''Thuto'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by South African

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Cassper Nyovest Refiloe Maele Phoolo (born 16 December 1990), professionally known as Cassper Nyovest, is a South African rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, record producer and amateur boxer. Born and raised in Mahikeng, North West, he is regarded as one of the ...

. A follow-up to his 2015 album ''

Refiloe ''Refiloe'' is the second studio album by South African hip hop recording artist Cassper Nyovest, released initially on 31 October 2015 at his Fill Up The Dome concert at the Ticket Pro Dome in Johannesburg. ''Refiloe'', which means "we have be ...

'', ''Thuto'' was released on 5 May 2017 by his imprint

Family Tree Records Family Tree Media is a South African independent record label established in 2014 by Cassper Nyovest Refiloe Maele Phoolo (born 16 December 1990), professionally known as Cassper Nyovest, is a South African rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, ...

with support from Bridge Entertainment.

Background and promotion

Cassper Nyovest described the project "his best work yet", and claimed the album reached gold status on the first day of its release. Upon the revealing of the tracklist, he revealed on the photo and video-sharing website

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

that he named the album "Thuto" in dedication to his elder sister Thuto Phoolo, whose birthday coincided with the album's release date. The album was supported by the single "Tito Mboweni", and features vocal

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from Tsepo Tshola,

Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove (Ahmir Thompson). Regarded ...

Nadia Nakai Nadia Nakai Kandava (née Dlamini; born 18 May 1990), is a South African-born Zimbabwean rapper and television personality. Early life and education Nakai was born in South Africa. Her father is South African and her mother is Zimbabwean. Wh ...

, Tshego,

Goapele Goapele Mohlabane (; born July 11, 1977), is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means ''to move forward'' in Setswana, a Southern African language. Early life Goapele's South African father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled pol ...

and

Riky Rick Rikhado Muziwendlovu Makhado (20 July 1987 23 February 2022), known professionally as Riky Rick, was a South African rapper, singer and producer. He was also the founder and owner of record label Cotton Club Records and a member of Boyz N Buck ...

. Its production was handled by Alie Keyz,

Anatii Anathi Bhongo Mnyango (born 8 January 1993), known professionally as Anatii, is a South African rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer & music video director. Career Anatii began his professional musical journey at the age of 14 when h ...

, Gobbla, DJ Abza, Fenesse, Lae and Zero. On 7 May 2017, he hosted the official CD launch at the Zone 6 Venue with notable artists present including

Kwesta Senzo Brikka Vilakazi (born 11 August 1988) known professionally as Kwesta, is a South African people, South African rapper and songwriter. Born in Katlehong, Gauteng, a township also known as "K1". In 2003, at the age of 15, he and his friend ...

, Naak Musiq, Kid X, DJ Switch, K.O, DJ Vigilante and DJ Dimplez.

Critical reception

''Thuto'' was released to widespread acclaim from various music websites and online outlets. Respected Nigerian music critic Joey Akan of ''Pulse Nigeria'' described the album as "a celebration of that power, and the offering of new music" and argues that the "album shows all the sides of Cassper Nyovest as South Africa’s leading Hip hop voice". In the same vein, ''

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''s Davies Ndolo gave the album 3.5/5, writing "Cassper continues to grow into one of the deepest figures in modern hip hop and "Thuto" is the evidence of this. We can only hope his music will continue to make a significant mark in the industry". ''

Independent Online ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format in 2003. The last p ...

'' was impressed with the growth Cassper Nyovest has made lyrically since his last album and further observed that "The moment his voice cuts into the soulful melody of Confused, the opening track on Thuto, it’s evident that this is something we’ve haven't heard from him before.". However, Phumlani Langa of South Africa ''Channel 24'' was not impressed with the production and lyrical content of the project, writing: "The illest thing about this album is the stolen adlib “sha-sha!” That’s it, a whole record and the only quotable I recall is ... “sha-sha!".

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Notes *"Destiny" contains samples, interpolations and resung lyrics from "Destiny" by

Malaika Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian musician Adam Salim in 1945. This song is possibly the most famous of all Swahili love songs in Tanzania, Kenya and the entire East Africa, as well as being one of the most widely known of all Swahi ...

*"Touch the Sky" contains a sample from "Touch The Sky" by Dennis Ferrer *"Baby Girl" contains a sample from "

Dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but disti ...

" by

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Cassper Nyovest albums Family Tree Records albums