Whether you call him Youngsta Kaaptstad, Young Van Riebeek, YVR or the voice of the Cape, this rapper’s fashion roots are firmly planted in the 90s and 00s. Meet ZandoMAN YoungstaCPT.
Follow him on Instagram: @youngstacpt
Firstly, congratulations on the release of your album, Things Take Time!
Other than your album, what are you listening to right now?
Nipsey Hussle, Freddie Gibbs, Curren$y, Dom Kennedy, Westside Gunn and Conway
Does music influence your style?
Definitely, I think a lot of how I put my outfits together is based on what I’ve seen growing up in hip-hop music videos, especially the 90s and the early 00. The big bomber jackets, Timberlands with the loose laces, Chuck Taylors with Dickies pants and jumpsuits.
Whose style influences you right now?
Still the 90/00s. I do have a shirt-and-pants combo moment here and there that I credit to hip hop as well. Guys like Snoop Dogg, who wore check shirts and a lot of the West Side style was very simple with the long socks and the Nike Cortez. So I think the simple but effect look has always carried me in life, but if I wanna stunt on them I can do that as well.
Describe yourself in one line
I am powerful
Do you consider yourself a style icon?
No, not really, I think I just consider myself an icon in general. I’m just iconic in shit that I do. Nah, it is. Some people will be influenced by my style, some people will be influenced by what I’ve done in music, some people will be influenced by the visuals we put out, and they try and emulate that. So I can see that I have different influences in different fields of work.
What do you wear when you need to walk into a room and feel confident?
Something local.
Like?
Like a T-shirt that says Kaapstad Naaier. No better way to get noticed, everyone reads that s**t! These local slogans of ours, the slang we’ve been pushing, and the songs we’ve been singing, by making it more prominent, it will spark ideas and clothing labels and rappers will start using it in their songs. When I go overseas I only pack local brands because I want that question: “where did you get it? Who made this? What does this mean?” Question my style somehow, ask about it.
I hear you’re a sneaker fan, how many pairs of sneakers do you own?
I have no idea, I stopped counting because I knew I’d feel guilty.
And honestly, do you wear all of the sneakers you buy?
None of them are investment pieces but I wait for the right moment, the right time. If I know I am going to shoot a video at a certain place or for a certain song this shoe goes with that. I’m not keeping them for my children’s children, I’m gonna wear them all eventually, but I’m just waiting for the right time.
Do you think a lot about how you project yourself on social media?
Not as much as I should. I should probably think about it more I suppose, but I wanna be known for the art and for the music that I make. I understand that social media is a tool for us to broadcast ourselves and promote ourselves, but at the same time, what are you promoting, how good are you at what you are doing, actually? Is there someone else who can do it as good as you or better? Because if it’s about photographs, someone can always take a better picture than you, someone could always edit a picture better than you. But if it’s about skill and something that you are talented in or something that is God-given, no one can really beat you at that because it is your gift and your tool to utilise. So I think that the work I put out on social media no one can fuck with that. It’s always special and it’s always different and I feel like I should just run with that, even though it may not get like 30 000 likes or 20 000 like, I feel like it something like a cult following, something that people can latch on to that understand that kind of hip hop, like I was mentioning early about the 90s and early 00s. I can’t expect a child born a few years ago to understand automatically what I am trying to do.
What would you like your social media bio to say in 20 years’ time?
Legendary lyricist, revolutionary pioneer.
If money wasn’t a factor, what’s one piece you’d buy yourself?
It would probably be something ridiculous that I don’t need. Jewellery, I’d probably get myself a big watch. I’m a big fan of watches and rings and chains I don’t like to be too uitspatlik (materialistic).
So what’s next for you?
Pushing my album and shooting a music video for every song on the album. I have 15 more to go, I’ve shot 5 already. 3 have been released, 2 are unreleased, but they’re already in the stash. But remember, things take time.
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