I first met Robin Thirdfloor late in 2017 at Khaya Records in Durban, where he was preparing for the listening session of his sophomore project Bhotela. Since the release of Bhotela, the experimental rapper has had constant ascension to the pinnacle of being Durban’s finest musical export. Not being a stranger to performing on international stages, it’s been his constant dream to bring Umlazi zest to the rest of the world and he has been constantly doing that through international collaborations and performing at European festivals.

He capped off 2018 with a massive H&M collaboration where he starred along side pop duo Easy Freak after they had rode a lengthy wave from the success of their Crazy single. Robin later linked up with Cape Town producer and DJ Mark Akol for the synth packed short extended play – Isomiso. Somdanger felt the need to start the year the same way he ended it, riding the high note momentum and finally dropping his follow up to his 2017 art piece Bhotela.

Of course now there is much more of a different energy to him now than the version I met two summers ago. Robin has seen a lot of the world more, a bit older and wiser now. All that suggests the concept behind his third project Zithande. It is constructed around the importance of self-love, social media has made the world a volatile space where self-loathing and a lack of self-belief is normalised. The rapper put out Zithande to combat that very notion and energy going on among our peers.

He opens up Zithande with the Jaedon Daniel produced Selfcare and he talks about cutting ties in the process of putting himself first. On the record he mentions how he has been telling his mother that he is moving out of Umlazi. Robin raps the South side to the core but he feels that there is a lack of progress and inspiration where he is currently based. Now the conversation becomes a matter of hustling to make rent just to be in a place that inspires him. The song closes with Smash Afrika talking about good and bad energies.

On Gibela, he tags along with Canadian based producer Sebastxn who is also credited for production on the lead single Ayashisa Amateku. Robin seems to enjoy rapping over Sebastxn’s production as he quickly hops on the beat with a smooth and clean flow, effortlessly flexing through the track in pure vernacular. He slightly glances on the topic of his brand deals “sigqoke amagama k’phela, difference is thina siyakhokhelwa” which is a reference to his endorsement deal with UK sneaker brand Gola. Throughout the song he goes off on a tangent showcasing his life, even subtly mentioning his relationship with singer and songwriter Rhea Blek and how they are couple goals, “Phela thina siyayivula, siyayivala, couple goals, internet bayabhala”.

One of the songs that feel weird at first is Ishisa but over time it becomes more and enjoyable, with guest appearances from Mac 11 and Rhea Blek and production credits going to Cee Treehaven. The nucleus of Zithande  is made up of three Suup Zulu produced songs, Kumnandi La, Too Much and Long Way. Weirdness looms large in this part of the tape due to the production but it sounds like he’s in his comfort zone. Long Way opens up a path way to him talking about Umlazi and the elements of having hateful neighbours and the active practice of witchcraft that goes on. His last verse on Long Way spills over to Abathakathi (Interlude) where he firmly addresses the above topic and the freedom self-love affords you as an individual.

The interlude acts as a divide between the first part and the second part of his mixtape. The standout songs begin to pop up, as he eloquently raps over  Jabulani Cindi’s late night ambient production for 3Pm, Ngase Khaya. This is by far the best rap song on Zithande. It serves as a reminder that he may be an experimental act but rap is still in his core make up as an artist. This is a memorable part of his offering and he displays his growth as an artist which makes it a very chic song.

Things begin to slow down as the mood quickly switches up for the heartfelt Mjojo and he touches on attachments in romantic relationships and being in a relationship where you are sometimes not being put first. Rhea Blek appears on the backing vocals throughout the song and it’s produced by JMC Beats. Throughout the song Robin is in a state of vulnerability and that’s been the theme in parts of the project as he opens up about many personal things.

Things get happy and inspirational on the second-to-last song Phumelela,which rounds up Camal, Jabulani Cindi and Seazy XXL the latter bodying the song with little to no remorse. Phumelela is a song that oozes lots of positivity and can easily become a radio hit. The twelve song long mixtape closes off with the skit-like Love Yourself, again with Rhea Blek supplying the vocals in support of the song. “Everybody wanna talk inflation but not what the youth is facing” he chants, Robin has managed to show throughout the tape that, he may be performing shows in Europe, doing adverts with H&M and having deals with international brands. He still faces common problems that everybody faces, he preaches the importance of self-love while facing these adversities.

You can stream Zithande below.