Avery

Released in 2015, Averyfully established Emtee as South Africa’s trap god supreme. Yet for all of its external successes—it went platinum in 2016, and earned a numerous best-album awards—it remains a very personal release for the star.

“My debut album Avery was named after my oldest son,” the man born Mthebeni Ndevu tells Apple Music. “It was a very personal project for me, that surprisingly reached so many heights. I am still in awe of what I managed to do as a new artist at the time.”

“The months leading up to Avery’s birth were the most trying times I’ve ever faced,” he continues. “I had to step up and take real responsibility. I made a promise to myself to never let Avery or any of my future children go through any type of hardships and this is why I gave my all into this project.”

His work ethic soon earned him the nickname “Emtee The Hustler”, and his efforts paid off in dividends. “Roll Up Re-Up (feat. AKA and Wizkid)”, a remix of his O.T. Genasis-inspired hit, is still to date Emtee’s most successful song. “It’s my best from this album. I got to work with the legendary Wizkid, one of my favourite artists in the world and AKA, one of the best in South Africa.”

Describing “Winning”, which features Nasty C, Emtee says “I liked the fact that we were two young homies fresh into the music scene, and instead of trying to compete with each other we formed a brotherhood.”

With “Dreams”, his aim was to give his supporters hope, in the same way it did for him. “I’ve done so many things and achieved so much,” he concludes, “that I wanted to let anyone, young or old, from whatever background understand that if you believe in yourself and persevere anything is possible.”