17 Jan 2019

Traditional music industry in Botswana continues to grow in leaps and bounds, and this is proven by the rising number of upcoming artistes who embrace the genre.  

Monkgogi Nakedi also known as ‘Motswedi Wa Ngwao’ in the music circles, is one of the upcoming artistes who has embraced traditional music.

The 29-year-old recently completed a six-track album titled Letlotla, which is expected to be launched in April.

In an interview with BOPA, Motswedi Wa Ngwao said he composed the whole album, indicating that it was recorded and mastered at Electronic Records Studio in Mmopane and was produced by Disang Modise.

Despite Letlotla being his first album and a product new in the market, the Motokwe-born artiste said he is impressed by the reception he receives from his fans, especially in the Kgalagadi and Kweneng regions where he got the opportunity to sell out his first batch of CDs.

He explained that the album kick starts with a track called Bola, a spiritual song that he composed as a plea to traditional healers and God to assist in finding, unraveling and addressing the root cause of social ills that have besieged the society.

The artiste said the second track titled Jerusalem, is a song that encourages people who have worked hard for their achievements to compliment themselves whenever they have done a fantastic job and reached their destiny.

He said the third song Ditsala, criticises friendships that encourage wayward behaviour and also urges the youth to stop doing drugs as they will destroy their lives and futures.

Nakedi mentioned that Morabaraba, which is the third song, calls upon Batswana to embrace and preserve their culture.

He said that the track also aims to teach the young generation traditional issues as it talks about lifestyle in the olden days, which was characterised by passing time through playing traditional games such as morabaraba.

Marume, he said is a Shegkalagari word which means greetings. “I composed this song just to greet and connect with Batswana across the country in my native language, Shegkalagari ,” he said.

The young promising artiste revealed that his journey in the music industry dates back to his childhood days.

“I developed a passion for traditional music after joining the school’s traditional dance group when I was doing Form One in 2004. I also had the opportunity to meet kwasakwasa artiste, Dedcoh in 2007 who encouraged me to continue with my art work,” he said.

Motswedi wa Ngwao asserted that traditional music artistes in the country have shown tremendous growth due to the quality of work they produce, noting he drives his inspiration from local renowned traditional music artiste, Ditiro Leero.

“From a young age, I have been following Ditiro’s music and I am intrigued by the rich Setswana and proverbial language that he uses in his songs to convey the message. Also, his performance is always top notch,” he said.

He said his intention is to distribute his album to all local radio stations so as to get airplay and produce a video version of the album towards the end of this year. ENDS