‘ONS IS HIER’ - Temple Boys want to use their fame to inspire Cape youth

“PEOPLE think that you need a lot to make it, but all we really needed was support and belief from our community while we stood in front doing the music. 

That’s how the Temple Boys summed up a journey that began long before viral videos and sold-out performances.

The gqom music group from Ravensmead in Cape Town started out as a group of friends experimenting with a sound that has grown into one of the most recognisable acts to emerge from the city’s evolving gqom scene. 

Their story is rooted in friendship, shared spaces and a desire to represent where they come from without dilution.

The group came together organically. Before there were stages or studio sessions, they were friends attending Ravensmead High School. Music followed naturally.

Their breakthrough moment came in stages. In 2020, the single “Slat n Spat” began turning heads, but it was “Saggies” in December 2022 that truly shifted their trajectory. The track went viral on TikTok, spreading far beyond their immediate audience.

Since then, their growth has been steady and intentional. Last year, they released their album “Ons is Hier”, a nine-track project that further defined their sound. The album fuses traditional gqom energy with the style that they have developed over years of experimentation.

“We started recording in our bedrooms,” they said. “‘Ons is Hier’ shows how far we have come, but also where we are going.”

At its core is gqom, a genre deeply tied to Black Khoisan heritage, layered with Afrikaans lyrics and cultural references drawn from their environment. Even their name reflects this mix.

“Temple Boys is an Indian type of vibe that we went for,” they explained. “It all comes together as one sound and one feeling.”

In 2026, Temple Boys are pushing themselves creatively. Alongside more energetic releases, they are exploring a deeper emotional direction.

“We are working on something called ‘Compain’,” they explain. “It is more emotional. We want to express what we go through and speak honestly about our experiences.”

At the heart of everything is their impact on young people in Cape Town. Rather than speaking in hypotheticals, the group points to what they already see.

“Kids tell us they want to be like us,” they said. “They want to sing and do music like us.

“We want to uplift the youth and lift people’s spirits. 

“Sometimes young people do not get the sign they need, so we try to be that inspiration.”