Yugen Blakrok

Yugen Blakrok
Blakrok in 2018
Background information
Born	Queenstown, South Africa
Genres	South African hip hop, trip hop, experimental hip hop
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Iapetus Records I.O.T. Records
Website	https://yugenblakrok.bandcamp.com/

Yugen Blakrok is a South African rapper. She is best known for her performance on the track "Opps" with Vince Staples from the Kendrick Lamar-produced soundtrack to the movie Black Panther.[1][2][3]

Biography

Originally from Queenstown, Blakrok started emceeing in Yeoville, Johannesburg in 2007 with the Recess Poetry crew. In 2009 she joined producer Kanif the Jhatmaster's label Iapetus Records, and released her debut album Return of the Astro-Goth in 2013. The strength of her debut would earn her three nominations at the 2014 South African Hip Hop Awards and her first international tours. With newfound recognition she was invited to contribute to the Black Panther soundtrack and the soundtrack to the video game Cyberpunk 2077. Her second album, Anima Mysterium was released in 2019 and features collaborations with fellow South African musicians as well as Kool Keith; she performed the track "Morbid Abakus" from the album on COLORS.[4][5][6] Her musical and cultural influences are eclectic, ranging from Wu-Tang Clan to Credo Mutwa to Carl Jung.[7]

Discography

Albums

• Return of the Astro-Goth (2013)
• Anima Mysterium (2019)

Singles

• "Carbon Form" (2018)^[citation needed]
• "Picture Box" (2019)^[citation needed]
• "Gorgon Madonna" (2019)^[citation needed]
• "Pedestal" (2022)
• "Outnumbered" (2024)
• "Niacin" (2024)

Contributing artist

• Black Panther: The Album, Interscope (2018) - Track 5, "Opps" with Vince Staples and Kendrick Lamar
• Epic Beard Men This Was Supposed To Be Fun, (2019) - Track 12 "Foresight"
• Cyberpunk 2077: Radio, Vol. 1 (Original Soundtrack), Lakeshore Records (2020) - Track 4, "Metamorphosis"^[citation needed]
• Keleketla! (2020) - Track 5, "Crystallise" with Tamar Osborn
• Wax Tailor The Shadows of Their Suns (2021) - Track 12, "Dusk To Dusk"

References

1. Natalie Maher (February 9, 2018). "The 6 Best Verses on 'Black Panther: The Album'". Billboard.
2. Frank Guan (February 9, 2018). "Kendrick Lamar and Vince Staples Get Upstaged on 'Opps'". Vulture.
3. Jody Rosen (February 13, 2018). "Review: Kendrick Lamar Goes Superhero-Producer on 'Black Panther' Soundtrack". Rolling Stone.
4. Davy Reed (2018). "Meet Yugen Blakrok: the underground rapper featured on the Black Panther soundtrack". Crack.
5. Kate Zaliznok (2018). "Yugen Blakrok". Open Color, The Vision Issue.
6. "Between a Rock and a Satellite". Shelflife. March 7, 2024.
7. Vivan Host (September 2019). "Yugen Blakrok and Kanif on Johannesburg's Underground Scene, the Wu-Tang Clan and Black Panther". Red Bull Music Academy.