Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe
22 December 2008
At least 15 local musicians ended the year 2008 on a high note after captivating the market with hot albums and performances that had fans begging for more.
Female sensation, Naledi 'Slizer' Kaisara, making her debut as a solo artist, has been a marvel to watch.
Her sexy figure kept men on their toes as she swung her hips to the music of her kwaito-kwasa debut album that went on to sell over 10 000 copies.
This is a first for a female artist doing non-borankana/traditional music. She could easily bag both the New Female Sensation and Best Album by Female Soloist for 2008.
On the male side, the hottest arrival came from an unlikely genre - Tswana Rap by Mpho Kalayamotho, popularly known as VS He came from nowhere and captured the hearts of music followers with his "O Icheke", a song that cut across the whole gamut of fans, making it a serious contender for Song of the Year.
The album's sales may not be as high as its wide appeal, but VS's unique rap skills went on to see the debutant make it to the finals of this year's President's Day cultural festivities.
He also sealed a lucrative advertising deal with Mascom, another rare thing for local musicians. Before this newcomer, Mascom used South African rapper, Hip-hop Pantsula.
Towards year-end, traditional music lovers received Deben Natale, another completely new entrant on the music scene.
The lad who hails from Letlhakeng in Kweneng is said to be a relative of the late folklore legend, Speech Madimabe.
In his debut album, Deben Natale is not ashamed to re-make four of Madimabe's songs, and he does not disappoint in his performance of them.
The lad's unique talent makes him one of the contenders for the Artist of the Year award, despite his late arrival on the scene. Word has it that his album has already sold more than 10 000 copies.
The story of amazing newcomers is not complete without the trio of traditional music, Morubele, an Eric Ramco production. They are simply in a class of their own.
The year also saw the likes of Baloi, a traditional music group, Kganka, male soloist, traditional, making considerable impact as debutants.
Captain Dira-"O A Ja O A Jelwa" The pint-sized lad came from nowhere and dropped a bomb of an album titled Machobane.
The production of this album is simply amazing with the producers ensuring that they integrate melodious background vocals through which Captain Dira's humorous vocals come out. Captain Dira's album is undoubtedly up there with the very best that made music fans very happy this year. This is a traditional music album, which has a crossover of Afro pop.
This was Dira's first solo effort to be released in Botswana, although he had released another album through a South African company a few years earlier. Dira did very well with his title track, which became an anthem among local music lovers. His sales also have been quite impressive.
The only album that would give Captain Dira a stiff challenge this year is none other than the recording by the duet Ditiro Leero (DT) and Gongmaster Ketshabile-Makanyane. Producers of the album say it has sold between 50 000 and 60 000 copies - tapes, CDs and DVDs.
The unique thing about this album is that although it may be classified as traditional, it shifted from the normal commercial style of borankana. Instead it commercialised traditional choir music popularly known as dikhwaere.
It is also worth noting that the dikhwaere style, which made Gongmaster and DT's recording the best selling album of the year, was first tried by one Vomit, Kankangwane Mogosha, who dropped "Vomit Vs Diparo", a dikhwaere album designed for football fans.
Released by Kalakuta, Vomit's album, which entered the market during the Christmas of 2007, topped the charts, until Makanyane came into the picture around March this year.
Both Gongmaster and DT have released separate solo projects this Christmas and word is that hardly a month afterwards, both musicians' new albums are approaching the 1 000th copy mark.
For DT, the year could not have ended any better as he clinched an advertising deal with the Botswana Tourism Board (BOTOBO), thanks to a track in his new album. Word is that DT has been able to buy a car from the BOTOBO deal, which runs for five years.
Perhaps the hottest deal of the year was clinched by Vee Odirile Sento with cellphone giants Alcatel and Orange Botswana.
The Vee branded phone, released for this Christmas season, is loaded with Vee tracks and ring tones, and comes with a unique CD. It available for P240 from Orange shops. The deal also sees Orange taking Vee on road shows these Season holidays, enhancing both the Vee brand and the Orange Botswana image.
Culture Spears followed up their hit Kulenyane album with yet another amazing release, Khudu, enthusiastically received by everyone.The group this year saw the South African market open for them after they were invited by that country's former president Thabo Mbeki to perform at a very important event. From there they received booking after booking in South Africa.
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