Justsam: Young Grootman Stepping Into His Prime

by Wavy.Sasso

Justsam

If you were to ask me “Who is Justsam?”, my answer goes back as far as I can remember. I’ve always made it a point to give props to the people who introduced me to great music and talented artists. In Justsam’s case, I have to credit one of the people I looked up to growing up, Makhobe Molibeli, better known as Rudeness.

Rudeness had a deep love for rap music. I remember him playing remixes Justsam used to make, including his take on Poundcake. Bro was going in!!!! — pause, and at the time, I hadn’t even heard the original version yet. That was my first taste of Justsam’s talent.

When you hear Justsam’s story, it’s clear his journey wasn’t a straight line. He once shared how he was just experimenting at first, checking out performances on Sundays at a place called Ghasa. That’s when it hit him, he could actually do this. He’d been writing since he was young but had never recorded anything at the time.

Even back then, I’d say he was already making waves in the Free State, maybe without even realizing it. I was still in primary school with no mobile device, but I already knew there was this guy called Justsam out there killing it, even if I didn’t know where he was from.

Fast forward to now, and he’s still proving why he’s one of the most exciting artists to watch. His latest release, Home, finds him reflecting on the balance between settling and grinding. Having just signed a distribution deal with Universal Music Group, it feels like “home” might be his way of saying that after all these years of hard work, he’s found the right machine to push his vision forward.

Earlier this year, I stumbled across his verse on Boogeyman by Tbu Twizz featuring Justsam, and it was lethal. I posted a snippet on my Facebook, and the reaction was instant. The clip caught fire, and before I knew it, it was trending again.

Then came Fairlight, produced by 1000beats (aka Stenabeats aka Desh1k), which is currently making huge noise in the Vaal. The track has already racked up over 200,000 views on YouTube, which is insane.

And he’s not slowing down. Justsam recently hinted at a new single dropping Friday, 13 August titled Broke Boy produced Kxng Colo. If the past few months are anything to go by, this one’s going to be special.

Justsam, aka Young Grootman, is showing us all that this is just the beginning.