Muthaland entertainment sister company of Ghetto Ruff is perhaps one of the most successful recording stables in South Africa having paved the way for many artists who went from nothing to stars. Ghetto Ruff has maintained its standard of understanding of current trends as well as maintaining its caliber in talent selection. Many of the artists under Muthaland entertainment have been multi nominee
s, award winning artists , who gained international exposure and have progressed in their music, business/production careers. Our diverse and experienced team specialises in artist management, label services, publishing, media synchronisation and music supervision, offering structured and professional career support to both established and developing artists. The most prolific group that made waves in the country was Cape Town based hip hop group Prophets of the City, who were successful nationally and internationally. The group was founded by the current Managing director, Lance Stehr in the 1980’s. Set in the then apartheid South Africa, Stehr’s aim was to create a group that would say something against the un ruling government, his partnership with, Cape Town DJ Ready D, gave way to the creation of the group POC. The SABC had banned the group as they were creating music of a political nature, which was not allowed then. It is safe to say that POC was the basis for many South African artists in the genre of hip hop and Kwaito as other groups such as Skeem Waar were founded helping the stable expand into Kwaito with R’n’B vocalist Ishmael joining the group in 1996. Another product of POC was the Afrikaans hip hop group BrasseVannieKaap. This was a new breath of sound for the country, and for Lace in meant being able to discover talent, nurture it and become a success.
10 times winning artist, Ishmael has been with the stable for a very long time. The “Waar was Jy?” track hit the South African music scene hard, as people responded to it well and it soon became the ultimate song to play at parties. Ishmael joined POC and they recorded in studio in Yeoville, Johannesburg and played the song and people loved it. Ishmael has also expanded his talents in other genres such as Gospel, Reggae and is now part of the country’s hottest hip-hop group JOZI. Zola or better yet known to the country as “Papa Action” from the South African township drama Yizo-Yizo, is an entrepreneur, TV Presenter, Rapper, Actor and former Ghetto Ruff artists who was the epitome of ghetto. Zola’s name comes from the township he grew up in, Zola, Soweto. He was very good at mimicking what he saw and has an incredible talent in terms of telling a story through language. He is an award artist who was brewed from the stable into a success. The late Brenda Fassie’s son Bongani Fassie also former artist at Ghetto Ruff came to the stable after the death of his mother in 2004 with a fresh new sound. Before 2004 Bongani had not been in the industry as a musician and this was the stepping stone that lead him to produce the JOZI Muthaland Crunk album, taking that old-school South African flavor and mixing it up with hip hop. Over the years, Ghetto Ruff has been involved in well-acclaimed film productions such as the sound track for the Oscar winning movie, Tsotsi in 2005 and also did the hit TV series sound track for Gaz’lam as well as Yizo-Yizo. To date the independent record label has been existence for more than 30 years and has been home to many artists including RJ Benjamin, DJ Cleo, Zola, Bricks, Pitch Black Afro and many more. Currently they have artists like the Muthaland Crunk hip hop group JOZI with members Da L.E.S and Ishmael and African Rock Gypsy Nancy G signed to the label. Passion and love for music are the reasons for this record company still being in existence and flourishing, while making those who are as passionate about music successful. JOZI has also branched of across international borders having toured prominent parts of the world including the USA, Ghana, Nigeria, Namibia, France, Germany and their reality TV show JOZI: Moving The City, which is a show about the group’s quest to find a unique sound to put into their current album, Moving The City, which has a variety of sounds from different genres such as Mbhaqanga and Shagaan music, recorded with Shagaan music giant, Nozinja. It also broadens off into the album single, Movingthe City, with a touch of Khoisan music incorporated with hip hop.
