Durex, the world’s leading sexual health brand concluded its search for “The 1″ on Saturday 3 October at Chap Pozi in Soweto. The campaign commenced in July with a call for Hip Hop hopefuls from Umlazi, Khayelitsha, Mamelodi, Tembisa and Soweto to enter their demos for a chance to show their stuff at a series of preemptive events that took place from 18 to 20 September across the country. Ten contestants from each township battled it out at these events until one contestant from each township was shortlisted to represent their home turf in the final.
MTV Base presenter Sandile Ntshingila as host and DJ Switch on the decks, kept the eager crowd enthralled for the night, while interlude performances by Hip Hop dance collective Supreme Life Crew got the crowd cheering for more in anticipation of the top five’s performances. Each contestant was given the chance to perform their own work, building up to an elimination round between Gomza, Myndphlo from Umlazi and Sizwe from Tembisa.
Finally Sizwe and Gomza emerged as the top two to contend for the crown of Mzansi’s number 1 in a 16 bar freestyle battle around the theme “The 1″. Gomza, the clear crowd favourite, emerged victorious for the top spot following a unanimous vote by the competition judges Reason, Nadia Nakia and DotCom amid elated cheers from the audience.
“By utilising the power of popular culture to communicate our message, we were able to attract entries from hundreds of hopefuls. As the number 1 condom brand in the world, launching a single unit version of our Extra Safe Condom designed to inspire people to enjoy wonderful and safe sex with their 1, it made perfect sense to couple this with a mission to find, Mzansi’s number 1 Hip Hop artist and facilitate the development of talented South Africans to communicate their stories through music”. Says Alexia Theocharis, Assistant Brand Manager – Durex
Gomolemo “Gomza” Monama is a 23 years old MC from Mamelodi A3. He discovered his love for Hip Hop when he listened to Thugz Mansion by Tupac, which resonated with him more than any genre of music. He discovered his skills when he dropped a freestyle rap to Msawawa’s Bewungakanani, which represents the true paradoxical nature of music at its best. “When I get to New York, I hope to meet the people who took this piece of Africa and made it so strong in the west and so influential to a point where it touched me and brought me to them. I want to take that home with me and use the same energy to bring the world back to Africa. We all have stories. They’re all worth listening to” says the MC
The song that immediately made the crowd fall in love with Gomza’s and the judges sit up and take notice of him was titled GTI, which is based on true life stories. The song is about lust, betrayal, love, and the admiration Africans have for western materialistic things that stray from the true identity of person and culture.
Gomza wins a journey of a lifetime, to New York City to experience the history and culture of Hip Hop.
He will witness some of the world’s best Hip Hop artists perform at the Brooklyn Hip Hop festival and will be taken on an unforgettable journey through the history and evolution of hip hop culture. His trip also includes a guided tour through neighborhoods like Harlem, the Bronx and Brooklyn through an interactive, off-the-wall New York Hip Hop culture tour.
“It has been a fantastic run with the judges and contestants from all the regions. Their collaboration with Durex was able to make the launch of the Extra Safe condom singles a stellar success” concludes Theocharis.