SPIJØNGET, an acronym for ‘Stop Postponing Ideas and Joylessly Overthinking Newly Generated Emotions and Thoughts’ represents somewhat of a manifesto for rapper/producer/designer ByLwansta. “First and foremost, the title means ‘f**k it just do it’,” the Kokstad-born multi-hyphenate tells Apple Music. “It’s a word I made up as a response to my writer’s block. I wanted to work on a 12-track debut, [but] then I started overthinking.” A consolidation of three four-track EPs released between 2019 and 2022, the album is divided into chapters that explore different facets of the artist’s persona. “SPIJØNGET is narrative-driven and autobiographical,” he says. “Whatever story I tell during a certain period of my life constitutes a page in SPIJØNGET’s chapters.” Documenting his thoughts, hopes and growth over the years, ByLwansta is equipped with both literary and filmic devices to depict his coming of age. “I call it comedy-drama because the topics I explore aren't terribly grandiose,” he says. “I’d describe my storytelling as being able to translate mundane topics into beautiful pieces of music. The mic just happens to be the perfect place to check in.” Check in he does, with each character (Lover Boi By, Sad Boi By and Business By) on his cover artwork representing different phases of this journey to a debut. Here, ByLwansta (Lwandile Nkanyuza) talks us through the album, track by track and chapter by chapter. “STAY NAKED” “‘STAY NAKED’ was one of the first songs I created for Chapter One and was produced by the late Jaedon Daniel. It’s the most ‘Lwandile’ of all the songs I’ve put out, because it’s so conversational in its approach. It’s a college sweetheart story with me having moved to Durban and now staying in student accommodation. The landlord is chilled but isn’t too crazy about having overnight visitors. Me and my lady always hung out, had KFC, pizza and French toast… then it suddenly gets dark and she has to go. There’s instances when maybe she wouldn’t, and one day when we were sneaking out, my landlord was at the gate. The confrontation was a bit embarrassing and I just got fed up. I mean, I’m 19 paying rent and this person isn’t my dad. So the theme of the song is rebellion, ‘cause I’m obviously trying to entice her with the idea of just staying naked and doing our thing. Can we just decide, f**k it?” “KICKSTAND” (feat. PATFROMTHESLUMS) “I consider this when the pillow talk begins to happen. We’ve stayed undressed and now we’re getting into the meat of the relationship—the dynamic of how reliant we are on each other. We’re both people from out of town who moved to Durban, and we’re coming to each other with our background stories. We’re lost in a world that doesn’t even know what to do with us. ‘You’re my kickstand and I can be your quicksand.’ That hyper dependence on each other can be a little bit on the toxic side. We’re bonding over our pain and individual traumas, so outside of desiring each other, there’s that need, which can bleed into unhealthy territory. When you need something it’s very easy to forget that you’re using it up.” “THE HOMIE” “The themes for ‘THE HOMIE’ were acceptance and comfort, for people who are coexisting in a relationship. Guards are down now and this is my friend. There’s a lot of things I don’t get to speak to my peers about—like dinosaurs; things I was into as a kid that I’ve told people about and thought, ‘Okay I should have kept that to myself!’. In the instance of this song, the safe place that we’ve established allows me to not hold my stomach in—and let her have her version of not holding her stomach in.” “IT'S LATE” “This is very much the outlier and I thought it appropriate to have it written in this chapter because it places love in a realistic context. It’s not just in a separate world that’s in the clouds. This follows on from ‘STAY NAKED’ as the day continues into the night. You find Lover Boi By awake and struggling to sleep because he’s anxious. Metaphorically, it’s conflicting. People will sleep on you if you continue to sleep on yourself. My depriving myself of sleep is attributed to worrying about a career in the arts. This was really a foreshadowing of what’s to come.” “HOW 'BOUT NOW?” (feat. Lungelo Manzi) “Towards the end of ‘IT’S LATE’, you hear a soundbite of someone zipping up a bag and walking out the door. This is introducing Sad Boi By, who’s about to go to Johannesburg because of those anxieties that would keep him up at night. The move to Joburg was very spontaneous, ‘cause I just had to do something to scratch the itch. I’m in the city of opportunity and there’s so much one can be here… but who does Sad Boi By want to be? This was written at a time when I was dealing with these frustrations. It’s a constantly recurring narrative. ‘What am I, a rapper or graphic designer—what are you dipping both feet into, and what’s gonna be your trajectory?’ So this is very much introspective, because there’s two ByLwanstas in this conversation.” “NIGHTCRAWLERZ” (feat. Kimosabe) “Every time I tell this story it gets shorter, because there’s always a triggering moment. The initial justification for writing this was so I’d never have to retell it. So this is the on-the-nose storytelling I’m known for: taking you from point A to B and C. It’s Sad Boi By taking a late bus to Durban to visit his lady from Chapter One. He gets mugged at gunpoint at the bus station, and I’m talking you through it as it happens. Joburg is great but now you're out of your comfort zone, you don't just stop and talk to someone, you don’t stop at the traffic lights at night. If this was an advert for the city, it would conclude with ‘useJozi la’ [You’re in Jozi now].” “THE BIKE SONG” [ByLwantsa & Robot Koch] “This is a very reflective response to ‘NIGHTCRAWLERZ’; I was in Berlin a month right after that moment had happened. I was still pretty shaken up—they’d taken my laptop, clothes and favourite pair of Vans. There’s a cycling culture in Berlin and I rode one of my friend’s [bikes]—I just felt like a kid again. I felt brand new and, I don’t know, it really felt like it was a moment I needed to process what I had just gone through. That was very significant for my recovery from that entire experience. It felt like an escape.” “OKAY, FINE” (feat. ZULO & Solo Ntsizwa Ka Mthimkhulu) “‘OKAY FINE’ is the duality between career and relationship anxiety. My move to Joburg was also motivated by not being accepted by my lady’s family because, ‘How are you going to take care of our daughter?’. I needed to get to Joburg so things could make sense financially. I made the right decision, but I do get sad when I think about the realities—the guy who asked her to stay (naked) is the one that left. Every time I think about the music and being taken away from my person, I'm like, ‘When does this all make sense?’.” “PRETTY STARS” “This song could’ve gone in various directions—I could’ve been sad, vindictive or spiteful. These are all emotions I felt before I got to the place I got to when I wrote it. This was the last phase of processing the grief of a relationship that ultimately did end. The theme of this is gratitude: I’m reflecting on the person I’ve become, and everything I'd learnt and unlearnt. It seems vain, but my beard joining in the month that we’d broken up was pretty significant. We got in touch a little bit after that and she joked, ‘Was I the one holding your growth back?’ So it’s reflective of the person I’d become post that relationship… Business By.” “WHITEBOARDS” (feat. ThatoFeels) “A word that comes to mind is manifestation. Being a designer afforded me a brand new perspective and language to communicate through. I put so much value in being able to see things first. Writing things down is me trying to see a lot of my ideas, which set the tone for ‘WHITEBOARDS’. Having a checklist means I’m able to reflect on this journey and my own mortality—does it matter whether I’m a rapper or designer now?. Here I break the fourth wall and the person who’s speaking just put on his suit and is reflecting on how Lover Boi By and Sad Boi By couldn't have gotten to Business By’s place in their time. It’s not so much a triumphant song, but there’s a more positive outlook coming out of those eras.” “ESTBLSHD” “One thing about Business By is he takes a lot of inspiration from the film Wolf of Wall Street. I just really love how Jordan Belfort—played by Leonardo DiCaprio—runs his company. It’s not with an iron fist and when he walks in all his employees applaud him! ‘ESTBLSHD’ is the walking-into-the-boardroom song, with a hint of the super-villain. I wanted to really say things with my chest, looking back at all the work the team and I put into the brand ByLwansta.” “ASMR” (feat. Alisha Rosa, Some.Unique.Individual & Rāms) “This is sort of the polar opposite to ‘STAY NAKED’—from cute to very sexually-driven. Within my coming of age, there’s a confidence in my outlook on romance. It’s about my personal sexual liberation (in this chapter). From wishing my former lover well, being busy with whiteboards, executing in the boardroom to finally getting home—it’s always great to end off with an orgasm!”