02 Jun 2016

Marato Modisaotsile is a youngster on a league of his own. At a mere age of 16, the youngster already has ambition for big things.

Equally talented, he has decided to reach out to his peers using his talent; music. He said this came after realising that many of his peers are involved in undesirable activities that are not only bad for their health, but for the future. He said he then decided to compose songs as a way of spreading the message of positive living and imploring them to change for the better.

Known as Zodiac in the music scene, Modisaotsile said he had observed that the youth have love for music and thus it was the best way to reach them.
One of his recent releases is a song titled Ntheetse which he hopes will reach the youth and make a positive impact on their lives, especially on the aspect of taking education seriously.

Modisaotsile said some of the vices he hopes to keep the youth from include among others drinking, partying and not taking school seriously.
“As a youth myself I want to spread the message that all these will only result in undesirable consequences.

Some youth even go to the extent of disrespecting their parents or elders and this is wrong and needs to be stopped. As children we need to respect our elders because they raised us with the hope of helping them to a better future,” he said.  

He said the youth are also prone to making wrong decisions without realising it, only to regret when it is too late.
He however, said with good guidance, this can be avoided.  

Although Modisaotsile started rapping at an early age, he never took it seriously until he moved to senior school where he said many people encouraged him to take it seriously as he was gifted. “I was surrounded by friends who were into music and I was intrigued.

At that time I was more into poetry but realised that I can positively change the youth’s mindset through music as well, so I decided to give it a try,” he said.
Having grown up in Gaborone, Modisaotsile said he was inspired by young rappers such as Dramaboi to pursue his music career.

He said growing up in the townships enabled him to realise early how tough life can be, and he learnt to take responsibility for his actions at a young age.

“My mother taught me the value of respect and to always be humble if I want to make it in the music industry because it is not only a learning curve but music also has the power to heal souls,” he said.
The youngster recorded his first offering at Rimzy productions, and one of the songs in the album ‘Come along with me’ has been received well attracting many youths with its lyrics and instrumentals.

This encouraged him to record yet another single which will soon be out. “Working with the best producers in Gaborone has been a dream come true for me as I have learned a lot about music and writing songs,” he said.
He added that although he is still at school, music does not interfere with his studies as he manages both well. “When I started doing music I knew I would have to balance the two and that my education should always come first.

For me music is not about being famous but it is about reaching out to the lost souls and helping them back on track, especially the youth who are our future leaders” he said.

It is pretty clear that Modisaotsile juggles his commitments with ease partly because he is passionate about managing his time, an essential ingredient to achieving his goals. “I believe wasted time never returns so each time I have I use it wisely and that is evident in the results I get,” he said.

His advice to his peers is that they should focus on school because without education people will easily take advantage of them. He said for those who want to follow their passions they should never stop learning as with time one begins to grow in two ways; as an artiste and an individual.

“Pursuing one’s craft is good because we are all gifted one way or the other so the most important thing is to have a good character and most importantly, to give your dream a hundred per cent,” he said.
One thing for sure about Modisaotsile is that he is a young man on a roll and he does not look like he is about to quit his dream. Ends