14 Aug 2013

Local new music group, Malakabi cut teeth in the music industry with the mandate to revive the seemingly crippled afro pop genre.

Afro pop music in Botswana was in the past few years dominated by popular names in the likes of Ashtley Gops,  Mr Tagg and groups such as Unik Atrractions and 2 Unik, among others.

Many groups and solo artistes emerged in this genre and all of sudden the music was liked by many Batswana and it has seen more airplay both in radio and television. This kind of music was predominantly played at weddings as many of the songs typically talk about love, relationships and marriage.

Meanwhile, today seems an era where even giants in this music genre find it difficult to convince the masses to buy their products and it is evident the music has lost its vibe. Nonetheless, Malakabi, has released an eight-track revamped afro pop album dubbed Sthandwa Sam, which they believe will revive the genre.

One of the group members, Tsietso 'Molf' Molefe said the release of the album was timely as they targeted the upcoming season which is characterised with a lot of activities such as music festivals, parties and weddings. Molf said they had already sampled some of the songs at music shows where they have received positive response.

One of the songs, Ngwetsi has a video and is already enjoying air play on Botswana Television. Prior to recording their new album, Malakabi group members had worked with some of the renowned local artistes such as Scavenger, Kitso and Thibos.

Other Malakabi group members include Thulaganyo “Thuli” Ntebele, Kagiso “Mivavo” Rabothako and Mercy “Mercy-Lo” Motsatsi. Meanwhile, ‘Ngoma’ is one of the tracks in the album and the song preaches team work and explains how music can be made possible and enjoyable when more people are involved in one project.

The Ngoma beat is a combination of both the afro pop and the Botswana traditional music rhythm. Another track is ‘Botshelo’ and it generally talks about the dynamics of the modern life. Ends