On the second installment of his Sweet and Short series, Cassper Nyovest boldly embraces a new sonic direction. Having previously paid homage to kwaito, Sweet and Short 2.0 sees him fuse his hip-hop sensibilities with another homegrown genre in amapiano. “This is an experimental project where I'm taking an authentic South African sound and having fun,” he tells Apple Music. “I’ve always been about authenticity, so this is right in my lane.” While putting a lyrical spin over log-drum-laden instrumentation, he enlists Samthing Soweto, Ma Lemon, Thulz, Zuma, DJ Sumbody, and Reece Madlisa to make contributions as Lady Du, Kammu Dee, and Semi Tee help form the core of the rapper’s sixth studio release. “Abidoza and I started making music, then heard other people’s voices on these songs,” he says. “We would play them all the music we had and they’d pick the songs they wanted to be on. That’s why I love amapiano so much—collaboration is so important to the genre.” He talks us through each song of the participative album below. “Khotso” “‘Khotso’ is dedicated to both my son and late brother. The whole concept is reversing ‘God gives and God takes’ to ‘God takes and God gives.’ I wanted to bring hip-hop into an environment where you can make a sad song and people dance to it. The song is a letter to my brother and I tell him how I miss him and about what’s happening in my life. I speak about how hard it must have been for my mother to lose him, but now she feels like she’s found a new purpose in life, through having her first grandson. That’s why my son’s name is Khotso, too.” “Joy” (feat. Abidoza & Samthing Soweto) “I’m a very big fan of Samthing Soweto, and every time I work on anything melodic he’s the guy I think about. I took a chance by calling him, and he was ready to work that same night. I sent him my location and he was like, ‘Yo, I actually live five minutes away from you,’ so it was meant to be. It’s about when someone gives you joy you never thought you’d experience again. There’s a different type of love that makes you start believing again—that of a father, daughter, or son. I think that’s a dope narrative…to move away from just romantic relationships.” “Ubumnandi” (feat. Abidoza & LuuDadeejay) “I love singing and have always had these melodies in my head. Once I met Alie Keys, who knew what to do with my voice, we started making more of these kinds of songs. This has a house feel with a little techno, so it’s not your typical amapiano song. I wanted to write songs that have a meaning within a meaning, double meanings or a twist somehow. This song is written from a point of view where I’m saying, ‘Everything is not all right and I’m in a bad place, but when I hear the music I feel alive.’” “Piano Prayer” (feat. Abidoza, Kammu Dee, Lady Du, Ma Lemon & Semi Tee) “I was still in that place where I wanted the songs to have a bit more meaning here. I called these guys to make a song about the things we pray for. One verse is praying for family; Lady Du is praying for a faithful man; Kammu Dee is talking about how he’s able to sustain his life, and I’m talking about people always trying to take us down, but failing because we’re prayerful.” “Siyathandana” (feat. Abidoza & Boohle) “This is one of those special songs that just takes off. Abidoza posted a video playing the song in the club. It went everywhere and the fans just started demanding it. That’s the beautiful thing about amapiano—the people choose the hits. I actually wrote the song’s melody and Boohle wrote the words, saying, ‘I‘ve been telling them about our love.’ Usually people would say, ‘Till death do us part,’ but she says, ‘Even after death, you and I will meet and fall in love again.’ It’s not often you get lyrics like that, and that’s why this is such a deep song.” “uMacashelana” (feat. Boohle) “I was chilling outside and Abidoza was playing these drums when I started hearing ‘uMacashelana’ from an old Brown Dash line. ‘uMacashelana’ actually means playing hide and seek. I’m saying, ‘You want me and I want you, so let’s stop playing mind games and do the damn thing.’” “Angisho Guys” (feat. Lady Du) “I got into studio and was like, ‘Let me put something down.’ I laid down the ‘angisho guys’ part and there were a bunch of girls in the studio who I asked to do some backing. It’s such a Kalawa Jazmee thing—having girls’ voices on the hook. Later on, Lady Du heard about the song, so she came in, rapped, and sounded so cool.” “Bhanoyi” (feat. Kammu Dee, Lady Du & Semi Tee) “According to Lady Du, this is basically about an out-of-town lover that you’re always flying over. She’s basically saying ‘Let me upgrade you’ to the guy. ‘I’m going to take you out of that taxi, put you on a train, and then put you on an airplane.’” “F**k Me Harder” (feat. DJ Sumbody, Reece Madlisa, Thulz & Zuma) “Amapiano is from the streets, and when it started it was very vulgar; that’s why it wasn’t that commercial. When I heard this beat, I was like, ‘Let’s take it back to where it comes from.’ People love these kind of songs...that’s why [the Jabu hit] ‘Sister Bettina’ is still such a big song.” “Ama Number Ayi ’10” (feat. Abidoza, Kammu Dee & LuuDadeejay) “This is actually the first song we made, and it definitely set the tone for this project. We had so much fun making it, and that’s where I took all the energy from. It's at the end of the album because you’ve just listened to ten songs. It’s a pick-up line taken from guys in the hood—that’s how they ask for girls' phone numbers.”