Rapper and producer Anatii launched the latest video for his hit single "Thixo Onofefe" on Thursday evening — calling it his portrait of "future Africanism". He wanted to "step outside the box" and show viewers that there is more to Africa, he told the crowd packed into a Ster-Kinekor movie theatre in Sandton.
"It just my abstract way of expressing myself about what is going on — because I feel we not really telling the right messages, or portraying the right messages with our visuals," he said, after the viewing of what he called his "motion picture".
In Anatii's story, a boy is given natural ingredients from a sangoma to give to the rapper, to bring him back to consciousness.
The song's title means "God's grace" in English, and applies to the healing he receives from the sangoma. Anatii is calling on Africans not to stray from their ancestors.
"Ancestral practices are what make us who we are as Africans," he said. "I feel like a lot of the time we are told to shy away from what is really about tradition and culture. My name, 'Anatii', means 'the ancestors are with us'."
The hip-hop artist said he believes in "spirituality" more than religious belief.
"My outlook is very spiritual; it is not really religious. Everything is just based on my belief in the universe. It is not about religious practices; it is about enlightenment."
He believes artists should be producing videos with more depth and meaning.