The 4th Republic

On his highly collaborative fourth album, The 4th Republic, DJ and producer Prince Kaybee adds diverse color palettes to his iteration of Afrohouse—weaving emotive textures, high-octane instrumentals, and vocally driven melodies into Afrotech. He molds his production around his guests, who include Ami Faku, Black Motion, and Lady Zamar. “This album is a summary of the interaction I have with my fans,” he tells Apple Music. “It's my communication with them via music, as a leader of some sort. I was focusing on the people and they are the citizens of my music, so it's a multilingual album.” He talks us through some of the standout tracks below.
Ebabayo (feat. Nokwazi) “I heard this song without the vocals and I thought it was a bit too mellow. I thought Nokwazi could come in and give me a more live element—a sense of being alive—and she did exactly that. If it was just an instrumental, I don't think it would be worthy of being a single. She came through to the studio and wrote the first verse, and the first line of the first verse was actually something written by my girlfriend, who was also in studio.”
Menateng (feat. Aymos & Black Motion) “I posted a video on Instagram doing the ‘Umenitosha’ instrumental and then Aymos reached out. We went to the barber beforehand and I made them listen to the song. Looking at what Aymos has done in the Amapiano wave is amazing. From a songwriter's perspective, he adds way more color than we think. When a song has relatable lyrics, it literally becomes your song—it's speaking to you!”
Umenitosha (feat. Polaris) “I posted the song on social media and a lot of people were like, ‘I want to jump on,’ but Polaris didn't ask. She recorded over it and posted it on her socials. I was like, ‘Yoh! This is fire.’ I decided on the spot that she's worthy of being on the song. This one's representative of the album being for the fans, because a fan has just been part of the album—that speaks directly to its narrative.”
Insurance (feat. King Monada) “Monada and I go back a long way, and we've got a vibe going. This one time I just felt like driving, and he lives in Limpopo, a good five-hour drive [from Johannesburg]. Nothing was planned, but I went there and we ate, had some drinks, started chatting, and completely forgot about the song. The next morning he sent the song and I was like, 'Oh okay...you did record.'”
Sofaslahlane (feat. Nokwazi) “Interestingly, this was my first interaction with Nokwazi in studio. We'd spoken about collaborating before, and my song ‘Banomoya’ was actually supposed to be a Nokwazi collaboration. ‘Sofaslahlane' is when I finally had the privilege to be with her in studio, and it was amazing. She's got so much color in her voice and portrays emotion in her lyrics. There's some emotions you feel but they don't really have a face or a word—but vocalists like her give you a picture of them.”
The Republic (feat. Afro Brotherz) “Afro Brotherz have been my guys since the ‘Gugulethu’ collaboration. If you listen to their music—it's very busy. It's got everything that makes an Afrotech song. There's pads, keys, shakers, congas, and all these African elements.”
I Will Fly (feat. Sanda) “Sanda is an amazing vocalist, and it was a must to have someone from the Project Hope compilation on my album. I first discovered her on Twitter when she sent a video of her doing an Ami Faku cover—I was immediately sold.”
Beautiful Girls (Republic Mix) (feat. Presss) “I revisited this song because people have been tagging me for the past three years, asking me to redo it. I listen to my fans a lot, so I brought it back. We did another take with Presss, who's a very Afropoppy artist, and he was happy to revive the track.”
Vusa Abalele “This is a very ratchet, very open, loudly expressive song. Rethabile is a great vocalist and she's got a sense of urgency about her. I think she took this song up a notch. She's got a big voice and a big character and she belongs in the light!”
Uwrongo (Prince Kaybee, Shimza, Black Motion & Ami Faku) “The recognition from Time magazine and being on Barack Obama's favorite songs of 2020 playlist gave me hope. It's an amazing feeling to still get such news after so many years of giving so much to the industry. It’s great to know that, apart from South Africans, other people are listening to the music. We might not be the originators of this sound, but we've managed to make it our own! For the world to relate to how we've turned it around is amazing.”