ProVerb at Back To The City in 2016. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
ProVerb Now Owns The Masters To His Classic Debut Album ‘The Book of ProVerb’
14 years since the release of his debut album, Verb now owns its masters.
Veteran South African rapper ProVerb now owns the masters to his debut album, The Book of ProVerb. Verb took to social media to make the announcement, and further added that the album is currently being re-mastered and will be available for re-release soon.
<p><em>The Book of ProVerb</em> is the Kimberly MC's first album, and is considered a classic by many fans, heads and critics, including this one. It came with seminal songs that defined the mid-2000s era and are still the MC's greatest—songs such as the prophetic "I Have A Dream," "Microphone Sweet Home," "Women," "Kimberly Rise," "Heartbeat," and a lot more. Most of the production was handled by <strong>Battlekat</strong>. It featured appearances from <strong>Tumi</strong>, <strong>Zubz</strong> and <strong>Pebbles</strong>, among a few others.</p>
<p><div class="preroll-video"></div><ora-player></ora-player></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="04c42" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="MHEIWM1556111112"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1120976629512245254" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Managed to buy back the masters of my debut album “The Book Of ProVerb” after 14 years. In studio to Re-Master the… https://t.co/4s7p5S9egU</div> — ProVerb (@ProVerb)<a href="https://twitter.com/ProVerbMusic/statuses/1120976629512245254">1556096629.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>The Book of ProVerb</em> was released in 2005 under the label Gallo Records, which also released SA hip-hop albums such as the late Pro's classic <em>Heads and Tales</em>, Mr Selwyn's <em>Formula</em> and <em>Zone 5</em>, among others.<br></p><p>A large number of South African hip-hop albums from the mid-2000s era are still not available on streaming sites and online stores because the masters are owned by labels that either don't care much about the music and culture or are now non-existent. As a result, a huge portion of SA hip-hop history and heritage is not available online for everyone to have access to.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d95fc53d90ed33a87c34075b9b182436"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8Ywtlmcu5is?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Proverb Microphone sweet home</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ywtlmcu5is" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p>
<p><br></p><p>For instance, some the late Pro's albums—<em>Snakes and Ladders</em>, <em>Dankie San</em>—which he released under the indie label TS Records, <a href="https://www.okayafrica.com/pro-dankie-san-snakes--ladders/" target="_self">were only made available online after his untimely demise</a>. </p><p><div class="dfp_atf-slot" data-not-loaded="true"></div><script type="text/javascript">
checkdfpScripts();
</script></p><p><em>The Book of ProVerb</em> is the second album Verb has bought back masters for (also from Gallo). Earlier this year, the hip-hop legend made his sophomore album<em> Manuscript</em> available online, and the assumption is that that happened after he bought the masters.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="1f467" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="GU63TJ1556111112"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="951350882129645568" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Because I got all my masters back. I own all my projects. Needed to clear the system from the old record label that… https://t.co/lHyNqR3FHe</div> — Jabba™ (@Jabba™)<a href="https://twitter.com/HipHopPantsula/statuses/951350882129645568">1515654700.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p>Last year, the later legendary rapper<strong> HHP</strong> shared earlier last year that he has bought back the masters to all his albums, which he soon made available online.<br></p><p>Hopefully, more artists will follow in Verb and Jabba's footsteps. Albums such as<em> Music From My Good Eye</em>, <em>Live from the Bassline </em>by Tumi, <em>The Offering</em> by Optical Illusion, and a whole lot more are nowhere to be found in the virtual realm. </p><p>Listen to ProVerb's<em> Manuscript</em> below, below while you wait for <em>The Book of ProVerb</em> to drop online. </p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *;" frameborder="0" height="450" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.music.apple.com/za/album/manuscript/1451578295?app=music" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;background:transparent;"></iframe></div><p><br></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/5exEdZER7qfoAgqM2EjjyA" width="300"></iframe></div>
Keep reading...
Show less
