*Disclaimer: The following article contains strong language which may be inappropriate for sensitive readers.
With almost 80 000 monthly listeners on Spotify, it is clear that PHFAT is a well-known name in the South African music industry. Mike Zietsman, best known as the electro rapper PHFAT, has carved his own path in the South African music industry. Wilné van Rooyen sat down with Mike to talk about his music career, how he started out and a possible album.
“[Making music] is a really weird randomised process that feels like luck at first. Because you sit down and it’s like fucking finger painting,” says Mike Zietsman, also known as the electro rapper PHFAT.
When Mike makes music, he experiments. Similar to finger painting, he uses his instruments unintentionally and freely, in order to craft the art. The process of playing around and finding the right tune is important when the idea phase is happening, he adds.
Playing around and making music unintentionally is very important. “Otherwise, if you sit down with an intellectual idea and go, ‘I want to make a song that is like this’, you’re screwed from the beginning,” says Mike.
For the public it may seem like sorcery, but to Mike it’s like second nature. In the picture above Mike is playing on an electro musical instrument, called a synthesiser. PHOTO: Wilné van Rooyen
However, after years of making mistakes, Mike changed this process and started with an intellectual idea as a base for his music. Working with Mike — and sitting through this process — has become second nature for DJ and music producer, Luc Veermeer.
According to Luc, who has been working with Mike for numerous years, they are based on a friendship that produces music.
“[So], we will agree, disagree, write and write and write until we both love the outcome. It’s always been open and transparent,” says Luc.
PHFAT formed part of the 2020 lineup at the music festival, I LOVE STELLIES. Mike is on stage and in action doing what he loves with DJ Luc Veermeer at the back. PHOTO: Wilné van Rooyen
From Pizza Delivery Guy to Smooth Mike
Mike started off as a pizza delivery guy. From then, he has never had any other job besides being a rapper. According to Mike, the change to becoming a full-time rapper just happened.
As he was building his career as a rapper with producer, Narch, he made about R1000 per gig. “[E]ventually, it was like every weekend we were booked and making more money than [what] I would’ve made with delivering pizza. So, I stopped doing the pizza guy-thing and just started doing the rap guy-thing,” he says.
Mike officially quit being a pizza delivery guy, around the time he was finishing up his undergrad degree in Psychology at the University of South-Africa (UNISA).
He then thought to himself that he needs to either get a “real” job or study further. However, when he looked at his calendar in December (2013), he saw they were fully booked until the end of March. He then decided to extend his job search to the end of March. At that time PHFAT made a lot of money. And when March came around, they realised that they were again fully booked till September, he says.
“It hasn’t really stopped since 2013,” says Mike. “2014 was when it was like, ‘Holy shit! This is a real career’.”
On a practical level, Mike stays fit to be able to have high-energy performances. He mentions that you can feel the energy from the crowd from the stage and that keeps him going. “It’s pretty powerful,” he says. PHOTO: Wilné van Rooyen
When asked if people still call him by his rapper name – Smooth Mike – he laughs. “It depends. Some people just call me Smooth,” Mike jokes. “It was like a joke name. I just needed a rap name and it stuck I guess. I’m kind of all three, Mike, Smooth Mike and PHFAT — all in one.”
Regarding the name PHFAT, Mike says it has no meaning. “[W]e just had a show one night and we needed to pick a name.”
“I like to think that I gave the name meaning, and it’s actually a really crap name because I can’t stand it. It’s not search engine optimised,” he says. Due to its strange spelling, it was difficult to get the name as a top result, but Mike changed it to all capital letters.
I like to think that I gave the name meaning, and it’s actually a really crap name.
Whenever younger artists come and ask what they should call themselves, Mike says that they need to make sure that it can be easily searched.
Where’s the album?
PHFAT only has one album called Dinosaur Blood, but Mike says he will probably make another album at some point. However, when that will be, Mike still isn’t sure.
If Mike is going to do so, he feels it will be a selfish endeavour and it would be quite difficult to listen to the whole thing, he says.
Mike built this tiny studio mostly by himself. He has also mastered songs for other musicians during lockdown. PHOTO: Wilné van Rooyen
“Albums in today’s day and age don’t make much sense because each track on an album takes as much effort as the track before it,” says Mike. “[If] you put out an album that has 15 songs… if you’re lucky, people will latch on to two or three of them.”
Mike says he makes music that he connects with and feels. “I can’t really make music that I’m not feeling,” he says.
Composer Greg Abrahams that has worked with Mike says he has always felt their music to be full and well-constructed.
“I’ve always been amazed that Mike and previously Narch [who left PHFAT in 2016] managed to carve out their niche in popular South African music in such an astounding way,” says Greg.
“I’ve always been amazed that Mike and previously Narch managed to carve out their niche in popular South African music in such an astounding way.”
Besides that, Greg feels PHFAT is a cut above many other acts in the local scene.
“Their performances have always been on such a high level,” Greg says with praise.
‘Whatever you like’
‘Whatever You Like’ is one of PHFAT’s latest singles written and produced with Greg and according to him, they made most of the song in one evening.
“I brought a cool [synthesiser] over to his studio, and we plugged it in, and he played what he thought was a silly melody,” says Greg. They took this “silly melody” and created the song.
In the song, Mike wanted to capture falling in love when you’re younger, or as he states it — an “amazing accident”. But, also the back and forth between feeling joyful and anxious in a relationship.
Mike says when he makes music he always tries to capture an emotion.
“[If] you’re going to make a sad love song, make it like the saddest fucking love song ever,” he explains.
Monique de Villiers, a fan of PHFAT, says she feels like his music is edgy and allows her to express herself.
“PHFAT’s new song is groundbreaking. His sound has grown so much and although I’ve always loved his music, I feel like this is art,” says Monique.
The show must go on
PHFAT is known for energetic, visually appealing shows, but which artist hasn’t had a bad show?
Mike remembers back in 2011 when they opened for the rock band, The Used, the crowd was not enjoying — and feeling — their performance.
“It was like being in a room with 2000 ex-girlfriends. It was like so shit,” he says.
According to Mike, they didn’t know what they were doing as they didn’t have everything “nice and tight”.
Mike remembers at the end of one song, one person shouted “fuck off”. He also mentions that someone threw a beer at them. “It was like, ‘Oh, my god, this is the worst’,” he says.
Despite this, he believes shows like this is important.
“[That] sort of shit has to happen if you are making music,” he says.
Mike has his honours in Psychology and mentions that a lot of his music is designed around the stuff he has studied. Due to him being into Freud and Nonku Phiri being into Jung, together they created Nonku’s rap name: JungFreud. PHOTO: Wilné van Rooyen
Mike also once fell off the stage at Oppikoppi-festival and once performed at another show while being extremely sick.
“[I] said like, ‘listen, I’m not going to be able to move very hard. I might pass out, but I’m going to need you to help me out here if we’re going to make it work,’” he says. Mike pushed through and managed to deliver a great performance — with the help of the crowd.
Mike believes that building a great career demands honesty. It’s more about being honest than trying to fake it, he says.
A video Cam van Tonder filmed of PHFAT at Daisies 2019. VIDEO: PHFAT/YouTube