The Mic Gets Hot Again: Red Bull 64 Bars Returns With South Africa’s Most Explosive Lineup Yet

In the heart of Johannesburg, a familiar sound is stirring. The anticipation hanging thick in the air as South Africa’s most formidable lyricists prepare to step into the booth once more.

Red Bull 64 Bars is back, and this season (the platform’s fourth) promises hit after hit.

When this series first exploded onto the South African scene from Italy, it changed everything. No hooks. No chorus. No safety net. Just 64 bars of pure, unfiltered rap artistry that separated the real from the rest. Now, as the mic heats up for another round, the lineup reads like a who’s who of South African hip-hop royalty, as well as a potential future king waiting in the wings.

The Heavyweights Step Up

Leading the charge is Reason, the lyrical colossus whose wordplay has become the stuff of legend. When Reason steps into the booth, you don’t just hear bars, you witness a masterclass in the art of rap itself. But he’s not alone in this opening salvo.

As part of the season, Tony Dayimane brings his signature intensity, Kane Keid delivers his trademark precision, and the introspective genius of Kindly Nxsh rounds out what’s already shaping up to be an explosive opening act. Yet this is merely the overture to a symphony that’s about to get much louder.

The Next Wave Rises

As July comes to an end, a fresh cohort of artists have made their way to the booth, each carried their own unique flavour of South African rap excellence. Loatinover Pounds, the trap innovator who’s been reshaping the genre’s boundaries, shared the spotlight with the fearless Gigi Lamayne, whose presence commands attention before she even utters a word.

PHFat, the genre-fusing maestro who refuses to be confined by conventional hip-hop borders, will step up alongside the raw street voice of Ziggy4x.

From Unknown to Unstoppable

The story of the Booth Tour reads like hip-hop folklore. In 2024, a rapper called SirBelow Worldwide walked into a Johannesburg booth as a complete unknown. When he walked out, an entire nation was watching.

This year, the tour cast an even wider net. Cape Town’s vibrant scenes, Durban’s rich musical heritage, Port Elizabeth’s emerging voices, Pretoria’s underground pulse, and Johannesburg’s established excellence all became hunting grounds for the next breakout star. Thousands of hopefuls stepped forward, each carrying dreams as heavy as their bars were sharp.

The tour’s promise remains unchanged and uncompromising: bring nothing but bars. No gimmicks, no shortcuts, just the purest expression of lyrical skill. It’s a democratic platform where street corners meet studio excellence, where unsigned talent can stand toe-to-toe with industry veterans.

The Stage Is Set

As the 2025 season prepares for launch, Red Bull 64 Bars continues to be a platform on which South African hip-hop’s most authentic voices converge to remind the world what real artistry sounds like. 

The booth is ready. The mics are hot. The artists are hungry. South African hip-hop is about to speak, and when it does, the world will listen.

For more information, visit redbull.com or @redbullza on all social media plaforms to follow the drop, explore episodes, and relive Booth Tour moments.