HOOD MISUNDERSTOOD EP
Loatinover Pounds grew up in a hood where a lot of people were listening to house music or barcadi, so growing under hip hop made him an outcast and he was always misunderstood ,especially in the streets, from the music he listened to and how he dressed. So, on this project , “i was just being me in my rawest form and Hood Misunderstood matched what i was going through when i made the tape”.
True to the fashion of street rap, repping his hood is almost second nature to Loatinover Pounds . For instance, when he got a chance to rap a young verse at the SA Hip Hop Awards in 2022, he dilivered his trademark pitori slang.”Ihad to represent pitori kamo jozi, so i came in with my vernac flows in it.ka tshela punyete ya chaya”.
The cover art of his EP shows him standing outside a home that resembles a typical South African kasi, while he has his eyes closed, looking pensive. “With that cover art”, he says ,”i wanted something raw, something that will tell a story and something that could give people that hood nostalgia. So, i just took a ride with Michael (IG: @mm.norbert)-the one who shot the cover and we took a ride in Ga-Rankuwa Zone 1 and we found that house.
Ga-Rankuwa is the place where i attended primary school and church, most of my friends who were there when i started this music thing are from Ga-Rankuwa, and both my parents were norn in Ga-Rankuwa. So, it made sense for me to go back and shoot there, we also shot the Beke Le Beke music video in Ga-Rankuwa Zone 1 - it has a special place in my heart. In the EP, LoatinoVer Pounds managed to strike the balance between light hearted, fun and catchy hip hop songs, with just enough complex bars not to overwhelm his growing fanbase.
In the EP, Loatinover Pounds managed to strike the balance between light-hearted, fun and catchy hip-hop songs, with just enough complex bars not to overwhelm his growing fanbase. “Making this tape, I didn’t wanna over-complicate myself,” he says, “so I just made music with everyone who was around, and I could relate to. Khalee G is a friend of mine who’s also an artist. We spend a lot of time in the studio together, so if there’s a hook killer, I know it’s him, and it’s easier to reach out to him, so that’s why he did ‘Fly Away’ and ‘How U Feel’. When I recorded ‘Fly Away’ and ‘Victimz’, I could hear Kaydence’s voice playing in my head, so I knew he’d be the perfect man for the job, and he delivered. Also, Swartspeare and Earl P – they were people who were there when I was recording Hood Misunderstood… R.I.P Swartspeare. I also produced every beat for Hood Misunderstood.”
In the EP, Loatinover Pounds vulnerably interrogates the self, confidently shows it off, and explores the theme of love. On the EP’s opener ‘Karma Delivery’, he juxtaposes the musician and the person he is in real life, as he raps, “Wish I had confidence in real life like I do on the stage.”
On ‘Victimz’, which starts off with a soulful trumpet solo that is layered over a boom bap beat that locks in the spiritual feel of the song, Loatin and his collaborator – up-and-coming PTA rapper Kaydence – detail how they became victims of their own thoughts. “I just wanna say what I wanna say, but I overthink some sh*t, I always end up refraining,” raps LP, and Kaydence echoes Loatinover Pounds’ words as he raps, “Freed by the bars, I was caged by my own mind.”
This is followed by ‘How U Feel’, a beautiful rap record that has Loatin exploring his relationship with a love interest, and how he wants to make it official, as he raps: “I think we can change that ’cause you can be mine, and I can be your n*gga, think you’ll like calling me that.”
It features singers Khalee G and Earl P, and the late singer Swartspeare, who sings a rendition of Chantey Savage’s 1996 RnB hit, ‘Body’, after a beat switch, as he sings: “Don’t you know, my body belongs to you.”
Loatinover Pounds has the ability to effortlessly make light and fun songs that are relatable, especially on ‘Run X’, where he explains how he starts noticing the increase in interest in him as a musician by those around him, especially women. He raps, “Shawty, she crashing the VIP/ Next thing she wanna sit next to me/ Suddenly all of her friends are taking us pics (sh*t)/ It got me asking myself ‘am I really that big?’”
‘Flower Seedz’ is a melodic rap song that has Loatin reminiscing about a time when he had a love interest who seemed to want more than what he had to offer, as he raps, “She wanted flowers. But I only had seeds in my garden.”
The EP ends with ‘Fly Away’, where he again features his frequent collaborators Khalee G and Kaydence, and displays his fine penmanship, rapping, “I’m what you get when you collect all the seven dragon balls cause I appear like Shenron, I’m a fire spitter.” Hood Misunderstood debuted in the Apple Music Top 200 albums.
Loatinover Pounds uses his art to be understood by those around him, and there’s no stopping his rise. What can fans expect from him this year? “More punyete; more everything,” he says. “‘Sosh Plata’ music video is gonna drop in 2023, and also more merch, more videos and more music.”
“Making this EP, i didn't wanna over-complicate myself, so i just made music with everyone who was around, and i could relate to like Khalee G, Kaydence, Swartspear and Earl P .And you can expect Sosh Plata remix music video to drop 2023 and also more merch ,more videos and more music.
