Get to Know YungKiddReezy, the Rising Rapper Creating His Own Lane with Don Skelepan
A Don Skelepan. For rapper YungKiddReezy, it is more than a catchy phrase – it is a movement, a mindset and, perhaps most importantly, an alter ego he is determined to embody. But what exactly does it mean to be a Don Skelepan?
“It is a boss,” he says with a laugh. “Someone who embodies the ultimate confidence, who does things their own way regardless of what people are saying around him. People feel like Kwaito is dead? Then I’ll do it. If people feel like this won’t work? I’ll make it work. I’ll do things my way. It is about ultimately creating a movement that inspires creatives to do what they want to do, when they want to do it.”
And that is exactly how he has approached his music – by refusing to be boxed into one sound.
Kwaito, Hip Hop and Amapiano come together to create a sound that, for now, has no name. It is a blend he believes he has not heard before and one he hopes will ultimately set him and his work apart.
YungKiddReezy | SUPPLIED
But those influences did not come from nowhere. Born and raised in Braamfisher, Soweto, the music bug bit YungKiddReezy early. Long before he became known by his stage name, he was simply Refentse Mohlake, a young boy growing up in a home where music was always playing.
“Around 2008/2009, when I was just four years old, my uncles would play a lot of Eminem music around the house. My dad also played a lot of Tupac music, so I started to fall in love with that side of music – rap. I’d rap along to those songs,” he says.
Then a neighbour started making music.
“A close neighbour of ours started making music when I was around Grade 2 and that is when my interest peaked. One of my uncles suggested that I start rapping with him. It moved from that to him writing a song for me after I had requested, jumping in the studio and the rest is history,” he shares.
It was the beginning of a journey that would see music become far more than a hobby.
By the age of eight, YungKiddReezy was already stepping into the studio. He continued writing and releasing music, making waves here and there ekasi (in the hood), taking breaks along the way before recording his first EP at just 14.
YungKiddReezy | SUPPLIED
By then, the decision had already been made.
“I didn’t see myself working anywhere. I’ve just always wanted to do music,” he shares.
For him, music was not only about making songs. It became a way of expressing the things he could not always say out loud.
“Music became my happy place from an early age. Through music, I realised how much I love words and I was never someone who could express their feelings directly, but with a pen and a page, I found a tool that could do that for me.”
That love for words has since grown into a sound that draws from different generations of South African music.
“I started off doing Hip Hop until I realised that the dance side of music was what a lot of South Africans relate to more. But at the same time, I didn’t want to simply jump into just Amapiano because of how saturated it was.”
Kwaito offered another piece of the puzzle.
“Kwaito has had a huge influence on my love for music, a genre that raised most of us, old school and really nostalgic, so I found a way to fuse all three sounds to create one that speaks to who I am while also resonating with listeners,” he says.
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For YungKiddReezy, the combination feels natural. Kwaito is the sound that touched a generation, while Amapiano is dominating the current music landscape. Hip Hop, meanwhile, is where his own journey began.
Rather than choosing one, he has decided to bring all three into the same room. His latest chapter began with “Shay’ Nduku,” which caught attention across different platforms, followed by his seven-track project ROAD 2 DON SKELEPAN. But if that was the introduction, he says the main feast is still to come.
The DON SKELEPAN project will feature double the number of songs, an offering he believes will further cement his name in the industry.
But the music is only part of the bigger picture.
“I’m trying to put Soweto on the map in terms of rap. Amapiano is dominating right now, which is a good thing. I want to revive the art of rap in my own way while also representing Soweto, which I feel is not being represented right now. I want to establish a movement that says being different is a good thing.”
And perhaps that is where Don Skelepan makes the most sense.
YungKiddReezy | SUPPLIED
It is not simply about being a boss or creating another stage persona. It is about having the confidence to follow your own path, even when everyone else is moving in another direction.
“I feel like I am what Mandela fought for, us to be able to speak out in our own languages, make it cool again, reach for our dreams on our terms and live lives that are inspiring. I want that for myself,” he says.
For an artist who started rapping as a child in Soweto, the dream is no longer just about making music. It is about creating a space for himself – and encouraging other creatives to do the same.
YungKiddReezy is still working his way up to becoming the Don Skelepan he envisions. But if his journey so far is anything to go by, he is already well on his way.