19 Oct 2015

Music has always been at the heart of Thatayaone ‘Sthati Wa Nneti’ Keaikitse. However, it was in 2010 at Sedumedi Junior Secondary School in Molepolole when Sthati Wa Nnete received the revelation he needed.

His physical education teacher always caught him dancing and singing for his classmates, he then encouraged him to pursue his dream of being a kwaito star. 

From there on, he pursued his dream by perfoming at talent shows and dance competitions.

In talent shows, Sthati Wa Nneti said he could sing along to popular kwaito songs and students would go wild as if he was already a star. Some of the artistes that inspire him are Vee and Mingo.

As Sthati Wa Nnete gave all his time to rehearsing and singing, he forgot about his studies and hence he did not perform well in Form 3. 

That was the lowest point in his life as he nearly gave up his dream but as fate would have it, his sister asked him to relocate to Gabane to live with her. In Gabane he spent a year without a job. 

One fateful day while looking for a job, he met Franco who inspired him greatly and told him to continue following his dream no matter what.

Since then he started writing his own music and performing in the public events such as weddings for free and before long he recorded his first single called Dinamanama.  In it he talked about his everyday life challenges and how he overcame them.

The single Lenyora did not get him the recognition he sought and so he decided to release another kwaito single also called Lenyora which he worked on for a few months in a studio in Molepolole before releasing it four months in June.

Through the song, he said he introduced himself to his potential fans so that they get familiar to his voice before he could release his album that he is now working on and hopes to release soon. Lenyora gained him recognition especially in Molepolole where he grew up and it has been downloaded 2 000 times online.

He had realised that in this digital age, kwaito lovers no longer bought cassettes like the old times but chose to use mobile devices to upload their music and so he uploaded the song online for fans to download it for free.

When he is a star his fans will pay to download his songs he said wittingly.  Also the song Lenyora has been played several times in RB1 and RB2 which for him as a newcomer was a big accomplishment.

The young Sthati Wa Nnete encourages radio stations across the country to play local songs to market them. “In order for people to support local music they must hear it first on our own local radio stations,” he advised.

Slowly and surely Sthati Wa Nnete hopes to make it in the music industry and become a star. Maybe one day he might feature the Black Money Maker’s very own Odirile ‘Vee’ Sento and Aminoni ‘Mingo’ Mojokeri.

To the young people out there still waiting for a sign he repeats the same words the kwasa kwasa sensation told him, “never ever give up on your dream no matter the stiff opposition. Ends