15 May 2013

It is becoming a common practice for Batswana to appreciate and promote their culture through music, and one artiste, so passionate about it, particularly the native language, is Kasane-born Sirishebo Nshimwe.

Nshimwe, whose stage name is Shanky Briz, recently dropped his second album dubbed Hard Worker with the lyrics sang in Sesubiya and a bit of English language. 

In an interview , Shanky Briz said he had, for his second album, wanted to do traditional music in Sesubiya but the instruments did not blend well with the lyrics hence ended up settling for what he called Subiyan dancehall. 

“Sesubiya language did not match the traditional music instruments I wanted to use, I then searched for an instrument that could suit the language and found out that the Zambian style was the best,” said Shanky Briz.

He however said the main aim of the six-track album was to promote the Sesubiya language and culture among other different languages of the country.

Thus, he encouraged fellow musicians to promote their culture and languages through music.

The musician also noted that he has realised that some artistes did not promote their native languages, adding that some preferred to use foreign languages such as Zulu, a trend that he said was synonymous with some local kwaito artists.

Meanwhile, today seems an era where even giants in the local music industry find it difficult to convince the masses to buy their products, but Shanky Briz is convinced his unique style would make him excel in the dog-eat-dog industry.

Before recording as an independent artiste, Shanky Briz has worked with big names in the music industry such as Astley Gops, Bullets and Sandymen, among others.

However, the album will be out in stores soon while the video for the title has also been shot. ENDS