Jaak (2)

South African hip-hop MC, rapping in Afrikaans, born June 26, 1975 in Paarl, Western Cape. Jaak is Afrikaans. Born and raised in the home of Afrikaans, Paarl is the town where Afrikaans first got official recognition as a respectable language. The place where the Taalmonument stands erect on Paarl mountain like a big, fat middle finger, telling the world, "Up yours! Afrikaans represent!" In this town of extremely divided human ideologies, Jaak was destined to become one of the most free-thinking artists in Afrikaans Hip Hop. Growing up on the 'wrong' side of the Bergriver, in the projects of Paarl East, Jaak was quick to realise the huge discrepancies in Paarl's social structure. Using Hip Hop as a vehicle of truth and social justice, Jaak found his identity through the artform, also finding a way to voice the concerns of his people - not just the people from Paarl but all overlooked 'brown' people of South Africa. Starting out with the seminal Paarl underground crew, Funk-shun 3 (AKA FS3) in 1993. Consisting of Jaak, Ace High and Bulbz. Tragically Ace High died in a car crash that same year and new member, Ashtray, joined soon after. The group took a cerebral approach to Hip Hop from the start even though they all had diverse backgrounds. FS3 specialised in English rhymes but their Afrikaans bangers were also huge crowd favourites. This was at a time when no Hip Hop groups existed in Paarl. In 1998, Jaak released his solo Afrikaans debut, titled "Koekemakranka", where he did all the production as well as the lyrics. "Koekemakranka" was Jaak's calling card into the world of the Cape Town Afrikaans underground scene. The album was raw with a certain spirituality that immediately made Jaak one of the most sought-after Afrikaans MC's in South Africa. Many shows (TV and radio included) followed and Jaak soon became the artist you just had to feature on your album. One major break was Jaak's cameo on Jitsvinger's, "Skeletsleutel" album on the track, "Kom Op", which also included the legendary, Isaac Mutant. Completing an album In the meantime with Paarl contemporary, Panaikz, under the JaaPee moniker. The album "Hotnots Blymaak Isse Bui Reën" also spawned many underground classic tracks like "Club Waslap". Jaak was featured all over the Afrikaans Hip Hop scene, doing joints with Gio Vahk, Cream, Griffie, Unique and many more. He died on June 3rd, 2017 due to health complications.