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Soweto-born rapper Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo, popularly known as Nasty C, lit up the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) this past weekend – becoming the first South African hip-hop artist to perform at the music awards ceremony.
In an electrifying performance in Düsseldorf, Germany, the 25-year-old rapper spat a few bars while clad in a pink fur coat, baggy jeans and braided hair.
Although he didn't perform his hit Hell Naw, the rapper blew up the stage with Nigerian DJ Spinall and UK singer Äyanna, as the they performed a remix song called Power (Remember Who You Are).
READ MORE| Nasty C on chasing his American dream and getting the nod of approval from his idol, T.I.
YOU spoke to Nasty C ahead of his big performance.
“I'm very excited. It's great news, obviously, and it's gonna be exciting,” he said.
Although he's the first South African hip-hop artist to fly the country's flag on the EMAs stage, he dismissed any possibility of nerves, saying all he wanted to do was have a good time.
“It's my first time in Düsseldorf, hope I'm pronouncing that right. I'm kind of just going with the vibe, see what happens and try and have the most fun,” he said.
“I don't chase being the first to do anything from South Africa. I'm just enjoying my come-up. It means a lot for my career, just being on that global stage and getting that recognition. It's something that I am very appreciative of,” he added.
The rapper explained that he took direction from Spinall.
“I'm not booked for my song, so it's just going off what Spinall wants or sees in his performance. It all depends on how he sees his performance going, and I just kind of have to vibe off his idea."
Nasty C shared the stage with Bebe Rexha, Million Dollar Baby, Stormzy and David Guetta, who all performed at the event.
The Lemons hitmaker shared his experience in Germany in a series of social-media posts which saw him gracing the red carpet, sitting among internationally acclaimed artists and posing with Stormzy.
“Nah, we inside my G,” he captioned one of the snaps.
Now that he's got global exposure, he plans to have concerts all around the world.
“I've only ever performed in the UK and Germany and both places were amazing to perform. I had the privilege of hosting my own, like, one-man show in both countries, and they both exceeded my expectations," he says.
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Having worked with American singer Ari Lennox on his smash hit single Black and White, Nasty C also wants to collaborate with more international artists.
“Probably Rihanna or Jhené Aiko," he says.
"I have a lot of favourites from them growing up and some of my favourite songs to listen to until this day is music from when I was still in high school, so that's like 2016, '17 and '18. I think we would gel well on a song together, especially since it's a rapper and a vocalist, which is always a great combination that makes for dope songs."
A collaboration with RiRi isn't impossible, as he's already made some amazing collaborations.
“It's always been over the internet, like via [music-sharing platform] BeatStars or them sending me a pack. That's how it usually happens most of the time. The experience would just be me being in my studio at home in South Africa, getting creative."
