Stiff Pap - SASSA (Single)

South African multi-disciplinary duo Stiff Pap share the hard-hitting first single ‘SASSA’ from their forthcoming conceptual audio-visual project ‘TUFF TIME$’. The track is out on all platforms via Cotch International.

Over a chaotic base of militant snare rolls and sharp synthesiser arpeggios, Stiff Pap’s lead MC Ayema lays out the current strife of surviving on social security in South Africa, with a nod to the lacklustre approach from the government to protect black communities. An acronym for South African Social Security Agency - responsible for giving out grants to marginalized communities - SASSA takes a strong stance against the fundamental failings of the organisation who are meant to protect them.

Together with the single, Stiff Pap announce their most accomplished project yet, TUFF TIME$, an intensely vivid snapshot of life as young black men in Johannesburg, set to the backdrop of a global pandemic that continues to rage on a local level. Showcasing the entire spectrum of their sound, from punked-out rap bangers such as ‘SASSA’, to the expansive dreamlands of ‘I See You’, to the clever integration of traditional sounds in ‘Riders On The Storm’, this project sees them stake their claim as one of the most groundbreaking and engaging acts to come from the African continent.

Photo Credit: KETU MESO