Mingus, born Xola Mkubukeli, is a Jozi (Johannesburg) born Cape Townian. His early childhood is based in a small township in Cape Town called Guguletu. Later, after the apartheid restrictions were lifted in South Africa, his family moved to the suburbs and there he attended interracial schools in pursuit of a better education. The reason being is that at the time, the apartheid system was in place and what that meant was that if you were a black South African, the level of education given was lower than that of white South Africans.
Mingus was always into music. His uncle was a huge Jazz fanatic and his family played a major role in the local church choir. He found Hip Hop at an early age and immediately fell in love with the music. Back then he was just in it as a fan. He would meet up with friends and exchange tapes as if it was a drug deal since at the time he wasn't allowed to play music with a high explicit lyrical content like Hip Hop had and still has. That however didn't stop him from collecting classics from Eric B & Rakim; KRS One; Cool G Rap and DJ Polo; Tha Alkaholiks; LL Cool J; Run DMC; Redman; Wu Tang Clan and the list goes on.
As he was reaching his late teens, he developed a need to express himself more and Hip Hop provided that outlet for him. Out of the many elements Hip Hop provided, MCying (rapping) was the one he used to express his views on society and generally life. He fell deeper into the art of writing rhymes and inevitably took up MCying as his hobby, professionally.
At present, Mingus is well respected figure in South African Hip Hop. He is the founding member of the Writers Block crew and the Metaphysical Misfits. He hosted a well respected underground Hip Hop show on U.C.T. Radio called The Live Wirez, as well as The Live Wirez concerts where a lot of today's Cape Town crews were highly noticed (some discovered). He has toured from Africa to Europe since 2006 and he's a well respected MC in both continents.
Mingus is currently working on the Album "Epitaph". This is a project he's been working on since 2006, after returning from Germany. On the project Mingus has gathered all his friends from Germany, Sweden, the U.S. and South America. The album is highly jazz influenced. It is approached this way because he feels that that is the pinnacle of his musical journey.
for more on Mingus, please visit www.myspace.com/mingushiphop or www.reverbnation.com/mingus
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