Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo who was born 11th February 1997 and known professionally as Nasty C, is a South African rapper, songwriter and record producer.
After releasing two mixtapes and two EP, Ngcobo released his critically acclaimed debut album Bad Hair (2016), and Strings and Bling (2018) which was associated and supported by his first tour, The Ivyson Tour. He was the youngest recipient of an award at the 2015 South African Hip Hop Awards, namely the Best Freshman Award.
In March 2020, Nasty C signed a joint venture deal with Def Jam Records and released his third album on August 28th 2020 and his first on the label titled Zulu Man with Some Power.
Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo was born on 11 February 1997 in Diepkloof, a borough of Soweto, Johannesburg. After the passing of his mother who was involved in a fatal car crash while he was 11 months, he relocated to Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal to be raised by his father, David Maviyo Ngcobo, who is a human resources manager.[6] He has an older brother, Siyabonga Ngcobo, who influenced him to rap as he learnt the basics of producing music from him while he was nine. Ngcobo attended Strelitzia Secondary School in Lotus Park, Durban where he completed his 12th grade.
At the age of fifteen, Ngcobo released his debut mixtape One Kid, a Thousand Coffins on 14 May 2012. He then released his debut EP L.A.M.E (Levitating Above My Enemies) on 4 April 2014. The following year on 10 February, he released his second mixtape Price City which produced the successful single “Juice Back” that raised his prominence. “Juice Back” later spawned a Gemini Major-produced remix featuring singer Davido and rapper Cassper Nyovest on 20 November 2015.
On 11 February 2016. Ngcobo released “Hell Naw” which was later revealed to be the lead single from his upcoming debut album. On 23 September, Ngcobo then released his debut album, Bad Hair under Mabala Noise Entertainment. For the album’s artwork, he got his fans on Twitter to email him their portraits showing their bad hair periods, he then combined all the portraits in an artistic manner assembling his face. Bad Hair reached number-one on the iTunes local charts and was the most streamed album in South Africa within its 24 hours. Ngcobo released a 14-minute film featuring three songs from Bad Hair directed by Kyle Lewis. The short-film which included tracks “Don’t Do It'”, “Good Girls and Snapchat Hoes” and “Phases” featuring Rowlene, was commercially featured in several countries including France, Germany, UK and the US, which was infrequent for an African video.
On 2 December 2016, Ngcobo released the extended version for Bad Hair named Bad Hair Extensions. Bad Hair Extension featured new four songs including the lead single Allow featuring American rapper French Montana. In winning many accolades for both 2016 and 2017, Ngcobo received his biggest nomination which was for the 2017 BET Award for Best International Act: Africa where he lost to Wizkid. He was also nominated for the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards. Ngcobo was ranked number-three on the 2017 MTV Base: SA’s Hottest MCs.
In March 2020, Billboard reported that Nasty C signed a joint venture deal with Def Jam Records, with the release of single “There They Go” as his debut under the label.
In April 2020, Nasty C released the visual EP Lost Files, with the songs presented in performance clips on YouTube. He explained the EP’s concept stating: “They’re songs that didn’t make it onto certain projects, songs that ended up as just ideas”. On 14 May, the EP was uploaded on Apple Music.
On 20 May 2020, Nasty C made his acting debut with a cameo role in the six-part Netflix African original young adult series Blood & Water, playing the role of music producer KB. On 28 May 2020, Nasty C signed with Universal Music Group flagship Def Jam Africa. On 5 June, Nasty C teamed up with American rapper T.I. for the protest song “They Don’t”. Proceeds from the song benefit the non-profit organizations Until Freedom and Solidarity Fund, with lyrics referencing the death of George Floyd. On 25 June, he released a collaborative mixtape with DJ Whoo Kid, titled Zulu.
After several postponements, on the 6th of August 2020, Nasty C took to his social media and announced that his much anticipated album Zulu Man with Some Power would be released within the month of August. He released the track list consisting of 20 songs featuring international and South African artists, including Lil Keed, Ari Lennox, Lil Gotit, T.I, Tellaman and Rowlene. The album was released on the 28th August 2020.
