Born on March 1st of 1998 in Harare, Zimbabwe, Topi Mandela is a 19 (soon to be 20) year old recording artist. Topi moved to the States at the age of 1 and grew up in Detroit, Michigan; he now lives in Dallas, Texas. Topi decided he wanted to seriously pursue a music career in 2017 and spent the year trying to figure out his sound. As for what’s next, Topi is planning on recording a 6-track EP with Eestbound in early March. The release will likely take place during the early phases of summer. Topi has written well over 200 songs that he has no intentions of releasing. His plan is to only put forth his strongest content that will leave people wanting more.
As a young independent artist, recourses such as money, business team members, and creative collaborators are all scarce. That did not stop Topi Mandela, who literally traveled across the U.S and out of the country just for the creative vision of one song. Topi Mandela works not just to integrate clever wordplay with catchy hooks and powerful verses as a rapper, but to collaborate with other artists as an actor, writer, and musician.
In the summer of 2017, Topi flew from Dallas to Toronto for a recording session with Eestbound (multi-platinum producer & engineer), after having an original melody created by Juice Bangers (member of Grammy Award Winning production group COBRA). Topi and Eestbound pulled an all-nighter while working on a single track, only stopping to drink tea or take an occasional smoke break. The result was “Mustang” a song that came together completely organically, with strong vibes created by young artists with different nationalities.
To make the music video, Topi flew to Savannah Georgia to collaborate with director/producer Calvin Herbst and cinematographer Kai Dickson. For Topi, It’s not just about being a rapper, it’s about being a genuine artist, and not letting 1,000 miles between Texas and Georgia, or 1,500 miles between Texas and Toronto stop a creative wave. The song itself is very metaphorical with dark production undertones and so the video was themed with that in mind. Filming took place over the course of 3 days; there was no high budget by any means – simply a crew of talented, young, and ambitious creatives who believe in the product.
Topi Mandela “Mustang” – Official Music Video
Click the photo above to download the broadcast master
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