Young Nations

Born in exile at the height of South Africa’s struggle against apartheid, Young Nations’ music is a culmination of the incredible experiences of having grown up as the son of a liberation activist. As a South African of Zulu descent growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Young Nations became actively involved in numerous organizations focused on global youth empowerment. Nations was involved in the organization of the largest protest against apartheid in Los Angeles, including one the youngest members of Children of War, a non-profit organization of young refugees from war torn countries around the world.
In 1989 Nations travelled to South Africa for the second time, a privilege not afforded to his father, who remained banned from returning to his country for over 35 years. Nations’ experience living in the heart of Guguletu Township in South Africa would later influence the development of the artist upon his return to Los Angeles.
Young Nations travelled back to Los Angeles in 1991 and by 1994 had recorded his first professional compositions under the artist name “K.A.S.H.”(Kept in Africa’s Subliminal Hold), which gained immediate attention on the West Coast of California. Nations went on to perform before thousands, opening for Ice Cube, Coolio, Zap & Roger, Rappin4Tay and the Lynch Mob in 1995.
In June of 2003 Young Nations exploded onto the South African music scene with the ground breaking hit song, “Win”, a collaboration with performer and recording artist Che2ter of Sarafina and Yizo Yizo fame. Nations followed up “Win” with another collaboration entitled “Live My Life”, touching on the realities of life growing in the townships.
Toward the end of 2003, Young Nations returned to the U.S. to begin recording his debut album, “Nations Uprising” with Grammy Nominated super-producer Megahertz. Having produced “Bad Boy For Life” for Puffy, “Got Ya’ Self a Gun” for Nas, “Best of Both Worlds” for Jay-Z and R. Kelly and several multi-platinum hits for Busta Rhymes and 50 Cent amongst others, Megahertz powerful production style was a perfect match for Nations’ heavy vocal tone.
The first release, titled “Mr. Hustla”, is pure B-Boy hip-hip at its absolute finest. Released as part of YFM’s “Life” compilation distributed by Universal Music, “Mr. Hustla” remained one of the hottest releases of 2004. Early 2005 saw the release of one of Young Nations most gripping productions, the acoustic guitar based “Rock On”, which featured on the debut CD for South Africa’s Hype Magazine compilation. Reinforced by the Draztik produced “Africa Prey”, which immediately made song of the week on YFM and debuted number one on Radio Metro’s National Top 10 countdown where it stayed on the charts for weeks. The official debut single, “Zwakala Emzansi”, is a groundbreaking collaboration with Young Nations and legendary recording artist Ray Phiri, produced by Draztik Productions. The full debut album, “Nations Uprising”, features tracks produced by Draztik Productions and the majority of the album produced by Megahertz. The Young Nations album has become one of the most anticipated albums of 2005.
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