Where 2020 took the fun away from people, Focalistic ensured that his fans were entertained. According to Madzadza Miya for The Plug Magazine, “Focalistic is a contender for 2020 MVP”. Miya goes on to suggest that the Pitori Maradona’s work and strategy in the year 2020 qualifies as a solid case-study for rappers and musicians, particularly in navigating trying times.
At the start of the year, he debuted “Never Know” with Cassper Nyovest. A momentous experience for Focalistic. Of making the song with the AMN rapper, he shared, “That’s definitely a dream come true. But I wanted [Cassper Nyovest] for this song specifically, because we made a genuine and honest connection in the studio.”
Where he could have stopped after his dream collaboration, he kept going! As lockdown grew more and more uncomfortable, Focalistic kept fans tuned in. He followed up the single release with Quarantined Tarantino and Blecke, launched his label, 18 Area Holdings in partnership with Vth Season, and soon after announced having achieved over 2 million digital streams.
You’d think he would rest, but he kept going with performances, long format interviews, and even more music. Now, Foca’s gone on to debut his first album, Sghubu Ses Excellent.
Sghubu Ses Excellent sees the Pitori Maradona artfully blend rap and amapiano in a way that only he can. Sporting 14 tracks, this album features acts like Madumane, Vigro Deep, Riky Rick, 25K, Maphorisa, and more.
As of December 2020, Focalistic has been dubbed the Hottest MC of 2020 by the MTV Base Hottest MC roundtable. More excitingly, Focalistic has been nominated for an MTV MAMA award in the Breakthrough Act category. Without question, and given the above, it’s fair to say that Focalistic owned 2020.
