05 Feb 2025

Local music artistes are working around the clock to honour traditional music contemporary music artist Chester Nkgomo otherwise known as Kgobola or Mr Chinese.

Kgobola's bash is biled for March 1 at Boseja, Kgosing ward in Mmankgodi. 

The idea for this appreciation got its spark after another virtuoso Astley Gopolang, christened “Astley Gops” behind the microphone, paid a visit to honour an invitation for Kgobola’s 66th birthday early this year at his home in Mmankgodi.

Astley Gops says after a long journey characterised by wows and cheers in the music lines, Kgobola, deserves a bravura fete whilst alive.

“He invited me and Bullet Ketshabile to celebrate his birthday sometimes in January. I was as touched when the unfolding greatness of this old fella in the local music network clicked into my mind. Then I told him that he does not merit a typical Jack and Jill’s party, but must be honoured kingly. From there and we started to sell the idea to other instrumentalists who were too magnetised to the idea hence we rolled it on. Currently, we are busy with the preparations and masses of artists are making pledges alongside an endless line-up of about 100 artists, who have shown interests to kindle joy on the D-Day,” says Astley Gops.

Astley Gops added that after the historic celebration, the BOMU Chapter 9 members, plan to embark on road shows to revive the Kgobola brand.

Traces of Kgobola’s trajectories in the music trade are entwined to his age as he said the melophile stuck over him whilst a lad and a herd boy in the terraces of Maratswane-Malwelwe areas where he used to play motontonyane, a homemade guitar, as a busker.

The axe man, born and raised in Letlhakeng as Segomotso Chester Nkgomo, says when maturing he went out to fend for his family in the South African gold mines as it was a norm back then, he did not go underground to dig gold, but located the birds of his feathers; met the late Peta Teanet who was still an upcoming artist.

“I am one of the pioneers of Peta Teanet’s band. I played the bass guitar in all his albums from his debut album titled ‘Ikhonomi’, which comprised of hit songs like ‘Glory! Glory’, as well as the title track and all of his albums. I was with Peta Teanet until he gave his last breath. I witnessed it when he was gunned down in 1996. Afterwards, I worked with another friend of mine in South Africa called Willington Sithole in a band called Makuta. I helped them release the ‘Hambanani Makuta’ album before I returned home to release my first album in 1998 that I titled ‘Mr Chinese.’ The album was recorded at Nosey Road Studios in Mmokolodi. This is where this name ‘Mr Chinese’ was derived,” Kgobola narrated his story.

After that, Mr Chinese the old fella, went on to join Eric Ramco Studios to release ‘Letheka’ after which he dropped ‘Moselele’. ‘Moselele’ was the album that won Kgobola the crown of being the pioneer of adding contemporary instruments into Tswana traditional dance music.

“At first I thought we were just being frivolous as one of the good days I and my friend practiced to add traditional lyrics in the instruments. Finally, we realised that it sounded so nice then I decided to release the ‘Moselele’ album at the Eric Ramco Records,” said Kgobola.

After ‘Moselele’ there mushroomed solo artists and groups, said Kgobola, who followed suit with traditional style. At Ramco Records the local industry, in the mid-2000, was a melting pot especially for the traditional music artists. Many artists made collaborations with Kgobola, he said, but selfishness amongst such artists blemished the relationships leading to breakups due to money sharing.

Kgobola says he founded Machesa brand but they had differences with the then Machesa members and he parted ways with them yet he was the very person who named the group Machesa.

After the Machesa issue, Kgobola went on to release ‘Go siame’ literally meaning. ‘It is ok.’ ‘Mabele’ album followed ‘Go Siame’, which was centred on promoting the traditional lifestyle. He would then land at Bullet Music Productions (BMP) studio to release ‘Sesanyane.’ Kgobola could not hide that he met with Bullet Ketshabile at a tender age.

“I am the one who groomed Bullet while he was still a lad doing Form Two. We worked hand in hand with the young man in Jwaneng as a keyboardist. We went all the way with him and he never left me even when the days were dark. Our friendship strengthened more whilst we were working together at Sunshine Studios in Pretoria,” says.

After ‘Sesanyane’, the boom years in the local music industry encountered an acute decline to the extent that Mr Chinese brand faded away in the music industry until he resorted to subsistence farming where he said poverty had gripped on. In recent years Kgobola returned from the farms to revive his calling by releasing a disco album that he titled, ‘Mahutsana.’

Kgobola also said it was time to return in order to leave his legacy through the upcoming artists. He said due to lack of creativity amongst newer producers nowadays, traditional music has lost its old spark adding that artists just use a similar set of style and rhythm where only the lyrics differ whilst the beats are similar across all the albums.

Mr Chinese described himself as a fellow who had taken most amateurs to stardom, only to be enslaved by certain industry giants who ended up betraying him, but swore not to revenge evil with evil. ENDS