Cotton Fest 2022: Riky Rick’s legacy
is in good hands
Cotton
Fest was founded by Riky Rick 'for the youngsters,' and they came out in force
this past weekend to honor him with his loved ones and peers. There was a time when
being a South African hip hop lover was equated with wanting to be an American,
and it was an intended insult I will never forget. Over the weekend, I was
reminded of this while attending the first day of the annual Cotton Fest, which
was hosted in honor of recently dead rapper Riky Rick.
I was
a lover of hip hop long before it was acceptable to adore both the music genre
and the culture that came with it, at the risk of sounding like the same
critics. Not because I was attempting to be hip, but because it's the music I
was socialized to listen to throughout my youth owing to the tastes of others
around me. Coming from the world I came from, it seemed indescribably
strange to be accused of trying to be an American by the people I went to
school with just for appreciating music and the fashion connected with this
genre. Nonetheless, my passion for hip hop has never waned, and it has only
grown stronger over time as my knowledge of rap music and hip hop as a culture
has grown. As the genre gained traction in South Africa, I was encouraged by
early initiatives by various organizer collectives to produce events geared
toward aficionados of the genre.
Strictly
Hip Hop, Masters of Rhythm, Maftown Heights, and Back to The City are examples
of these kind of events. If there had been any previous such instances, I was
probably too young to remember them. Even though these events
weren't necessarily designed for teens at the time, my friends, classmates, and
I managed to attend them all dressed in what we thought were the greatest
outfits at the time (clothes). The most we got to see was dance gangs competing
to the trendiest songs of the day, with a performance by artists like Skwatta
Camp, Entity, or Jozi thrown in for good measure (rap groups were a thing at
the time, as were dance crews).
This
past weekend, seeing today's kids execute their own version of this was a
completely heartwarming experience, especially considering they were the reason
Riky Rick dared to carry off such a large event in the first place. Cotton
Fest, who took place at The Station in Newtown, aimed to be more than just a
hip hop festival. Cotton Fest, unlike previous festivals, catered to almost
everything associated with hip hop culture, making it more of an immersive
event for those who were pulled to the venue by the music.
By
Bokang Kheswa
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