MUSIC • SOUTH AFRICAN HIP-HOP • EMERGING ARTISTS
South African hip-hop has four new names to keep on the radar. Uncle D, Aquarius13, J-STYLE and Kimo Savage have been named the winners of the 2026 Red Bull 64 Bars Booth Tour, earning a place on an upcoming Season EP that brings their individual styles together.
The competition travelled through Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria and Cape Town, giving aspiring MCs a platform to put their lyricism, flow and originality to the test. The four winners have since performed their winning verses at Back to the City, one of Southern Africa’s major hip-hop events.
Now, the next chapter moves into the studio, where the artists are set to record the Red Bull 64 Bars Booth Tour 2026 Season EP with producers Herc Cut The Lights and Shaney Jay.
Four beats, four winners, no shortcuts
The format is straightforward: 64 bars, a beat and an opportunity to show what you can do on the mic. No hooks or choruses to lean on just the delivery, the lyrics and the artist’s own identity.
For 2026, the competition expanded its selection format from one overall winner to one winner per beat. That distinction matters: the four winners represent four different beats, and they also happen to come from four different cities.
The move creates more space for emerging talent to be heard and gives the selected artists a chance to take their music beyond the competition.
The tour follows SirBelow Worldwide, the inaugural winner in 2024, and Thaboow Thimmy, who won in 2025 and went on to record with MashBeats.
For Shaney Jay, originality was a major consideration during the selection process.
“What I was looking for, even from the workshops, was someone different, with a unique flow, something we haven’t seen before,” he says.
He also acknowledged the strength of the entries, explaining that the number of talented artists made the process more difficult. Importantly, the opportunity is not limited to the winners, with other participants reportedly attracting collaboration interest from established artists and producers.
Meet the four winners
Uncle D — Johannesburg
Mhleli Chiliza, 21
Originally from Durban and now based in Johannesburg, Uncle D blends isiZulu and English in his music. He won at The Playground in Braamfontein with his performance, “Grand Finale”.
For him, the result was a surprise and a chance to build on the work he has already put into his career.
“Winning Red Bull 64 Bars feels like a dream. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to win,” he says.
Aquarius13 — Durban
Thokozani Happiness Msani, 28
Representing Umlazi, Aquarius13 claimed her win at the Florida Road Basketball Courts with “Rapid”.
After years of pushing her music, she sees the achievement as the beginning of a bigger journey. Her ambitions include producing quality music videos, collaborating with artists in other cities and building a career that can financially sustain her.
“I have been pushing for so long, so getting that number one spot, I feel like I really deserved it and it’s just the beginning,” she says.
J-STYLE — Pretoria
Scelo Junior Mashao, 22
Hailing from Mamelodi, J-STYLE combines raw emotion, fun and a strong sense of identity. He secured his win at 012 Central with “Heavyweight”.
His victory came after an earlier attempt that did not go to plan, making the result a personal milestone as well as a competition win.
“After crumbling under pressure the first time, winning this felt like redemption as well,” he says.
Kimo Savage — Cape Town
Thabiso Sange Njozela, 21
Kimo Savage draws inspiration from current affairs and personal history. He won at Y?GEN Apparel in Wynberg with “Championship”.
The opportunity offers him a platform to increase his visibility and move closer to his goals as a rapper.
“It marks that I am going in the right direction towards my goals as a rapper,” he says.
The next move: from the booth to the studio
The upcoming Season EP is the next opportunity for these four artists to turn a competition win into something more substantial. Working with Herc Cut The Lights and Shaney Jay places them in a recording environment where they can develop their sound and reach new listeners.
For South African hip-hop, the bigger story is the continued effort to create platforms where emerging MCs can demonstrate their skills, connect with industry players and build careers beyond a single performance.
The question now is how these four artists will use that opportunity and what their different styles will bring to the same project
Follow the latest updates through Red Bull 64 Bars South Africa and Red Bull South Africa’s social channels, @redbullza.
