24 May 2022

 President Day competition participants  have been encouraged  to create their own music to avoid copyright issues.
In an interview after the President Day regional competition at Tsabong Unified Senior Secondary School hall, one of the contemporary music judges Kopano Mantswe aka ‘Raspablo’ in music circles observed that despite the newcomers live band performance and backtrack artistes category displaying impressive aptitude in the area of live band  they needed to be cautious on copyright issues.
“If the artistes are ignorant of copyright law it could make them poor for using other artists works without their permission. It might attract sanctions. They must create their own music and make their own copyright. It is very important. The competition requires them to bring their original works. A ba seka ba kopa medumo ya batho. They should not use intellectual property of other people.”
He added that Radio Botswana had a policy of playing 80 per cent local content therefore artists must record their own music so that they reap from their works.
He advised that the radio disc jockeys (DJ), should play more local music to promote it.
 “When the DJs for example play Makhazi everywhere people will consume Makhazi, when they play local, the people will hear local. The most important aspect is that we should love our own music so that we benefit from our own. Let’s not export our royalties, doing that means exporting our jobs, play more local content,” he said.  
 He said it was a tough competition to judge given a large pool of talented individuals and the high quality music.
“The mood was amazing. We have noticed a strong level on competence especially in the Kwasa-Kwasa genre. They were very good. It was quite satisfying to see them taking part in the competitions and giving us impressive quality. The artistes were disciplined and well behaved,” he said.
Another judge under the DJs category Tshiamo Bosenyang alias DJ Six said the artistes had immense talent and passion for music.
“What lacks is the mixing skill. They must learn to use modern music mixing equipment. They should polish their skill for competitions. I noticed that when they entered the stage they were first shown how to select folders and that delayed the show. They must be ready to learn fast, do their research first, and learn to tackle more advanced machines. The DJs must practice all the time to perfect their skill to stay afloat,” he said.
Nonetheless Tsabong was on fire as talented upcoming artistes from different genres in Kgalagadi district had the audience eating from their palms with their latest offerings.    
Under the live band performance category Ghanzi flavor came tops earning themselves a space in the national finals followed by John Batumber from Kang and De Dance Doctor also from Kang whose moves on stage were  electrifying.
Under the newcomer backtrack category, Xwalla Da Cash from Ghanzi scooped position one, seconded by Group Ninjas from Maake while Madisakgabo  Traditional dance group from Ghanzi finished in  position three.
In the disk jockeys category, DJ The Guy from Hukuntsi  led a pack of 21 DJs .
DJ Abistone proved his prowess giving him stiff competition and got second position while DJ Tidoh was in the third spot.
Under the newcomer live category, Letra Affigade scooped position one while Sokhila sila stars scooped position two and  Man in Desert got position three.
In an interview, leader of Madisakgabo Traditional dance group, Lasco Kandjou from Ghanzi said the competitions went well, however the sound quality was not satisfactory as the base was high pitched.
This he said, was a challenge even though the quality of equipment was very good.
“So base fa e le ko godimo ga o utlwe mafoko a pina sentle fa o le moopedi,” he said.
He said there was need to hire sound engineers for such events to ensure that talent was nurtured to quality standards. The event was organised by Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture to select artists in the region who will compete in the nationals.
MYSC representative Thato Motswakwa said the region’s  Polka Dance and Namastaap competitions would be held June 4 at Tsabong stadium and Cultural Center respectively while the regional art and craft exhibition would be held on June 13 also at the Tsabong Cultural center. ENDS