Motswako is a Southern African genre of hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 most popular in Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

 and South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.The genre first originated in Botswana in the mid nineties when a rapper called Mr T (Tebogo Mapine) now popularly known as Nomadic created a demo of the genre which received rave reviews in radio stations. It consists of a mix of rap

Rapping

Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...

 lyrics in both the local language (Setswana), and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 layered on a steady beat. Other languages used include Zulu

Zulu language

Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 as per the rapper's origin. The genre gained popularity in the late nineties as acts like Hip Hop Pantsula

Hip Hop Pantsula

Hip Hop Pantsula, born Jabulani Tsambo, is a popular South African Motswako hip-hop MC who frequently performs in ethnic languages, though mostly in Setswana.- Career :...

 and Bafitlhile started rapping in Setswana, resulting in an increased followship from the local population. The former has reached international standards, featuring U.S R&B star Amerie

Amerie

Amerie Mi Marie Rogers , known professionally as Amerie or Ameriie, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She debuted in 2002 with the album All I Have, primarily co-written and produced by Rich Harrison, and was well-received in the urban market...

 in his single, music and the lights -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTxfr8yYdhU&feature=related

Notable Rappers/Bands

• ELMORAH (http://www.reverbnation.com/#!/elmorahmoloimotswakong)
• Tuks Senganga
  Tuks Senganga
  Tuks is a popular South African Motswako rapper whose real name is Tumelo Kepadisa, who frequently performs in ethnic languages, though mostly Setswana. Tuks Senganga was born Tumelo Kepadisa on 2 May 1981 in Mafikeng in the former homeland of Bophuthatswana. He started writing in 1993, drawing...
  
  
• Hip Hop Pantsula
  Hip Hop Pantsula
  Hip Hop Pantsula, born Jabulani Tsambo, is a popular South African Motswako hip-hop MC who frequently performs in ethnic languages, though mostly in Setswana.- Career :...
  
  
• Scar
• Morafe
• Khuli Chana
• O.F.E
• Zeus
  Zeus (Musician)
  Game Goabaone Bantsi but better known by his stage name Zeus, is a Motswana hip-hop artist, MC and businessman.Zeus released his debut album Freshly Baked in 2008 which included the hits Back in the days and Gijima....
  
  
• DJ Lemonka
• Molemi
• Villa
• The Real Magosi
• Jr
• HT Tautona
• Notshi
• Ozi F. Teddy
• Snowey Fanrasha

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