14 Nov 2023

The Makhirikhiri hit maker, Prophet Moses Malapela, popularly known as Shumba Ratshega in the music circles has dramatically resurfaced after a seven-year hiatus and released a two-track album titled Kamoso Ke Metholo.

“It is God’s will that is keeping me on the stage,” revealed Malapela Saturday night at a warmly attended welcome bash at the Millennium Jazz Café in Mogoditshane. 

Indeed, Malapela’s spiritual calling looks like an inevitable fate. 

In 2017 he quit music and turned to God through his Umbrella of God’s Grace (UGG) Ministries.

He embarked on a mission to reveal the truth and secret of God and likened himself to the God-sent and legendary biblical prophet Moses. 

Malapela admits that his resurrection was long overdue as God had constantly reminded him to go back and nurture his natural talent.

“I will always seek guidance from God and I am ready to serve his people all the time. 

God called me and told me ‘go back and talk to my people through your talent’, I am bringing hope through music once again,” he said.

Malapela has dropped two songs Mene Mene Tekele and Kamoso ke Metholo. 

The former gives a biblical account of the mysterious and frightening appearance of the phrase in the Bible. 

He explained that God has numbered the days of satan’s kingdom and bringing it to an end.

What normally characterises Malapela’s work in music is his passionate desire to expose social ills, especially illicit sexual relations. 

He is always driven by his desire to tell it as he sees it. 

This is evidenced in his title track Kamoso ke Metlholo, where he talks of hope for God’s people against all odds.

He has been known for causing a stir with his heavy tinge of explicit Sebirwa lyrics. 

Malapelas’ music has stretched from his Sebirwa roots to international stardom. 

He is the hit maker of the infamous Makhirikhiri and Loso la Monnamogolo songs, which left a lot for his listeners to decode.

Despite his age, one gets a sense of how intelligent Shumba Ratshega was in matching the eloquence of, amongst others, Speech Madimabe and Ratsie Setlhako - musicians who did not allow you to apply your mind to what they had written in their songs.

Undoubtedly, Malapela has had an illustrious career in music, recording 10 successful albums in the process. 

The famous hit Makhirikhiri becoming the launch pad of his career, taking him to places across the border, where he was recognised for his efforts and becoming Botswana’s music ambassador.

He has rubbed shoulders with Africa’s best performers in the mold of P-Square and Zimbabwean legendary guitarist the late Oliver Mtukudzi. ENDS