News Brief
Sabelo Mkhabela
Sep. 08, 2017 06:13AM EST

South African Uber and Metered Taxi Wars: Cars Torched

Uber drivers fight back after a long streak of violence against them by metered taxi drivers.

At least three cars were burned down in Sandton, Johannesburg last night in the long-running metered taxi and Uber war. The Citizen reports that two of the cars are believed to belong to Uber drivers. Uber drivers are reported by EWN to have started attacking stationary metered taxi cars in retaliation.

Metered taxi drivers in South Africa have been feeling threatened by the success of Uber in the country, leading to them resorting to violence, especially in Johannesburg and Pretoria. They feel the American company is stealing their customers as Uber fares are lower than those of traditional metered taxis.

Earlier this year, an Uber driver died after he suffered burn injuries when his car was burnt down allegedly by metered taxi drivers.

news brief taxi Uber violence
Music

Interview: Ranks ATM Makes ‘Substance Music’

South African hip-hop artist Ranks ATM on his latest EP 'Substance Music', working with Riky Rick and his crew African Trap Movement's new chapter.

Ranks ATM demands to be taken seriously. With every successive release, listeners are bound to pick up on both his personal and artistic growth. His latest EP, Substance Music, released towards the end of 2020, is an honest body of work that sees the artist divulge some aspects of his life while remaining playful and entertaining.

Young2unn, who produced a majority of the project, gave Ranks ATM beats that primarily consist of keys and strings cushioned by atmospheric pads and ethereal vocal samples panned for effect. The music is soulful enough for Ranks to tell his story and gritty enough to maintain his street aesthetic.

On Substance Music, the artist strikes the balance between playful banter and poignant expression of emotions. It's what makes his raps believable in general—he presents himself as a complete human who feels pain at times but also feels himself. Songs such as "Die For Me" and "How Could It Be" are laced with specific details that could have only been extracted from his life experiences, for instance, on the former, he raps, "You cheated on me with a gym freak, you did me dirty."

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Joeboy Shares Visuals for New Track 'Lonely'

Joeboy has dropped the music video for his latest track 'Lonely'. The endearing track features on his upcoming debut album 'Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic'.