Wraith Steps Out of the Shadows with New LP Stranger
By Deuce
Wraith wants in. The South African trap star hailing from Haamanskraal in North Gauteng, South Africa, has been busting down doors for the past several years trying to land him and his Heavy Current label mates on the international map. His most recent effort, a 21-track long player entitled Stranger, goes a long way to doing just that. Predominantly produced by in-house beat banger MasterFix, the album showcases a variety of situations and sentiments, most of which keep the dance floor jumping and the subwoofers slumping quite nicely.
The album is the culmination of a considerable journey for the 24-year old, who dropped the set on his birthday on December 7. Born in Mabopane—a township in Gauteng—as Tshiamo Kegomoditse Raseroka, the rhymer spent his early years pursuing his matrix qualifications at the prestigious Berea Park Independence School, one of the most revered educational institutes in the province of Gauteng’s Pretoria. However, the scholar couldn’t fight the lure of the microphone for long and by the time he was 20 had fully immersed himself in a music career that’s just now starting to yield dividends.
Things began looking up in 2015 when he established himself with the Heavy Current team, an independent record label in South Africa populated by the likes of StarFace, MUnique Ahimsa, and Lar’Z. With Ahimsa handling the hooks and the rest of the squad intermingling verses about life across the equator line, the label graduated from releasing singles to a full length effort in 2017, the well-received Haamanskraal LP. Soon after Wraith and his label mates began performing with heavy hitters such as Kwesta, Flame, and King Monada, fueling anticipation for Stranger.
Wraith does it moving on most of the album, segueing between rapping and singing in a distinctly high-pitched tone that stands out from the rest of his peers. Even a casual listen to the collection’s first single, “I See” illustrates his vast potential. Although he rhymes in linear patterns that concisely finish with each bar, there’s a fluidity to his flow that suggests if he exerts himself, he could work wonders over the syncopated rhythms and plush cords that provide most of the sonic backdrops. With the nimbleness of a Wise Intelligence and the melodies of your average trapper, only time will reveal if he’ll succeed in making Haamanskraal the next hot spot on the music scene.
