Kwesta grows into greatness, embraces his “Big Bro” era

Now, with his upcoming album The Big Bro Theory, Kwesta is striking a balance between lyrical prowess and broad appeal, presenting a more seasoned artist who wants fans to enjoy the music as much as they respect the bars.

The album’s title is no coincidence. “Big bro” is a role Kwesta says he’s grown into overtime, reluctantly at first, but now with purpose. In The Big Bro Theory, Kwesta positions himself not just as a voice of experience, but as a contributor to the culture — someone offering guidance, not lectures. His recent single ‘Joy’, featuring Nkosazana Daughter, underscores this ethos.

How Kwesta embraces creativity within the school system 

I can only urge the schools to try and [be] a bit more accommodating to the creative child or the child who has slightly different interests. It's not like we're producing robots here. It's human beings. We're developing human beings that want to excel, that want to feel a certain freedom in whatever they do, and that want a joy and a happiness in whatever field that they choose. If a school doesn't provide that, then they often don't have any option [but] to be seen as delinquent. I think that is something we need to fix. It has nothing to do with how I feel about the importance of education in general.

Naming his new album The Big Bro Theory

I’ve had a good 18 years of being able to see things that happened in and within the industry, that influenced me, and have shaped the country’s sound. Every artist wants to feel like they just came out yesterday. Everyone wants to feel like, “Yo, I still got a hundred years in front of me.” Which is good. Everyone wants to feel young, but in reality, there was a point where I couldn't stop everyone from calling me “big bro." I tried—I was in denial. In reality, I'd been here 12 years, 15 years, and to those artists, that's just what I am. "Big bro” is a small role in a family tree, but it's very significant, because it's like the closest older person that you have.

His goal with the new album

It's a contribution more than anything. It's not one of those albums where it's too personal, and you feel like you're just listening to your therapist, and I'm just a guy complaining. I don't want that. I really want people to enjoy the music, while I'm trying my best to put it out creatively, and be honest in my output. I didn't approach this music as therapy, I wanted it to be enjoyed—and if it does work as that for another person, that is unbelievable! But it is not what I made it for. I wanted other people to enjoy it more than anything. 

The ‘Joy’ track featuring Nkosazana Daughter

When I started looking at myself and looking at the game, I saw that maybe the game needs a bit more joy. And then also myself, I need to put myself in situations where I am closer to joy than further. Chasing joy is not just a song, it's a thing that I try and do in real life, every day [when] I wake up. I think that comes with age and with time. I feel like it's a needed sort of project to take on as a big bro. I'm here maybe unintentionally, but I'm embracing the fact that I see that I am needed, one way or another, in this position—so I'm promising that in musical form, and also setting examples in my personal life.

Collaborating with other artists

I'm very big on collaborations, which is not a very common thing in rap. When it happens, it's always monumental and unbelievable, because of the competitive nature of it. I run towards collaboration, man. I like picking from artists, and getting artists to pick stuff from me, and just us creating something together that didn't exist before we were in that one room. It's always like, a feeling that never gets old for me.