Capetonian rapper Bravo Le Roux’s 2023 album Igazi, Iinyembezi Nombilo (Xhosa for “blood, sweat and tears”) finds him at his most candid. He lets the pen bleed, rapping sincerely about the life of a promising rapper from Khayelitsha, one of the country’s biggest townships. In the first four songs, he reflects on his journey thus far; he’s proud of his progress, but knows he still has a long way to go. He unashamedly shares his ambitions, promising a better life for himself and his mother on “Uzovuya”. On “Nkosi Sikelela”, where he sombrely croons the South African national anthem in the hook, he pays homage to deceased SA rappers Riky Rick, Costa Titch and AKA by lifting excerpts from their interviews. On “Ekhaya”, he raps about feeling alone, growing up estranged from his parents and having no one in the world. But Igazi… has enough playful and light-hearted songs to dilute the heavy content of the first section: “Kumkiwe” and “Blessings”, which find him grappling with and celebrating his success; “Makhwenkwe”, where he recruits Xhosa rap veteran iFani for a bouncy amalgamation of igwijo (Xhosa folk music) and trap; and “Iintombi”, an ode to fine women in different area codes. He repurposes the hook from Mawillies’ kwaito hit “Intwenjani” for the upbeat YoungstaCPT collaboration “Which One?”. Further humanising Bravo Le Roux are a few love songs, including collabs with rising R&B star Gemma Fassie on “Distance” and Afro-soul icon Sjava on “Umntu”, and “Emlanjeni”, a tongue-in-cheek conversation with an ex that’s underscored by amapiano’s log drum. Closing Igazi… is “Indoda (the shack song)”, where Bravo Le Roux returns to the candid musings about everyday life in Khayelitsha; in this one, his spoken-word-style rapping carries photographical descriptions of calling a shack home.