Versatile South African rapper Beast Rsa is able to work within a wide range of production styles spanning hip-hop, gqom, Afro pop, and amapiano. Born Malusi Ndlovu in the Durban township KwaMashu, the MC did most of his growing up in Pinetown where he was exposed to local genres such as kwaito, Afro house, and maskandi. But after exposure to Eminem in the early 2000s, he started rapping, sharpening his skills in the Durban underground hip-hop scene. He released his backpack rap mixtape, 2012’s Global Warming, which earned him the scene’s respect. But it was his 2015 motivational single “Ithemba” (featuring the late gospel star S’fiso Ncwane) that caught the attention of a wider listenership, before positive responses from fans to a 2018 freestyle over a gqom beat kickstarted Beast’s next phase as a sonic nomad. After signing to Durban dance music impresario DJ Tira’s Afrotainment in 2019, Beast appeared on several gqom records (including “Bhampa” by Sphectacula and DJ Naves). The experimentation continues—his 2021 album Mix Breed tuned into the zeitgeist by featuring several amapiano beats.