garnered notoriety holding it down in champion form, making his first appearance in 1996 on "The Muthaload" a compilation on Tusk Music, on the stand-out track 'Mic Device' with his other crew Dark Seed, a group with Fee and Iko.
Snazz D would become the host for the now legendary Saturday matinee sessions at 'Le Club' downtown Johannesburg with DJ Blaze and DJ Bionic, holding down the mic at the very heart of Johazardousburg's hungry rhyme scene, while furthering his horizons in his spare time, reading many books, and changing his writing style to his own form of calligraphy to avoid biters, making socially conscious tracks with a touch of humor and irony his goal.
In 1999, he left to visit Cologne, Germany, doing shows and recording several tracks with some of the local hip-hop crews, some which found their way on albums and mixtapes, teaming up with X-Amount and other MC's upon his return to South Africa, to form the group Cashless Society, which saw the Fondle 'Em release of their single "Blazetha Breaks" on a split 12" with Mizchif's "Place For A Wife in 2000, as a result of opening for Bobbito, Mr. Len and Jean Grae at the Metropolis club in downtown Johannesburg.
2002 saw the release of "Demolition: The MeStory" an album by another crew Snaz is a part of called Groundworks, which includes Audio Visual, and other underground word manglers from the Johannesburg and Cape Town scenes, featuring on several songs on the album, the CD included his self-produced 'copaesthetic phenomenology' as well as the acclaimed 'Dungeon Keepers'.
The following year Cashless Society followed up their "Blaze Tha Breaks" debut with the release of "African Raw Material Vol. 1", gaining high accolades, the album featured successful singles 'Hottentot Hop Bantu 1,2' and 'Taxi Wars', which had the group winning three SAMA's in 2004, and four awards at the South African "Hiphop Indaba Awards".
In 2007 Snazz tha Dictator won the "Sprite Emcee Africa" freestyle battle, defeating J-Town from Ghana in the final of this continent wide competition, which included challenges in Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, earning him $10,000,- in prize money, and a track with Wordsworth, one of the judges in the competition.
Snazz has recorded with the likes of Shaheen, Metaphysics, Jonzi D, Tumi, Wordsworth, Masauko, Ramesh, Tha Hymphatic Thabs, Gini Grindith, Remarkable, Clueso, Modenine, Killani Rich, Zubz, Qba and Professor J amongst many others.
Discography
42 releasesSupa Afrikan
Rndu & Snazz-D* · 2017
Coup De Tat
Snazz Tha Dictator* · 2017
Crime Consciousness
Snazz D · 2015
Street Dictatorship Vol. 2
Snazz The Dictator* And Master-Hu* · 2014
Time Will Reveal
Snazz D Feat. Wordsworth · 2014
Synergy
IRV* Ft. Snazz D & Xmt* · 2014
Street Dictatorship Vol. 1
Snazz D · 2013
You Know The Name
Snazz D · 2012
Bad For Business
Snazz D And Albert Iron · 2010
Dangerous! Mix-CD
Snazz-D* & The Ca$hless Family · 2007
Freestyle
Snazz D & X-Amount · 2001
African Raw Material Vol. 1
Cashless Society · 2003
Promo CD
Audio Visual / Groundworks · 2002
Hanging In The Balance
Ben Sharpa + Rip!Lick · 2019
T.E.S.L.A., Pt. 1: The Evolution Of Slege Lee The Assassin
Dice Mak* · 2017
Abomrapper 2
Fortune · 2015
The Transition
Ben Sharpa · 2012
Gutter Butter Vol. 1
Qba · 2007
Writers Club
Zubz · 2005
Peace Of Mind
MXO · 2004
Attention To Detail
Fifth Floor* · 2004
Life / Taxi Wars
Cashless Society · 2003
Demolition: The MeStory
Groundworks · 2002
Blaze Tha Breaks
Cashless Society · 2001
Error Era
Tha Hymphatic Thabs · 2001
Farewell Fondle 'Em
Various · 2001
Text Und Ton
Clueso · 2001
The World Iz A Ghetto
The Hard Cashless Society (T.H.C.S)* · 2000
Kwanzaa! (Special Collaboration With Kwanzaa Tokyo)
DJ Sarasa a.k.a. Silverboombox · 2011
Hype Sessions Vol. 21: Jazzworx FM The Album
Various · 2008
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