It has undoubtedly been an incredible three-year run for Nasty C. He is one of the most streamed artists in Africa and has had multiple platinum-selling and critically acclaimed albums. The 23-year-old has also expanded his scope outside of music – featuring in Netflix’s Blood and Water as well as creating his own podcast.
The Durban-raised rapper is continuously elevating and breaking new ground in the process. And while so many things have changed, some things stay consistent – his family. One of the central themes of his last release, Zulu Man With Some Power revolves around his family. In Ababulali, Nasty C speaks about his father, David Ngcobo. He is his only living parental figure as Nasty C lost his mother at a tender age.
In the song, he praises his father for raising him as he raps:
“When I was younger, my screw and wires were tangled
When I was difficult and hard to understand
You never gave up, you played your role and so I thank you
For that, I gotta make some music you can dance to
I’ma give you all your credit while I still got the chance to”
The son and father have had a contentious relationship and that was the subject of his earlier mixtapes. His father showed concern over the path Nasty C was on and it created a rift between them. Over the years, they have been able to repair their relationship and establish a better understanding of one another.
“It just naturally happened. We just both came around,” states Nasty, adding, “My father started to understand my dream and what I wanted to do with my life. He started looking at me like an adult and somebody who can make decisions knowing the risks and vice versa. After that, we started to see eye-to-eye.”
Nasty C describes his father as more of an old-school kind of guy who enjoys Gospel and sometimes writes songs for the church he attends. But the proud father does have an appreciation of some of Nasty C’s music and particularly likes the song, Black and White featuring American soul songstress Ari Lennox.
“I don’t think my father has the slightest clue of what my position is. I mean, he’s happy for me and he sees that things are going well for me but I don’t think he has anything to compare it to. He’s not really a huge fan of Hip Hop so to him, I’m just successful. There’s no scale to measure it to,” explains Nasty C.
But, the one person who shares a passion for the Hip Hop genre in the household is Nasty C’s oldest brother, Siyabonga Ngcobo. He has had unwavering faith in his younger brother’s capabilities and even bought him equipment so that Nasty C could learn how to produce music from an early age.
“He’s always been fully supportive,” Nasty C proclaims, “he’s the one that got me the software and taught me how to use it. He was the only one in the house who understood my vision.” Ngcobo acts as Nasty C’s manager, handling brand partnerships, timelines for projects and setting certain goals or objectives to achieve.
According to Nasty C, there haven’t been any arguments between the two of them. They’re able to manage their business relationship and not let that interfere with their familial interactions. “This person helped raised me. So when it’s time to speak about business, there’s no need to say, ‘Okay, it’s time to talk about business’ or say, ‘Hey, it’s time to talk about family stuff’. We just kind of have an understanding,” he says.
And as his star continues to rise, his family remain the core people that keep the talented rapper humble, motivated and inspired.
Image courtesy of Universal Music.
