Music of Botswana
Encyclopedia
Botswana
is an African country made up of numerous ethnic groups, though the Batswana are the most numerous. Music is an omnipresent part of Botswana culture
, and include popular and folk forms. Batswana church choirs are common across the country. Music education
is an integral part of the Botswana educational system. Children of all ages are taught traditional songs and dances.
, though it has little resemblance to the African American
genre of that name. There has been a push in recent years to focus on revitalizing the Botswana music industry instead of purchasing foreign releases. Most popular music in Botswana still comes from South Africa, United States, Europe or elsewhere in Africa. Gumba-gumba is a form of modernized Zulu and Tswana music, mixed with traditional jazz
; the word gumba comes from township slang for party.
On the Dave Matthews Band
's live release Live at Mile High Music Festival
, vocalist Dave Matthews
commented on the origins of their song on Eh Hee
:
"I made some friends down in Botswana, in Southern Africa, and they inspired this little song'.
crews include The Wizards, a long-standing crew that fuses hip hop with ragga
and R&B
. The Insiderz, a recently formed crew focusing on spacey type beats blended with R&B
and Pop music
.The national hip hop radio show Strictly Hip Hop, hosted by Draztik
and Slim
(both of the Cashless Society Crew and co-founders of [Unreleased Records]http://www.unreleasedrecords.com), has done much for the Botswana scene. The record label
Phat Boy is also very important .the like of the magosi,zeus,scar are one of the greatest artist in the country including the dj turned artist zibanani,has become one of the most respected hip hop heads in botswana and as far as motswako goes,botswana has the best tswakalistas in the world
Top Hip Hop Artists (Not in any order)
Raggar(Dancehall)Atist
1.1Muscle
2.Ras T
3.Pongo Rista
4.GunPowder
5.King Zee
6.Gen.Wood
is mostly vocal and performed without drum
s; it also makes heavy use of string instrument
s. Tswana folk music has instruments such as gumba gumba'Segankure/Segaba and for the last few decades, a guitar
has been celebrated as a versatile music instrument for Tswana music. The guitar was originally played in a manner similar to Segaba but with a better rhythm due to plucking, almost completely replacing the violin-like Segaba untily such prodigies of segaba as Ratsie Setlhako re-popularised segaba in the 80s with the help of radio. In the absence of instruments a clapping rhythm is used in music with the typical chant and answer manner of singing. The absence of drumming is predominant and is peculiar of an African Tribe.Tswana music has best producers such as Ramco loco and Ronald Sekaname who is currently based in Malaysia, signed under Tak Boleh records, in coloboration with Panggilan Masuk and kredit masembula.
There are other Hip hop artists who have not been signed but really talented like Banxs from thamagaaaa and Thabang in Lobatse.the hip hop genre of botswana became the most dominating when zeus came up,it has grown from the days of one of our legend dj sid who started the p-side and introduced western music to botswana.hip hop heads in botswana are far by the best tswakalistas in the world.a genre
s of Johannesburg. This movement has now found its way into Botswana where it is becoming more popular.
Benson Ditsheko Lesedi
, Jeff Matheatau, Chris Manto 7 and Alfredo Mos and Les Africa sounds. It has a slower rhythm than the original type and predictably tends to get a rapid rhythm in the middle of the song. It is still not as hectic as its parent Afro Rhumba. Unlike Rhumba, Kwasa kwasa has a simple leg routine, focusing more on an erotic movement of hips and buttocks.
Some artists have attempted to speed it up and made it more danceable to breakdance with great success. Artist Vee
is one of them and his version is known as Kwaito Kwasa, from a combination of Kwaito music with a kwasa kwasa rhythm and guitar.
Notable bands include:
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...
is an African country made up of numerous ethnic groups, though the Batswana are the most numerous. Music is an omnipresent part of Botswana culture
Culture of Botswana
Besides referring to the language of the dominant people groups in Botswana, Setswana is the adjective used to describe the rich cultural traditions of the Batswana - whether construed as members of the Setswana ethnic groups or of all citizens of Botswana....
, and include popular and folk forms. Batswana church choirs are common across the country. Music education
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
is an integral part of the Botswana educational system. Children of all ages are taught traditional songs and dances.
Popular music
Like many African countries, much of the popular music there is called jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, though it has little resemblance to the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
genre of that name. There has been a push in recent years to focus on revitalizing the Botswana music industry instead of purchasing foreign releases. Most popular music in Botswana still comes from South Africa, United States, Europe or elsewhere in Africa. Gumba-gumba is a form of modernized Zulu and Tswana music, mixed with traditional jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
; the word gumba comes from township slang for party.
On the Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
's live release Live at Mile High Music Festival
Live at Mile High Music Festival
Live at Mile High Music Festival is a live album by the Dave Matthews Band from the 2008 Mile High Music Festival outside Denver, Colorado. In its first week of sales, the album debuted at #97 on the US charts...
, vocalist Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
commented on the origins of their song on Eh Hee
Eh Hee
"Eh Hee" is a song written and recorded by Dave Matthews that was released as a digital single on September 4, 2007. An accompanying music video was also released on the same date, and was available as a free download from the iTunes Store for one week following its release. The music video was...
:
"I made some friends down in Botswana, in Southern Africa, and they inspired this little song'.
Botswana Hip Hop
hi hip hopHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
crews include The Wizards, a long-standing crew that fuses hip hop with ragga
Ragga
-Origins:Ragga originated in Jamaica during the 1980s, at the same time that electronic dance music's popularity was increasing globally. One of the reasons for ragga's swift propagation is that it is generally easier and less expensive to produce than reggae performed on traditional musical...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. The Insiderz, a recently formed crew focusing on spacey type beats blended with R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and Pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.The national hip hop radio show Strictly Hip Hop, hosted by Draztik
Draztik
Dave Balsher , better known by his stage name Draztik, is a record producer, composer & rapper. Draztik was born in Botswana and was raised up in Sacramento, California. He now is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Draztik is CEO and Label Manager for independent hip hop record label, Unreleased...
and Slim
Slim
Slim may refer to:* Field Marshal William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim , a British military commander and 13th Governor-General of Australia* Slim , Band member from the group 112...
(both of the Cashless Society Crew and co-founders of [Unreleased Records]http://www.unreleasedrecords.com), has done much for the Botswana scene. The record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Phat Boy is also very important .the like of the magosi,zeus,scar are one of the greatest artist in the country including the dj turned artist zibanani,has become one of the most respected hip hop heads in botswana and as far as motswako goes,botswana has the best tswakalistas in the world
Top Hip Hop Artists (Not in any order)
- Scar
- Orackle
- Mista Doe
- ZeusZeus (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....
- Third Mind
- K-Bos
- Michelle
- Stagga
- Steez
- Mosako
- HT
- BK Proctor
- Dice (Ditiro di maswe)
- Ignition
- Nitro
- Qbio
- Apollo Diablo
- Scary Kid Scarin Kidz (Ks2)
- Ruxion
- Melodramatic
- T-Smawll
- Yun Bleezy
- MBC
- Nick The Architect
- Cygnus
- Sick Bunch
Raggar(Dancehall)Atist
1.1Muscle
2.Ras T
3.Pongo Rista
4.GunPowder
5.King Zee
6.Gen.Wood
Production and Audio Engineering
- Bk Proktor
- Prez Beats
- Eric Ramco
- Dj Kuchi Productions
- Bangu Goddamit - Sick Bunch
Folk music
Tswana musicTswana music
The Tswana are an African ethnic group, mostly resident in South Africa. A minority of this group is found in Botswana and forms the major ethnic group there...
is mostly vocal and performed without drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s; it also makes heavy use of string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s. Tswana folk music has instruments such as gumba gumba'Segankure/Segaba and for the last few decades, a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
has been celebrated as a versatile music instrument for Tswana music. The guitar was originally played in a manner similar to Segaba but with a better rhythm due to plucking, almost completely replacing the violin-like Segaba untily such prodigies of segaba as Ratsie Setlhako re-popularised segaba in the 80s with the help of radio. In the absence of instruments a clapping rhythm is used in music with the typical chant and answer manner of singing. The absence of drumming is predominant and is peculiar of an African Tribe.Tswana music has best producers such as Ramco loco and Ronald Sekaname who is currently based in Malaysia, signed under Tak Boleh records, in coloboration with Panggilan Masuk and kredit masembula.
There are other Hip hop artists who have not been signed but really talented like Banxs from thamagaaaa and Thabang in Lobatse.the hip hop genre of botswana became the most dominating when zeus came up,it has grown from the days of one of our legend dj sid who started the p-side and introduced western music to botswana.hip hop heads in botswana are far by the best tswakalistas in the world.a genre
Folk Music Styles
- Huru
- Tsutsube
- Phathisi
- Borankana
- Mokomoto
- Selete
- Ndazola
- Setapa
- Chesa
- Stibikoko
Kwaito Music
This genre originates from the townshipTownship
The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...
s of Johannesburg. This movement has now found its way into Botswana where it is becoming more popular.
- Ghavorr
- Mapetla
- Skazzo
- P-Mag
Folk musicians
- Speech Madimabe
- MatsiengMatsiengMatsieng is a Setswana traditional music trio formed in 2005 in Gaborone Botswana. They burst in to the scene with their 2005 festive season album, Semakaleng...
- Shumba Ratshega
- Machesa Traditional Troupe
- Mokorwana
- Culture Spears
- Shirley
- Dikakapa
- Ratsie Setlhako
- Stampore
- Kwataeshele
- Jonny Kobedi
- Stikasola
- George Swabi
- Brian "Br-Usher "Kelebeng
- Moxy G
- The 1 Spark 1
- Spiderman
- Poifo le Wonder
- Yun Bleezy
Benson Ditsheko Lesedi
Kwasa Kwasa
An African version of Rhumba popularised in Central Africa has a strong following in Botswana and has produced highly acclaimed musicians such as Franco and Afro MusicaFranco and Afro Musica
Franco and Afro Musica is a twelve piece Gabanean kwasa kwasa band founded by Frank "Franco" Lesokwane.As is the norm in the Rhumba circles for artists to go by more than one names, Lesokwane also goes by a plethora of names like Stango, Lepako and Chakala...
, Jeff Matheatau, Chris Manto 7 and Alfredo Mos and Les Africa sounds. It has a slower rhythm than the original type and predictably tends to get a rapid rhythm in the middle of the song. It is still not as hectic as its parent Afro Rhumba. Unlike Rhumba, Kwasa kwasa has a simple leg routine, focusing more on an erotic movement of hips and buttocks.
Some artists have attempted to speed it up and made it more danceable to breakdance with great success. Artist Vee
VEE
VEE or Vee may refer to:* "Vee", common English pronunciation of V, the twenty-second letter in the Latin alphabet* VEE, Venezuelan Equine Encephalomyelitis virus, a mosquito-borne viral horse pathogen...
is one of them and his version is known as Kwaito Kwasa, from a combination of Kwaito music with a kwasa kwasa rhythm and guitar.
Rock/Metal
The development of rock as a followed genre in Botswana has been a slow one. The music has however started to gain some momentum, partly due to the youth's exposure to mainstream media like MTV, Channel O and the internet. The native Batswana has since showed appreciation for this genre. Ever since the year 2000, a lot of bands have been formed. Most these have played locally and a few have toured Southern Africa. The rock culture is now evidently recognised, with these bands coming together to fight AIDS under a tour titled "Rock Against AIDS". [1]Notable bands include:
- Crackdust
- Wrust
- Metal Orizon
- Nosey Road
- Stealth
- Stane
- Skinflint
- Dust n Fire
- Remuda
- No!semakers On Parade