On The Voice SA tonight, Coaches Francois van Coke and Riky Rick premiered a track they’ve been working on for a while. Titled ‘We Are Not Like Them’, it’s the first time they’ve worked together – and the track is dynamite!
We chatted to Francois, who explained that “hanging out on The Voice, Riky and I have become friends with a mutual love for music. I’ve been playing him things like Thin Lizzy, and he’d been playing me all the hip-hop he’s into.”
“There’s also a mutual respect between us, so we thought, ‘Why not do a track together?’ We wrote [the tune] with the bassist from my other band Die Gevaar [Rudolph Willemse] – Riky wrote two verses; I wrote a verse and the chorus.”
It’s set to be released on Francois’s third solo album, due later in the year. Asked about the sound (they obviously come from very different genres) he cites the first instance of rap/rock: Run DMC and Aerosmith.
To hear the song and see their live performance, tune in to the repeat on M-Net at 14:55 on Monday, or the Vuzu broadcast at 20:00!
A serial collaborator, including with rappers like Jack Parow and Early B, Francois says working with Riky was a joy. “He’s a natural at writing lyrics and rhyming – it was great seeing him work. He’s definitely one of the greatest emcees in the country.”
As for their oft-seen bromance is not a figment of the producers’ imaginations: it’s legit. “We’ve really become good friends immediately connected early in the competition.” And that controversial jibe in the Battles about Riky being “just a rapper?” “That was a definite joke,” explains Francois. “I know he’s more than just a rapper!”
The Voice SA airs on Sundays at 17:30. Join the conversation on our Facebook page, and on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #TheVoiceSA.