REVIEW: DJ Lelowhatsgood Says Rebirth Isn’t Optional, It’s Necessary!

Acclaimed DJ and SAMA-nominated artist, creative visionary, and cultural tastemaker Lelowhatsgood gives us Rebirth Is Necessary, a project that expands the boundaries of African electronic music while remaining deeply personal in its exploration of growth, belonging and becoming.

By Khaya Mnisi

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Rebirth Is Necessary EP Cover. Inspired by late artist and close friend Lunga Ntila.

Okay, so I’m going to start by saying that yes, I fully agree with Lelo: rebirth IS necessary. Stick around. You’ll see what I mean.

Throw a listening party. Road trip the whole thing out. Whatever you do, enjoy yourself and remember that ukuzalwa kabusha kuyadingeka.

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Now, I could sit here and yap about the strong, and weak points of this EP. I will. Before we get there, I think it’s worth talking about “rebirth”itself, at least from a perspective most of us can relate to.

If you’ve ever gone through a period of transformation, a period of ‘rebirth’ in your life, then you probably know that the process is not neat. It’s comme ci, comme ça. You’re figuring things out. You’re experimenting. You pull this from here. You borrow that from there. You reconstruct. You evolve. You get things wrong (scary, but take a take a deep breath). You get things right (Yay). And hopefully, by the end of the tunnel, all those scattered pieces connect and become one unique and beautiful being, ready to grab life by the ears. Or the toes. I don’t know. You decide what to grab my friend!

Listening to Rebirth Is Necessary felt a lot like watching rebirth take place in real time. Sounds are stretched, distorted and rebuilt across the project. Drawing from 3 Step, Afro Tech, Gqom, Is’qinsi and experimental club music, Lelo crafts a body of work that feels as restless as it does rewarding.

After absorbing Rebirth Is Necessary, I felt super inclined to listen to Next Level, Lelowhatsgood’s 2024 EP. Instead of dipping my toes into one Lelo EP and forming some sort of opinion on it, I just had to go all in. And here’s what I gathered after my solo Lelo listening session: Next Level  leans more heavily on its instrumentation. While listening to it, I could feel the chaos bubbling inside me, but I could contain it. Rebirth Is Necessary, on the other hand, doesn’t seem interested in keeping that chaos contained. It leans further into bold, vibrant vocals and explosive production. And I say that hoping I don’t sound like I’m mindlessly glazing the EP.

Opening with Ba Ko Kae?, the vocals are screechy, unsettling and commanding. They establish a rush that runs through the rest of the project. Then comes Hypnosis. Ahhh. Eye watering. If Ba Ko Kae? kicks the door open, Hypnosis welcomes you with a hug!

Mind Ur Business and Ngiw’ Logogo carry that energy forward. Raise the volume and find out. Both tracks arrive with confidence, force and vibrance. Then comes Ten Toes, which introduces an electrifying hip hop influence into the mix, adding another layer of personality to an already genre defying body of work.

There are a lot of strong points on this EP. The collaborations. The lyricism. The instrumentation. The best thing about it, though, is that all of these elements work together. Going into Rebirth Is Necessary, I feared all of its ambition might get the better of it. That it could become one loud, genre defying, boundary pushing mess. But it doesn’t. Instead, it manages to be harmoniously, and soothingly chaotic and digestible.

It is a stampede of sound. Wild and electrifying. It is a hard splashing waterfall of lyricism. Vibrant. Joyful.

Spend some time with Next Level, then jump into Rebirth Is Necessary, or vice verse. Fully absorb yourself in Lelowhatsgood’s discography. Throw a listening party. Road trip the whole thing out. Whatever you do, enjoy yourself and remember that ukuzalwa kabusha kuyadingeka.

We give thanks.

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Fortunately, my fellow word seekers, I managed to catch up with Lelo. After spending time with Rebirth Is Necessary, I had a few questions, so I decided to ask them. Read my conversation with Lelowhatsgood here.