Biological brothers Jordan (25) and Cameron (24) Downs are a local Cape Town hip-hop/rap duo who have been producing music together for the last five years. The decision to work together happened organically and almost by accident. Both brothers are pursuing professional careers in the hip-hop industry in their own right, however, the musical results of their partnership are bold, full of attitude, and purely entertaining.
Jordan Downs (JayTay) is the brain behind the beat. Jordan studied sound engineering at the SAE Institute in Woodstock and is passionate about hip-hop because of its narrative quality; its ability to tell a story or relay a concept through the use of sound. This desire to ‘talk without words’ is what attracted Jordan to the sound production side of the hip-hop game.
Jordan’s inspiration to keep producing comes from the freedom hip-hop gives the individual to create something that is authentic and honest within a genre that is constantly evolving. It’s a journey of self-discovery and creative expression, and an attempt to relay his internal state of being. Jordan’s relationship to his music is a form of self-assessment and therapy, he adds; “It’s incredibly personal, and hopefully relatable too”.
Cameron Downs, who goes by the rap name Young Downs, is the lyrical master. Cam studied marketing management at IMM in Stellenbosch, but he knew from early on that he belonged in the creative industry, “I believe that I am supposed to be an artist and a creator”, he told Cape {town} Etc.
Cam found comfort in rap as his form of creative expression as it provides him with a platform to express himself and his artistic vision confidently, “I was also no good at singing”, he joked. He was inspired by the late Ricky Rick, who Cam was fortunate enough to interact with while he was still alive.
A big moment of realisation in his own ability for Cam was when he was given the chance to perform on stage with Nasty C in 2019.
Nasty C, a world-famous South African rapper, was running a promotion for his tour, visiting universities around the country and hosting a verse for verse competition. The prize was a VIP ticket to one of his performances. With only one ticket up for grabs, Cam got on stage and performed the first verse of Jungle, from the Strings and Bling album. The crowd went wild and Cam won the ticket!
During high school, Cam and Jordan had worked together on passion projects, mostly remixes, without any serious consideration of working together professionally. However, this all changed in 2018 with their success at the UNSEEN rap competition.
Cam was walking through Stellenbosch when he saw a flyer for the UNSEEN competition and messaged his brother to say, “Let’s do this!”. The prize of the competition was to work with Dylan Mckeith at MCK records and record an album in his studio. It’s safe to say they cleaned up the competition in style.
The result of this success in the competition was a breakthrough in their respective careers, giving them a real taste of industry standards and the beginning of the development of their sound and partnership as a creative duo. Together, under the guidance of Dylan Mckeith, they produced the YOUNGEN album (available on Apple Music and Spotify).
Jordan’s most recent work is a collaboration with local talent Victoria Altern (@victoria.altern.music ) titled, Touch. Check out their groovy collaboration here.
Jordan has also released some individual work where he raps over his own beats, titled Master Stewie, which is available on Soundcloud.
Young Downs (Cameron) has released a number of albums, each under the guise of a different alias. His most recent and exciting album is called Paper Boy Blue. Listen to Young Downs’ latest single TUFF from Paper Boy Blue, available here.
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Picture: @jorddowns / Instagram
