If you need something to make you smile today, the new video from Okmalumkoolkat could be just what you’re looking for... especially if you share his (and, we’ll admit it, our) bizarre sense of humor. We have been big admirers of the eccentric South African rapper’s work for some time. We featured him in the “South Africa Today” program and have enjoyed his recent singles, including the Sibot collab "Nice Shandee's," and the self-produced “Internet Jetset Zuper.”
His new EP, Holy Oxygen I, was released on Aug. 11 by Affine Records and combines witty lyricism in English, Zulu and Afrikaans with beats supplied by Austrian producers Cid Rim and The Clonious. As Okmalum quite astutely remarks, “These kats are lighting future jazz dance floor sweaters out there in Vienna.”
Before diving into the wonderfully strange world of the video for “Allblackblackkat,” let’s talk about the song itself. Beginning with a mystical-sounding female choir, “Allblackblackkat” has murky synthesized production and rapping that manages to stay fierce, even when Okmalumkoolkat drops a Harry Potter reference. Peter Tosh and Jon Bon Jovi are also somehow involved.
The video for the track is truly and fantastically weird. In just the first 30 seconds, Okmalum appears in a flowing pink robe with a scepter and a pink suit with black and pink face paint. The video also includes shots of witch doctors holding white birds and pantsula dancers wearing checkered bodysuits. All in all, Okmalumkoolkat has created something thoroughly magical and futuristic. Check it out below!