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Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter
AFTER the success and abrupt pause of one of Bulawayo’s famous cartoons, The Bulawayo Show in 2014, rapper and voice-over artiste Floppy X (real name Lewis Lunga) suddenly disappeared and no trace of him would be found.

Such a hiatus has led to a lot of people asking the question, “Where is Floppy X?”

Hailing from Mpopoma, Floppy X made his mark after rendering his voice to the cartoon character, Sox on The Bulawayo Show with his witty IsiNdebele rap lines that resonated with kasi life. Besides the obvious humour that cartoons bring to a lot of people, Floppy X laced his character with nuggets of information which cut across different subjects through his “Ntuthu Guides”.

His sharp cartoon personality mirrored that of his rap career where he merged lyrical prowess and an indelible vocal presence with his old-time friend, Mystic F.

The pair would usually go around townships performing their songs as well as marketing cartoons.

The Byo Show is a YouTube channel created in 2014. It was the brainchild of Floppy X and his brother Thabani Brucik Lunga.

The channel was a hit among children and those who are young at heart and periodically, a series of cartoon episodes were produced to cater for the local market. Ask any child in the hood and most, if not all, will tell you that they know these famous words, “Ratu jeki, uyis’gwad’esingumampara wena.”

Saturday Leisure recently tracked down Floppy X and he told us of his childhood and how he got to be part of the cartoon industry.

“I was born in Plumtree 30 years ago and went to Alan Redfern Primary School and Plumtree High School. I then relocated to Bulawayo in 2007. Animation was never in my plans, but I’ve always been into music, and winning talent shows.

“I always had a knack for writing witty lyrics and rapping like a professional from a tender age and that motivated me to pursue music professionally,” said Floppy X.

Floppy X is not one to steal credit from where it is due and he said he was just the voice of a cartoon character.

“I know a lot of people would want to give me credit for The Bulawayo Show. I hate taking credit for the cartoons.

I’m just famous for the Ntuthu and Sox voiceover, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. I never animate. The animating part of the cartoons is all thanks to my favourite cartoonist Brucik.

“He’s the one that started animating Ratu and Sox when he came from Russia in 2012. He found me doing music and we would merge creative ideas and record. He would then start animating. Brucik would come to my bedroom with a script written and ask for my opinion on it. We would spend some time brainstorming and laughing at the ideas we had conjured up for The Bulawayo Show.

“Eventually, we would record then I’d give him the audio and he would animate in his other room while I continued with my music business,” explained the rapper.

Notably, it has been ages since The Bulawayo Show released new content and Floppy X believes it is only a matter of time before they come up with a different concept.

“It’s been two straight years without us producing content and for Ratu and Sox to come back to screens, it is just a matter of time and creativity. People should be on the lookout for new content where Brucik, myself and the whole team will come up with a totally different theme and concept so that people see our creativity.”

Now based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Floppy X said he is ready to take his moniker, “Ndebele Rap God” to greater heights.

“Ndebele Rap god came soon after Eminem released his Rap God track and people started saying that I rap like him and that nobody raps better than me in Ndebele, so I’m the Ndebele Rap god. I’m ready to take that to greater heights as I have about three complete projects in my studio waiting to be released. These include Laugh Out Loud Mixtape and The X Factor 2 album and many other tracks that are done.

“My fans would be glad to know that I’ve collaborated again with my homie, Mystik F who is now based in Botswana.

I’ll release these projects when the right time is right,” said Floppy X.

It is not an everyday occurrence to see someone being vouched for by the outspoken female rapper from Nkayi, Awa Khiwe. The smack talker endorsed Floppy X as the “best” after watching the Angifuni ukuya eskolo video.

“Floppy you are the best,” is how the Angeke bengimele singer would react to Floppy X’s song.

Usually, when one is conferred a moniker of deity proportions, they are expected to defend the crown with every ounce of their lives and this attracts “haters” and beef. The dreadlocked rapper who released Nomayini, Emotions and Zinhle lo Zinzile at the turn of the year said he is not under any pressure and does not engage anyone on diss tracks.

“I don’t beef with anyone (even though I know that I can trump anyone on a cypher) because I’m not a battle emcee and I like spending my energy on myself and nobody else. I’ve no time to rest. I’m a recluse who’s always at his studio and I live in it 24 hours a day. I just take myself out for drinks if I need space,” he said.

In his music and animation journey, Floppy X learnt that hard work goes a long way to making one succeed and so does networking with like-minded people.

“Hard work beats talent, but good connections are better than anything. It’s always a must to know someone who knows someone somewhere and this enhances your chances of learning and seizing opportunities,” said Floppy X. – @eMKlass_49