Stogie recently made a stop at Sway Calloway's 'Sway In The Morning' show, where he distilled his entire journey in one sitting.
The acclaimed lyricist discussed everything from the genesis and evolution of Hip Hop in South Africa, his alleged feud with Cassper Nyovest, the name switch from Tumi to Stogie T, to the South African political landscape and how it informs broader artistic ecosystems.
Clearing the air about whether or not he's beefing with Cassper, Stogie unpacked how it all started and why it's not true. "When Cassper was starting (out), I had a compilation that I put him on", he shared. "He's definitely a product of HHP. He comes from that Motswako lineage. I had worked with him when they were younger but I would never claim anyone's success."
Stogie explains how that fact was misinterpreted to suggest that he'd claimed to have created him. The OG gave props to the new school and how they've elevated the genre.
"I have the utmost respect for Cassper and AKA and what these artists are doing today because they've taken Hip Hop to places we'd never imagined."
"They are filling stadiums. Hip Hop is not even the biggest genre in South Africa but they are doing stuff that is eclipsing things artists in bigger genres are doing. How can you not commend that? I'm also a product of being put on!"
Stogie went on to explain his transition from Tumi & The Volume to the moniker Stogie T.
"The name Tumi and the Volume represented something that I felt like... I'm not there anymore. I started it when I was 19 and I'm now in my mid-thirties. I wanna be a repository. I wanna represent all my people's stories. "I wanted to be deliberately about purposely doing this so that I can represent a lot more. "Sometimes your legacy can be a prison."