24 Oct 2022

The ambiance of the Artcase Gallery in Gaborone’s Molapo Piazza, with local artworks adorning the walls, and a small intimate crowd dressed to their nines, provided the perfect backdrop as

Mpho Sebina premiered her single Tsela Tshweu on Friday night.

Yet, as typical of those with superstar appeal, Sebina still appeared as the Cinderella at the ball, her melodic voice and elegant looks easily making her standout in an aesthetically pleasing room.

The past 12 months have seen the Mpho Sebina brand grow, her collaborations with Abidoza and Jay Sax (“Motho Ke Motho) and Major League (“Dinaledi”) as well as her interpretation of the

Brenda Fassie classic “Too Late For Mama” have enjoyed airplay on continental TV stations such as Channel O and Trace as well as domestic and regional radio stations.

She has also been to Los Angeles and Nairobi and has also performed at the internationally acclaimed MTN Bushfire Festival in eSwatini, in addition to being a regular performer in South Africa’s major cities.

Connecting with a small, local audience, she belted out Tsela Tshweu, a well written Setswana soul song dealing with heartbreak.
She sings...

“Ha pelo e lela, e ratile ya gago, moya o sa robale, dikeledi di le marameng, dielela mawatleng, ke eo tsela, e tshweu”

(When the heart is crying having lived yours, the spirit struggling to sleep, tears upon the cheeks, hit the road)

As she sings this tear jerker about painfully moving on after rejection by someone you intimately loved, Sebina’s Setswana songwriting and vocal expression come through radiantly. “Ha o mpone ka sepe, ontseetse ko tlase o mpona morabaraba kgotsa diketo,” (You see me as nothing, you see me as a game)” she further sings.

Written by Sebina who also sings the vocals, with Sandi Ncube on guitar, mixed by Flex the Ninja and Kingsley Okorie from Nigeria on production, Tsela Tshweu is a laid back soulful track.

The video, filmed by Owen Bands at Mmakgodumo Dam, Kanye, also premiered on Friday, as Sebina continued to pay homage to her roots. Her recent Dumelang video was shot in her family neighbourhood of Nkoyaphiri, Mogoditshane, and for Tsela Tshweu she went to her maternal home village of Kanye.

Sebina also announced that her cousin Peo “Seed” Sebotho was her manager, and she used the launch to network with a close knit group of associates who have aided her career locally.

She was recently nominated for the Africa Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA) due to be held next month in Dallas, Texas, United States of America, in the Best Female Southern Africa category alongside the likes of Makhadzi, Msaki and DBN Gogo (South Africa), Ammara Brown (Zimbabwe) and Towela Kaira (Zambia).

With a laid back radio friendly commercial appeal without compromising soulful artistry, “Tsela Tshweu” is another feather in the cap added to the repertoire of the star that is Mpho Sebina. ENDS