Tumi Molekane is a true legend of conscious rap and a veteran of South African hip-hop. The lyricist and poet first toured the planet with the Johannesburg quartet Tumi and the Volume. Under the name Tumi, then Stogie T, he has quietly built an impressive solo career, continually reinventing himself through new albums and mixtapes, and collaborations across every continent (with Shakira, Saul Williams, Chinese Man and more). As part of his world tour for his new six-track EP, Shallow, he is arriving in Europe for a series of greatest-hits concerts mixing rap, vintage hip-hop, boom bap, trap, jazz and groove!
BIOGRAPHY
> STOGIE T (South Africa)
Boitumelo “Tumi” Molekane was born in August 1981 in Tanzania, and then returned to South Africa with his parents, exiled anti-apartheid activists. He founded the band Tumi and the Volume in Johannesburg with David Bergman (bass), Paulo Chibanga (drums) and Tiago Correia-Paulo (guitar). The band broke up in 2012 after three albums, At The Bassline (2004), Tumi and the Volume (2006) and Pick a Dream (2010). The singer has already released a number of solo projects: Trade Winds (2005 with Cincinnati rapper Main Flow) and Music from my good eye (2006). With Whole Worlds (2010) and Return of the King (2015), he created two perfect albums of pan-African hip-hop under the name Tumi. He actively collaborates with South African artists Blk Sonshine, Keorapetse Kgositsile, Watkin Tudor Jones, Lesego Rampolokeng, Saul Williams, Sarah Jones, Mutabaruka, and in 2015, started collaborating with French crew Chinese Man. In 2016, he became Stogie T, first for a self-titled debut album, followed by Honey and pain (2018) and The empire of Sheep (2019). His latest EP, Shallow (2024), is released on Def Jam Africa.
