22 Oct 2014

Nqondisi Nyeletsi, owner of Regalia Investment, has showered the Youth Development Fund with praises for enhancing his music talent.

The 31-year old, who was born in Zimbabwe,  said in 1999, he recorded his demo album and that encouraged him to become what he is today.

However in 2002, Nyelesi commonly known as Que Rap , came to Botswana to take care of his partially blind mother and he consequently met David Makwinja and Phatsimo Ikgopoleng.

They formed a music group called Elite and produced a 14 track album called The Light, which was a fusion of hip hop, dance hall and R n B. However the group disbanded in 2004 after Ikgopoleng passed on.

Furthermore, Que Rap stated that it took him a while to come back into the music industry, stressing that he had to find other alternatives like working in a retail store in order to put food on the table.

However, his urge and desire for music saw him return to the studio in 2008, where he met Slim Cash, the producer who rekindled his passion for music and they produced an album entitled Phenomenon.

Que Rap stated that through his music journey, he met a lot of artistes and had an insight information. In 2012, he and Makwinja produced and released Gheto Grill. However, as a hard working young man he had to purchase sound systems and a computer which he used to generate funds by playing at parties and ceremonies.

He said in 2013 things drastically changed for him, as he got funding through Youth Development Fund to set his own studio. Que Rap noted that the funding turned things around as it enhanced his talents from being a hip hop artiste to a producer as well as a graphic designer, and it was through YDF that Regalia Investments was born. 

“Regalia Investment is a majestic business that produces quality music, videos and top notch clothing,” he said.

Furthermore, he said there are other artistes affiliated to Regalia in the likes of Rap Kid, Safe One Blood, This Is The Praise, Fungai and Buck Short, Bicko Gee and Gheto Angels. As a renowned artist, Que Rap worked with Botswana Hip Hop veterans like Bicko Gee and Vs. He has also performed in shows like Zwalobana, Mokaragana and even in countries like South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He has a 16 track upcoming album called The Confluence which will be released end of this month.

Moreover Que Rap said, “Although upcoming artistes are talented, they are not fully fledged since they do not have sponsors and they usually spend a lot of money on their albums only to end up as unknown or unsigned hero, since their projects are not given enough air play.”

He said it was easy to do music but not easy to be a musician as one has to come up with a unique original project to increase his fan base and consequently reap the reward of his talent. He however decried people who pirate music, stressing that they contribute to the downfall of the music industry. ENDS